Yakushima' Clay Tempered Hand Forged Katan

THESE ARE DECORATIVE ORNAMENTS, THESE ARE BLUNT AND DO NOT CONTAIN A SHARPENED BLADE.

'Yakushima' Minamoto Hand Forged Katana in 1095 High Carbon Steel.

This handmade katana is made of 1095 high carbon folded steel. Each blade is lovingly forged in fire and beaten until the impurities are removed from the steel, leaving only the finest blade. It is heat tempered in the traditional manner and quenched in oil and water. This blade is clay tempered to further improve the edge and durability.

The wooden handle is wrapped in genuine Stingray skin (Samekawa) before the traditional cotton handle wrapping (Tsukamaki).

The purpose of the clay tempering process is to further improve the sharpness of the edge and durability of the overall blade. It involves smearing clay on the blade during heating and quenching to offer a uniform hardness to the blade and remove weak points which can occur when the heating or quenching is less even. It also allows the smith, by placing the clay thicker on certain parts of the blade, to make the edge harder (thus more able to keep the famous razor sharp samurai edge) and the rest of the blade less hard but more able to absorb impact.