Katana

Available with either aluminum or steel blade in a variety of Tsuba (guard) styles.

Our katana is offered with a more economical "unwrapped" leather grip as a base. Our wrapped grip is offered in either leather or a more historically accurate ray skin. Our blade is made in the Shobu-Zukuri style where the cutting edge curves smoothly into the point. 

The katana is a Japanese sword that belongs to the nihontō family of swords. It is characterized by a moderately curved, slender, single-edged blade of a length greater than 24 inches (61cm) with a circular or squared guard (tsuba) and a grip long enough to accommodate two hands. 

The katana came from an evolution of the tachi, a generally longer, lighter, and more curved japanese sword. The rise of the katana came from the ever changing nature of close-combat warfare. The tachi's difficulty in cutting through invading Mongol armor and the changing styles of combat amongst the samurai class are just a couple examples of this evolution.

The katana was worn thrust through a belt like sash, called an obi, with the blade facing upwards to allow for an extremely quick draw of the sword from its sheath. Ideally, a samurai could draw their blade and strike an opponent in a single motion. This was in contrast to the tachi, which was worn blade face down from a belt that had two hangers allowing for it to be worn horizontally.

With few exceptions, the tachi and katana can be distinguished from one another by the location of the maker's mark, or mei, on the tang. The mei was always carved onto the side of the sword that faced away from the wearer when worn. When blades started to be worn face up instead of down, swordsmiths adjusted the location of the mei accordingly. 

Leather Colors

Black	Brown	Burgundy

Rayskin Colors

Black	Burgundy

Specifications

Blade is either aircraft grade aluminum or solid carbon steel. Guard and pommel are both solid carbon steel. Tang and pommel are threaded with a recessed 5/16 retention nut for easy maintenance. 

Blade:  Length - 28" /  Width - 1.125" to .75"

Guard:  Length - 3" /  Width - 3"

Grip:  Length - 10" /  Diameter - 1.25"

Pommel:  Length - 1.25" / Width - .75"

Total Length:  39"

Weight:  34.6 oz / 2.16 lbs