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MONOSTEEL Katana Construction
of a CAS / Hanwei / Paul Chen
Japanese Samurai sword .
This is a quick outline of the many
steps involved in creating a high quality monosteel (non-folded)
Katana samurai swords.
BLADE CONSTRUCTION:
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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:
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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:
Samurai
Sword forging information - Click Here |
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