How to Make Samurai Katana Swords

Samurai katana swords are among the finest weapons ever created by man. The three-foot-long curved blade is designed to maintain contact with an enemy as a samurai cuts through him. The metal of a katana sword is a combination of soft and hard steel. This makes samurai katana swords strong, light and flexible. Making a samurai sword requires years of study, special tools and quality ingredients.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Black Sand
• Tamahagane steel
• Fire
• Anvil
• Hammers
• Blade Sharpener
• Clay
• Water
• Polishing Stones
• Tsuba
• Tsuka
• Habaki
• Sheath

1. Gather black sand from the beaches of Japan. This is the only sand used by samurai to make their swords. It has the perfect combination of elements to create "tamahagane." This is the special steel used in katana samurai swords. Fire the sand until it solidifies into tamahagane.

2. Forge two samurai katana blades of equal 3-foot lengths and one-inch thick out of the tamahagane. Pound, cool heat and repeat. Each time you do this, fold the steel in half and pound it flat again. This makes the steel dense and strong. Repeat this process 1,000 times for one blade and 2,000 times for the other. This creates one hard blade and one soft blade.

3. Form the hard blade into a the shape of a "U" if viewed from the end. Position the soft blade inside the U. Hammer the two blades together in this position until they are a single blade. This creates a hard top side edge and a soft inside edge.

4. Sharpen the soft inside edge until it is razor sharp. Leave the hard outside edge blunt and wider than the inside edge. This makes the katana both hard and soft. It gives the katana the strength to withstand punishment and the flexibility to withstand breaking.

5. Cover the katana sword with clay. Apply a very thick layer of clay over the hard outside edge. Apply a thin layer of clay along the sharp soft inside edge. This will allow the katana blade to heat and cool at different rates since the clay resists heat. This is vital to the bending process for the katana.

6. Heat the katana in a fire until it glows red. Rapidly cool the katana in a tub of cool water. Repeat this process several dozen times. As you do this you will notice the blade bending away from the sharpened side. Continue to do this until you reach the desired curvature of the katana blade.

7. Remove the clay and polish the katana blade with polishing stones. Do this until you can see your reflection in the blade.

8. Finish the samurai katana sword by adding accessories. Place a "tsuba" hand guard at the base of the sharpened blade. A wrapped "tsuka" katana handle goes below that for the hands. A "habaki" metal cap is placed at the bottom to hold the handle together. A sheath must also be customized to fit the samurai katana sword.

References

• Secrets of the Samurai Sword
• Punch and Kick Weapons

[kelsterg3]

on 8/19/2009 Wow. I love this article. I do not know if I will get to Japan very soon, but when I do I am bringing home some sand! 5* and recommended.

[michaelmulvania]

on 8/12/2009 Very interesting article. Thank you