The Kaze (Wind) Wakizashi is the result of a clay tempered (hardened) blade using our 9260 Silicon Alloy Spring Steel. This sword is made as a companion sword to the full length Kaze Katana. It is finished with a replica of an antique blackened cast steel tsuba and uses the new bamboo/copper mekugi pin. The Kaze wakizashi and Ko Katana are currently only available with black ito wrapping. The blade body of the Kaze is a hand clayed and differentially heat treated 9260 silicon carbon spring steel. It is finished with a replica of an antique blackened cast steel tsuba submitted to us. This steel is stronger than our Kanbai katana, but does not have the same resiliency of the through hardened 9260. The gain from the clay hardening is that the blade has a smooth and elegant natural hamon (9260 does not generate the same hamon as the Kanbai katana). The 9260 is a silicon alloy which has a significantly increased fatigue resistance compared to standard 1060 carbon steel. The addition of 2% silicon changes the bahavior of the steel drastically for use in a katana.
This spring steel is most commonly seen in application on fencing foils where it needs to withstand a high degree of bend and still be able to return to center.
This is an excellent material for katanas. It is highly durable in most dojo applications and extremely resistant to bending and failures. The use of 0.6% carbon allows this blade to be sturdy enough for tatami omote yet forgiving enough to resist dangerous chipping on rigid targets.