Metallurgy · History · Craft · Martial Arts
Guides, history and analysis focused on the Japanese katana — the curved, single-edged longsword that defines blade culture.
Katana
Maintaining a Japanese blade correctly is not complicated, but it requires consistency. Carbon steel — the material in all traditional nihonto and most quality production katana — will
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Katana
Understanding katana geometry — the precise vocabulary for describing a blade’s shape, curvature, cross-section, and proportions — is essential for collectors, practitioners, and anyone reading nihonto scholarship. A
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Katana
The hamon — the temper line that marks the boundary between a Japanese blade’s hardened edge steel and its softer spine — is the most visually and technically
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