Japanese Culture

Samurai swords come in a wide variety of types, sizes and styles. The chokuto is considered the first samurai sword, but was not created by the Japanese: the long, straight blade was actually...

A bayonet is any spiked-shaped weapon such as a knife, dagger or sword designed to fit over the muzzle of a rifle barrel, turning a gun into a spear. Bayonets provide a useful addition to rifles...

The traditional process for making an authentic Japanese nihonto or katana, the iconic curved sword of the medieval Samurai warrior, begins with the extraction of iron ore from the magnetite-rich...

A significant cultural icon both nationally and abroad, the "nihonto," or Japanese sword, has inspired sword enthusiasts around the world.

The samurai sword represents the pinnacle of sword design and manufacturing techniques. The Japanese blacksmiths of old solved the swordmakers' enigma, which is how to make a sword that's both...

A katana is a type of Japanese long sword. The word katana has in modern usage become the generic term for any long Japanese single-edged blade. The katana and its predecessor, the tachi, were...

The creation of a samurai sword, or katana, is far more art than science. Individual sword smiths have their own techniques, some of which have been handed down for centuries. The process starts...

The katana was the primary weapon of the Japanese samurai. The three foot long curved blade is widely believed to be the most perfectly designed sword ever constructed. Katanas are painstakingly...