It's my first time buying a katana and I heard this is a solid website. Was just wondering if this is a good deal and whether it's worth buying or if there's a better alternative, thanks

https://www.hanbonforge.com/Katana/Damascus-Steel-Clay-Tempered-Blade-Brass-Hawk-Koshirae-Japanese-Samurai-Sword-Katana

u/wonderownsome asked in a comment "what makes a blade tired?" This is a great question, and I think the answer is both commonly misunderstood and too complicated to reasonably fit in a comment.

To understand what it means for a blade to be tired, it helps to go back to the process of yaki-ire — how a blade is quenched and tempered.

After the laminated steel has been roughly formed, it is coated with a layer of clay, which is thicker on the body and thinner on the edge. The blade is then heated and plunged into a water bath. (Note that the exact temperatures here were some of the most closely guarded secrets of ancient smiths!) The clay acts as an insulator, so the edge cools faster than the body. The edge then "freezes" into an irregular – and thus very hard – steel structure called martensite. The body cools slower, and can form into a more regular, softer, tough structure of ferrite and pearlite. The boundary between these forms the hamon.

This process introduces a lot of stress into the blade. For even the best smiths, 20% of blades fail yaki-ire, crack, and have to be discarded. To relieve the internal stress, the blade is tempered over lower heat. The blade goes to see a _togishi_ for polishing. And that is how we end up with a beautiful, traditionally-hardened blade.

So how does the blade become tired from here?

Whenever a blade is polished, we necessarily have to remove some amount of metal. Remember, the key thing about quenching is that fast cooling leads to hard martensite, and slow cooling leads to tough pearlite. The steel at the original surface of the blade cooled down faster than the steel a few atoms down. So the more we polish down the blade, the more original martensite we remove. Eventually, as the martensite is worn away, the hamon will stop being bright and clear. This is the most important element in whether a blade is tired.

But wait, what about weak spots in the jigane?

It's true that when you polish a blade, you don't just remove material from the edge -- you also remove material from the body. This will gradually remove the top pearlite layers, and eventually expose the softer shingane (core steel) in the blade, if it's present. Rai-school work is famous for "Rai hada" which are patches of exposed shingane beneath a thin "jacket" steel layer. This also shows up in Shintō-era swords from Hizen (which used Kamakura-era Rai as their model).

This exposed shingane is considered a minor matter in Rai blades as long as the hamon is healthy. For Shintō blades, the standards are higher. These blades are 250-ish years old, not 700-ish years old, and they didn't have to be carried through battlefields. They have seen far fewer polishes, and so we expect them to be healthier. A Hizen-tō with no exposed shingane is definitely preferred over one that does have some showing through, but it's not a fatal flaw.

Similarly, we don't generally look favorably upon Shintō blades with ware and whatnot. But this is overlooked as trivial in Kotō. And either way, it's a rather different matter than being tired.

If this seems arbitrary, maybe try thinking about it this way. Blades with weak spots in the jigane might be cosmetically less appealing, but blades with a dim hamon are structurally less fit for their purpose. Nihontō as an art is, at its heart, all about form following very purely from function — and a blade that is not fit for purpose is weak by definition.

Has anyone dealt with with https://tokyo-nihonto.com/collections/authentic-japanese-swords before? Are they legit?

These are a set that I bought a while back, they are better quality practical swords. Unfortunately I had to move for a better job. Where I moved originally there was no space so these spent some time in storage. Now that I have a house I took them out of storage and when I usheathed the katana, it had this spots on the tip. Any tips (pun intended) in how to clean or fix this?

Hello, I've started practicing in Kenjutsu and would like to find a decent, robust cutter that will be effective and reliable.

