Probably, in no corner of the world do they venerate weapons as they do in Japan. In the land of the rising sun, the blade is a jewel and a heirloom. The Japanese sword is a philosophy, an art. There are many varieties of this national weapon, and among them one can distinguish katana - the "long sword". Although now the Japanese name is any Japanese sword.
If you describe the Japanese sword Katana, then outwardly it resembles a saber. The difference is only in the shape of the handle and in the method of use. His handle, unlike a saber, is not bent, and it requires a two-handed grip. Mostly these weapons were worn behind the belt along with wakizashi. The total length of the sword is 1000-1100 mm. It came into use from the 16th century.
Perfect Melee Weapon - Japanese Sword
Collectors consider the samurai sword the most flawless weapon in the world. For them, katana is a materialized philosophy, a reflection of the world, frozen in metal. For the manufacture of this sword used a special iron ore with impurities of tungsten and molybdenum. To remove weaknesses, metal rods were buried for 8 years in a swamp, and only after this period the metal was sent to the forge for further processing. During this period, the rust ate the weak points.
Japanese sword - manufacturing process
The manufacture of a katana blade is often compared to the process of preparing puff pastry. The rods were first flattened into a thin foil with a hammer. The result was a multi-layered stack that was flattened again. This procedure was repeated again. It was in this way that it was possible to obtain numerous layers of a katana blade, which modern experts in edged weapons admire. Quenched steel blade in liquid clay. After quenching along the blade, a straight or bent line (jamon) was formed that distinguishes a real Japanese sword from a fake.
Then the blade was polished on nine circles of various grain sizes. The master’s blade was processed manually using fingertips, using charcoal as an abrasive. The famous master left his sign or name on the shank of the sword. Such a weapon is unusually valuable, as a rule, it was inherited and marked as a separate item in the will. It is not known how much a katana costs, but very often much more than all the assets of a samurai.
The value of the Japanese blade
A katana sword and wakizashi made in pairs are valued more than one Japanese sword. Of course, if we are not talking about ancient and unique katanas, the cost of which can reach a million dollars. Wakizashi is a small sword for ritual suicide. A real samurai must have a katana and a wakizashi.
Real Japanese katana have a number of unique characteristics. For example, the number of metal layers can reach up to 50 thousand, and some ancient swords are made with 200 thousand layers. The katana sword is a self-sharpening weapon, thanks to the orderly movement of molecules in the metal. Therefore, you can hang a sword with a blunt blade on the wall and after a while remove a blade that is absolutely sharp like a razor.