![]() This gives you the hardest and sharpest blade without any brittleness. It’s the area where the hard and sharp edge meets the soft and flexible spine. Have you ever seen that wavy line that runs through the middle of a katana blade? That’s the hamon. Plus, katanas are special because of their hamon. You get swords that break on impact… or swords that don’t look good at all. When you put those above crafting the best possible katana, you get poor results. But the whole idea of mass production was to make the swordmaking process easy, fast, and cheap. Mass production can be high-quality, yes. There’s so much more care that goes into a hand-made sword than a mass-produced one. “It’s difficult to find a good katana that isn’t ” You’ll get a better idea of what works for katanas there. If you want one for display, stainless is better.Ĭheck out my article on the 30 most popular steel types of knives and swords. The rule of thumb is if you want a katana for cutting, get high carbon steel. That said, you don’t want to just get any modern steel. Good modern steel trumps Tamahagane every day. Of course, purists will insist that if it’s not Tamahagane, your katana isn’t authentic. Otherwise, their swords would’ve been full of impurities. Japanese swordsmiths didn’t choose Tamahagane because it’s the best, they were forced to use it because it was all they had.Īnd the whole folding and refolding of Tamahagane? They HAD to do that. Here’s why… medieval Japanese didn’t have a choice.īecause of Japan’s geology, they can’t produce superior steel. If it’s bad, why did the Japanese use it for katanas? And why do some people worship it? There go the people that insist Tamahagane is some sort of magical steel. In fact, it’s pretty bad compared to modern steel. Tamahagane is not the best steel in the world. Heck, it doesn’t even matter if it isn’t hand-forged (although it’s difficult to find a good katana that isn’t).Īs long as it’s a good katana, it’s an “authentic” katana. It doesn’t matter what type of steel is used. To me, any katana that excels at both of these is already an authentic katana. ![]() ![]() Katanas are famous for their strength and cutting ability. Of course, I’m not going to leave you like that. If you’re looking for an authentic katana, you decide what qualifies and what doesn’t. You can see why there’s so much confusion. Others say it doesn’t matter where the katana was made… as long as it uses Tamahagane forged by hand.įinally, some say that steel doesn’t matter. To them, if you take any of these away, it’s no longer an authentic katana. So how do you spot a good katana? What is an Authentic Katana?īefore we jump into the details, let’s clear the most confusing thing about katanas first…įor purists, only hand-made Tamahagane katanas forged in Japan are authentic. ![]() Is a $10,000 katana 10x better than a $1,000 one?Īnd if not… where do you draw the line between an authentic katana, a quality katana, and a fake katana? What Makes a Good Katana?Īdvertisers make it extremely difficult for you to choose a good katana.Įvery single manufacturer will tell you their katanas are “authentic”… even if they aren’t. How much better are expensive katanas compared to cheap ones? That’s why you can find katanas at $20, all the way up t $20,000. ![]() Is it what they’re made of? Is it how they’re made? Is it where they’re made?Īll these have an effect on the katana’s price. ![]()
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