Samurai Sword Store

	1. Rough Forging: The blade is formed by hot forging a billet of high-carbon steel. The repeated hammering of the samurai sword provides an even dispersion of carbon throughout the steel for uniform strength of the finished blade.
	2. Rough Shaping: The scale is removed and the blade is shaped roughly to the required dimensions. At this stage, the steel of the samurai sword is still in the annealed (soft) state and the blade is straight.
	3. Clay Covering: A special clay is applied to the blade by hand, using a thin covering near the edge and a thicker layer over the rest of the blade. This results in a relatively quicker cooling of the edge during quenching, producing a hard edge of the samurai sword and softer back.
	4. Quenching: This is a critical part of the operation. The blade of the samurai sword, with its clay covering, is heated to a predetermined temperature and quenched in a water bath. The shape and continuity of the hamon, the sori (blade curvature), and blade straightness are all determined by the care and skill exercised in quenching.
	5. Sizing: The sori is adjusted if necessary, to set the point of balance and point of percussion, and the blade is de-scaled. Rough polishing is carried out to size the blade accurately. The habaki of the samurai sword (blade collar) is fitted.
	6. Finishing: Careful final polishing and fine finish work are carried out on the various surfaces of the samurai sword to define ridgelines and bring out the beauty of the hamon.

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION:

	Saya: The saya of the samurai sword is carved from two pieces of wood to match the length, width, thickness and curvature of the finished blade. The two halves are then wrapped in cambric and lacquered numerous times. Final polishing gives the saya finish a high gloss.
	Tsuka: The handle core is comprised of two pieces of hardwood carved to tightly fit onto the tang. Channels are carved into the sides to facilitate the fitting of two panels of ray skin. The entire handle of the samurai sword is then wrapped with high quality woven cotton or silk, depending on the sword being fitted, while small paper triangles are used to help shape the wrap correctly. The Menuki and Kashira are added during this process.
	Sageo: The sageo of the samurai sword is typically woven of high quality cotton or silk to match the handle wrap. In some cases, the sageo is still woven by hand (see Paper Crane). This process requires many hours of skilled hand labor but allows thematic designs to be worked into the samurai sword sageo.
	Assembly: Finally all the pieces of the samurai sword can be assembled and the handle securely fastened to the tang. This is accomplished by drilling the handle and the tang together in two places and inserting bamboo pegs (mekugi) to pin the handle to the tang of the samurai sword.

The Parts of a Katana:

A complete set of Samurai weapons are called the daisho. These were swords that were worn together with the blades facing up. However, many of the warriors did not have the funds to buy the wakizashi and tanto blades at the same time. Instead they would purchase them piecemeal. Finding a true daisho is very uncommon today because of this practice.

SwordsOfTheEast.com is your source for Japanese swords for sale. Many of the modern day sword makers create their Japanese Samurai swords in the same way that ancient swordsmiths did. Though not cheap, these beautifully crafted weapons are still used in the study of martial arts, in some Far East police work and have become the focal points of many artistic weapon displays.

Japanese Samurai swords are forged in fire

Thought of as the weaponry of ancient Japan, katana are actually forged using Chinese methods of sword making. The metal is repeatedly heated, then folded and hammered into shape. Thaitsuki Nihonto is an example of a modern forge that uses traditional forging techniques in making their Japanese samurai swords. The folding technique was found to homogenize the blades' carbon content. It was, and still is, very labor intensive, however, this is still the preferred method. Once the steel was forged, the back would be coated with clay to cool more slowly.

This creates a curve that makes the sword very resilient and gives a very good cutting edge. If you are looking for Japanese swords for sale that still use these forging methods we can help. Simply browse by forge to find blades that are made in traditional fashion.