The Katana or Samurai Sword may be a weapon surrounded by mystery and folklore and is understood round the world for its deadly sharpness and cutting ability. Historically the katana was the weapon of choice for the samurai of feudal Japan. The slender, curved blade with its single leading edge gives the katana its distinctive appearance. Katanas have square or circular hand guard, an extended grip for grasping with two hands, and a blade that's a minimum of 60 centimeters long.
In absolute terms the Japanese word katana are often wont to describe any single edged sword - it doesn't even need to be of Japanese origin. However, in Modern English usage the word katana refers exclusively to the sword of the samurai.
The katana first appeared within the Muromachi period (1392-1573) as escalating battle conditions required simpler weapons. The katana allowed the samurai to draw their sword and cut their enemies during a single swift motion which the new sword made possible because it's worn with the blade facing up.
The true great thing about the katana is in its expert construction. the Japanese had an understanding of metallurgy that was much more advanced than anything that Europeans were doing at the time. An authentic Samurai sword is formed from a kind of steel referred to as Tamahagane. Tamahagane is formed from a mix of high and low steel , each of which has their own strengths and weaknesses. Steel with a high carbon content is harder and ready to hold a pointy edge but is brittle and susceptible to breaking. Steel with a coffee carbon content is more malleable which makes it better for absorbing impact but also makes the sting easily blunted.
The genius of the normal samurai sword maker was to mix both sorts of steel during a single weapon. This was typically done by making the fringes of the sword from high steel and therefore the inner core from low steel . the method of making one sword from two pieces of metal was done by making a U-shaped bar from high steel and putting a length of low steel into the U and hammering them together into one piece of metal. Over a period of several days the piece of combined steel is heated, folded, and hammered. Generally speaking the katana was folded a maximum of 16 times before being hammered into the essential shape of a sword.
This process forces impurities out of the metal and also creates microscopic imperfections within the molecular lattice adding strength to the metal. That's difference between forged and cast metal, forged metal has been hammered into shape and is far stronger than cast metal which has only been made molten and poured into a form (cast) and allowed to harden. Get more info about katana sword.
At this stage the katana would have had little or no curve which was actually created with a clever system of quenching. This was done by employing a clay slurry, the formula of which was unique to every sword maker, to insulate the blade in varying degrees. By putting a thicker coat on the spine and a thinner coat on the sharp edge a heat gradient might be created. This caused the blades edge to be hardened by the quenching while the spine, with its thicker insulation, was allowed to chill more slowly and underwent less strain. The slow cooling would cause the spine edge to shrink slightly and over the course of several heating and quenching cycles would create the gentle curve that's so closely related to the Japanese katana. For more info about custom sword, Visit here: https://www.shinken-sword.com/
Traditionally crafted Japanese katana are available today but they're prohibitively expensive with their costs exceeding many tens of thousands dollars in some cases. However, quality reproductions made with contemporary manufacturing techniques are available at reasonable prices from many places that sell martial arts supplies.