Katana swords of Japan

The history of the Katana starts in the Moromachi period witch starts in 1392 and go's thought 1573. Battle conditions requiring a much faster response time is what opened the door for this sword. The Katana was worn with the blade facing up. The reason for this is when in battle you could take your sword out and in the same motion cut your appoint at the same time.

The history of the Katana starts in the Moromachi period witch starts in 1392 and go's thought 1573. the conditions of battle started to needing a faster response time and this opened the door for the Katana. The Katana was worn with the blade facing up. The reason for this is when in battle you could take your sword out and in the same motion cut your appoint at the same time. And in battle this was a huge advantage over the swords that where facing down. The length of this sword can very depending when it was made. In the in the late 14th and 15th centuries it would have been around 27.6 to 28.7 inches, but in the 16th century the length would have been much closer to 23.6 inches, and then later in the same century it jumped back up to 28.7 inches.

The Katana is most often carried with a shoto. it is a much shorter sword but very similar in looks. the warrior class also known as the Samurai would have worn these two swords. The katana was made from a tang blade, and as the name suggests it comes from the tang Dynasty witch is Chinese. It was very common in these days for Japanese scholars to study in China. So the Japanese took the Chinese tang blade and gave it a curved blade. The curved blade is the only characteristic that sets the two apart. It is said that the katana is a combo of the tang with the blade style of a Arabian sword meaning the curvature.

The making of these swords was very specialized. The steel is called Tomahagane. it is a Combination of low carbon steel and high carbon steel. The front of the swords are made with high carbon steel for the reason that high carbon steel is very sharp and holds a edge. The set back is that it is very easy to brake. This is why the back of the sword is made with low carbon. It does not hold a edge but is very malleable and can take the impacted of the opposing sword. So these to steels put together are a very sharp and strong combo. The curve of the Katana happens while quenching. This is also the time when the distinct swerving line gets put on the sword and this is call the Hamon and is the forger's signature.