You can easily recognize a katana sword because it has a curved blade. It also has a single-edged blade and other features. The sword comes with a guard that can protect your hand from the blows of an opponent. This guard can also prevent your hand from getting on the blade while attacking. Besides the guard, a Katana sword also has a handle. Remember that katana used to be one of the samurai’s gears. This article discusses how you can buy the best katana sword.
The materials
You can know that you are buying the right katana swords for sale by touching it. On the other hand, if you decide to purchase a sword online, then there are also other ways you can use to determine its quality. The main thing is to check the blade, meaning it has to be made of high-quality steel.
Traditional Samurai swords were made of steel that was combined with carbon. There are various manufacturing techniques like folding or pattern welding that some manufacturers still use today.
You should note that high-carbon steel tends to be extremely hard. Therefore, this material was used to make the blade’s outer sheath as well as the edge. But low-carbon steel tends to be flexible to help to absorb the effects of the blows. Because of this, low-carbon steel was used at the center of the blade. Manufacturers would not use one type of steel, so they had to use different types that had different carbon content to get the required hardness and flexibility.
Look out for the Hamon
The blade production usually has the finishing process and it can include grinding and polishing. This defined the final curvature, the shape of the sword, and other important features of a blade. Whether it’s a grinder or polisher, they all focus on this finishing process. In most cases, the swordsmiths can do this process manually. Many katanas you find on the market are produced by machines, but this doesn’t mean that they are of lower quality.
It’s also a good idea to check if the sword went through the right hardening process. There is usually the differential hardening process, meaning various parts of the steel blade can be made to be harder than others. There is a greater hardness at the edge of the blade and lower hardness on the remaining parts of the blade. The change in hardness between different parts of the blade produces a surface effect known as Hamon.
If you decide to purchase an authentic sword, then you should check for the Hamon effect. There is usually a good combination of flexibility and hardness considering that they now use computer-controlled heat treatment and high-quality materials. Therefore, there is also a good chance that you can find high-end katanas that don’t have the Hamon effect. Before you buy a sword online, you should check the blade’s technical specification, meaning you should pay attention to its hardness and the steel used. Also, you must always buy a sword from a reputable supplier.
