Parts of a Japanese Sword - How the Parts of a Samurai Sword Work - Hardening & Tempering

Marc Ridgeway of http://torionsword.com/ discusses the parts of a samurai sword, how the sword absorbs shock, and why tempering is so important.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Japanese
• Samurai
• Sword
• Katana
• Test
• cutting
• Warriors
• Ninja
• Warrior
• Katana (comics)
• Swords
• Dynasty
• Ronin
• Dojo
• Elite

[Xhavan]

Does Ronin Katana make any differential hardened swords, or are they all through hardened?

[Roninkatanas]

@Xhavan The elite line is differentially hardened and laminated.

[AlanMolstad]

while Im on the topic:

I see a lot of American sword guys who do a cutting test by filling up empty plastic bottles and cutting them with a Katana.

I think we do this because it's showy . But does it actually mean anything?

The Japaneses came up with cutting floor mats to represent arms.

Thats a good way to judge a sword.

[Roninkatanas]

@AlanMolstad I agree, mats are a good test cutting target. Bottles are also important, as most backyard cutters wind up chipping their swords on the lids/caps of bottles. I've sent testers out to people for use against mats, bottles, wood, etc. My dojo customers are not chopping up 2x4s, but the backyard guys do. As a sword company owner I need to see what the swords can do, and also what the blades look like after abuse. 2x4 damage looks different than damage from a mat.

[RazorDsknives]

Was that a wakizashi sword on the stand? The dojo pro one? Also 1095 is just as tough as 1055, the destruction test on the cold steel gi tanto compared to the esee rc4 or cs srk are similar, but, on a longer blade i suppose it will make a difference with more stress. Will the 1045 hold an edge well?

[Roninkatanas]

@RazorDsknives I've sold 1045 blades as my entry level line for years without complaint of there being edge loss or rolling. It really is all in the heat treatment. I good heat treatment on a 1045 blade can harden the edge close to 50 on the Rockwell scale. A poor heat treatment on a 1060 blade can leave it with a hardness around 45.

And yeah, that is the pro wakizashi on the stand. I think the one Marc has disassembled is a pro as well.

[AlanMolstad]

@AlanMolstad how to tell a $30 to $50 sword from a $200 to $400 sword?

[AlanMolstad]

@TorionSword cool....

and the "estate sale" idea was just a "scenario"...but what Im getting at is the "chance/lucky encounter" with a sword.

The idea that we might one day spot a sword and need to judge it's merit very fast....treasure of junk?...

or what are the quality ranges to look for in even the economy swords?

[AlanMolstad]

@TorionSword we were out deer hunting, and my friend was disgusted with his new China-made gun.

He tossed it down and later my dad picked it up, and put 3 shots in the bulls-eye shooting it cold.

The drop on the ground fixed it?

or

The skill of the shooter made the difference?

Its the same with swords....

[TorionSword]

@AlanMolstad I won't be able to go to any estate sells and such... but later today I will make a video spelling out the differences in swords quality ranges. Watch my channel , or this one as I'm sure Chris will get it up soon.

[TorionSword]

@AlanMolstad Most students studying JSA who aren't very advanced aren't going to be allowed to practice cutting away from the dojo

[TorionSword]

@AlanMolstad True but whats wrong with that? Its good fun and it gives edge allignment feedback and sharpness feedback. There have been contests on at least one sword forum as to how many cuts people could get out of a bottle that involved sword makers like Angus Trim and some sword-art Instructers.. as far as I remember Sifu Restita DeJesus holds the record still. Here is a thread on it swordforum(dot)com/forums/show­thread(dot)php?54082-Pickle-Ch­ips-and-Pooching-the-Cut-What

[AlanMolstad]

@TorionSword very true, the most important thing you learn in any of the cutting test videos have really little do do with the sword itself, but rather it shows you the skills of the hands holding the sword.

Most swords are sharp, and so will cut miles of plastic, heck my lawnmower blade does that every time I mow.

[TorionSword]

@AlanMolstad And youre not going to either... again, it has nothing to do with appraising a sword. Value is in usefullness. Many people cut bottles for fun...  so there is usefullness. Most Japanese sword book aren't going to reccomend ANY sort of cutting, because they are dealing with 10k and up art swords ... in full art polish which alone costs thousands,. Today test cutting with tatami is mostly a test of technique ...