|
 The katana sword is believed to be ultimate cutting
weapon by many collectors of swords around the world. The katana sword is a
gruesome looking weapon and its history tells the story of a weapon designed
strictly for war, but ownership meant so much more to the samurai and
possessors. The katana was mostly made famous by the samurai who were
undoubtedly masters of sword warfare. The samurai could unsheathe their katana
and cut through just about anything with the precision of a surgeon in a matter
of seconds.
The katana was created by forging pieces of carbon
steel with tungsten and molybdenum inclusions together. They were then
heated
and pounded together. The steel would be folded many times and the
pounding
would continue for several days until almost all traces carbon were
removed
from the steel. Strips of steel were continuously added to the product
and hammered
hundreds of times. At this stage it is only slightly curved or may have
no
curve at all. The gentle curvature of a katana is attained by a process
of
quenching; the sword maker coats the blade with several layers of wet
clay
slurry which is a special concoction unique to each sword maker, but
generally
it is composed of clay, water, and sometimes ash, grinding stone powder
and/or
rust, that's why the blade often remained immersed into the muddy swamp
waters
for several weeks.
The next step of the katana creation process was to
temper the blade. This would be done by reheating the blade so
everything but
the edge would be reheated. The blade would be coated and covered by a
hardened
charcoal paste, clay and a powdered grinding stone. This would allow
only the
edge to be heated during reheating.
The edge of the katana would be heated to an
extreme
red hot glow. The edge only, would be dipped into cool water allowing it
to
cool much quicker than the rest of the blade. If cooled slowly, the
material
will break back down into iron and carbon and the molecular structure
will
return to its previous state. However, if cooled quickly, the steel's
molecular
structure is permanently altered. The reason for the formation of the
curve in
a properly hardened Japanese blade is that iron carbide, formed during
heating
and retained through quenching, has a lesser density than its root
materials
have separately. As a result, the blade is very flexible preventing
snapping
during combat. This also enabled the blade edge to be very fine. The
final step
was for the edge to be honed and sharpened even more to produce the
equivalent
of a razor.
After the blade is forged it is then sent to be
polished. The polishing takes between one and three weeks. The polisher
uses
finer and finer grains of polishing stones until the blade has a mirror
finish
in a process called glazing. This makes the blade extremely sharp and
reduces
drag making it easier with which to cut. The blade curvature also adds
to the
cutting power.
After the sword maker is finished polishing and
glazing the blade, he puts his signature on the hamon, a distinct
swerving line
of the blade curvature. The katana sword was highly prized and passed
from
generation to generation, with a special mention in the will. It was not
infrequent that the katana cost more than all other possessions of the
samurai
together. A true samurai would rather die of hunger (which,
incidentally, was
very rare) than part with his sword as katana was believed to contain
the soul
of the samurai. The katanas bearing forger's signature are highly valued
and
sought after by the collectors though not as a lethal weapon but as a
piece of
art.
The katana smith's job was done when he put his
signature on the blade. However, the blade is not the whole katana sword
which
can be viewed as a sort of meccano set where all pieces were
replaceable.
Moreover, various parts of the katana swords were made by different
artisans
each of them master of their own trade. For instance, only katana's
blade was
usually bequeathed, while all the remaining parts were furnished by the
next
katana owner. This was due to the belief that katana holds the samurai
soul and
therefore the sword has to reveal the soul of its current owner. As a
result,
one and the same katana sword could be «customized» to match its
holder's
attitude.
The tsuba is the katana's sword guard. Its
function is to keep the sword balanced as
it is held in a fight, and to prevent the wielder from slipping his hand
across
its blade and injuring himself. In a lot
of sword fighting techniques, the tsuba is also used to block an
incoming slash
from the opponent's sword. The tsuba was typically 1 inch to 2 inches in
diameter around the blade.
The tsuba can be of two types. One type is made of
iron and is called
tetsu. The other type is created using
softer metals like gold, copper and silver, or alloys. This other type
is called kinko. Both the tetsu and the kinko tsuba can be
adorned with carvings, cutouts or other kinds of decor. Tsuba can be
found in
all kinds of shapes, both regular and irregular. Artists specializing
in the crafting of tsuba
have license to be as whimsical as they wish on their work.
Since the samurai class is now gone and obsolete in
this modern era, tsuba have come to exist separately from the katana as
objects
of art. There are art collectors who
specialize on the tsuba and there are many schools of tsuba
craftsmanship in
Japan, with each school using methods that have been handed down for
generations. Some families in Japan who
have ancestors in the samurai class often hand down tsuba as heirlooms
depicting family mottos, seals and insignias in stylized designs. The
prices for
tsubas range from $300-400 to several thousand dollars.
Another popular collector's item related to katana
sword is menuka, a small metal figure inserted underneath the handle
string, a
sort of talisman to bring good luck to katana's owner. Collectors might
also
appreciate fuchi kashira - traditional fittings for the tsuka (the
handle of a
katana, approximately one-fourth to one-third the length of the blade)
that
help hold the tsuka together.
The katana was paired most often with the wakizashi
or
shoto, a similarly made but shorter sword, both worn by the members of
the
warrior class. It could also be worn with the tanto, an even smaller
similarly
shaped knife. The katana and wakizashi when paired with each other were
called
the daisho and they represented the social power and personal honor of
the
samurai.
The katana's unique design and in particular its
sharpness necessitate quite a few specialized precautions to handle it.
Failure
to observe these precautions can easily lead to damage to the weapon or
severe
injury.
|