I've found two options so far, please give me advice or recommendations! Thanks. 1: https://www.kultofathena.com/product/autumn-leaf-katana/ 2: https://www.kultofathena.com/product/iron-tiger-forge-practical-cutter-series-yottsudomoe-katana-1095-through-tempered-katana/

I placed a custom order from Swords Of Northshire on March 20th with the understanding that my katana would be shipped with 3 weeks. I contacted them after two weeks just to check on the status of my order. They told me that i would be receiving pictures of my blade within 2 weeks. Two weeks came and went and no pictures arrived. I contacted them again 3 days ago and told them that i hadn't received pictures. I was told that they were looking into it and they would get right back to me. I have yet to hear anything. I purchased from them, willing to pay a bit more than ordering from Ryan Sword directly, on the condition that they offered excellent customer service. Not so much. Anyone else have any experience with SON? I'm beginning to get worried.

this symbol was around the handguard of the Katana we bought. Can someone tell me what it is/ what it means?

https://preview.redd.it/lbiikkt5bhwc1.png?width=1137&format=png&auto=webp&s=261a51e86153b3e7619a8f6d9ee71d004ac43146

I am told that the signature says sukemune. Any info would be appreciated like who the smith is and when it was made. The blade is quite long and pretty thin compared to other katana I own. I can only add one picture to the post so if more are needed a can post more in the comments. Backstory: The sword was taken as a trophy in Indonesia during the war.

In the European repro sword market there are a lot of makers who use modern materials but in a specific a historical form, both for blade form and hilt fittings. But seems like most modern Katana makers (regardless of their blade construction) seem to offer cheap cast Edo-esque or modern minimalist hilt furniture. Where could I get a reasonable priced Katana with appropriate fittings for the Muromachi period?

I am a novice sword collector and I am looking to add a budget through hardened katana to my collection. The title is my current consideration for the Ronin Dojo Pro or something from Cloudhammer. Does anyone have any experiences with these two brands, or have a recommendation for something similar? Thank you,

The Samurai Museum shop… Does anyone know if this is legit? They have antique blades ranging from $3,000-$50,000usd. Anyone bought from here?

Pics: https://imgur.com/gallery/i8lzkwV

real Damascus with tanto end Anyone recognize the signature?

Does anybody have any good suggestions for websites and/or dealers that sell good quality and/or authentic Katanas? I’ve been looking to get one recently and would like to hear y’all’s opinions on where to begin searching

Hello can anyone tell me a bit more about this particular sword made by Hanwei, I would like to know when they used to make these and if there an estimate on how many were made. And if these discontinued swords have any value.

https://preview.redd.it/e821u8jok9wc1.png?width=5120&format=png&auto=webp&s=c3e3708d4d33afa29ba4a69e78f340e8ac5b6b4d

https://preview.redd.it/r5p9p7ami9wc1.png?width=5120&format=png&auto=webp&s=97426238934dd88cb648151eb4c8dfccd7ab2074

https://preview.redd.it/e9diivw9j9wc1.png?width=5120&format=png&auto=webp&s=3fc71243ec6715c25e7a50ef5cface6b3402d90c

Hi, I'm about to offer a katana to a dear friend. I'm looking for a traditional way to offer it. Should it be in a package or nude? Is there a proper gesture to adopt while giving it?

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Thank you

Every time I hear someone say "on god" I think they're saying "on guard" and I draw my sword. Better to be safe than sorry!

Hello all, I am looking at getting my first Katana and obviously Hanbon Forge is very popular here due to the level of customization they offer. This is also very appealing to me, but going through the process some questions did come to mind as I'm likely one and done for a while so I want to get it right.

• Blade Type: Usually I'm a big supporter of the idea "you get what you pay for". This leads me to look towards the 1095 Clay Tempered, the Folded Steel Clay Tempered or the Kobuse blade. I would gladly pay for Kobuse if it meant I got a better blade, but I also want to ensure I get my moneys worth. In your opinion(s), is Kobuse worth it, is it truly a more traditional forging method? If not, what about Folded Clay Tempered vs 1095 Clay Tempered?
• Hamon: Can you specify what style of hamon you want? Are the styles they offer listed somewhere on the site that I happened to miss?
• Has anyone requested a Tsuba that isn't listed on their full customization page? How did that go?
• Are there different levels of polish? Any other levels of customization you might not see from the "custom katana" page?

I would also be very interested in hearing from anyone who may have HBF custom katana and some other popular brand and what they think of them in comparison.