Making a Katana

The steps below illustrate the main stages in creating a katana

A wall hanging display is available which contains blades from each stage of the creation process, see below for more information

	1) Rough Forging The blade is formed by hot forging a billet of high-carbon steel. The repeated hammering provides an even dispersion of carbon throughout the steel for uniform strength of the finished blade.
	2) Rough Shaping The scale is removed and the blade is shaped roughly to the required dimensions. At this stage, the steel is still in the annealed (soft) state and the blade is straight.
	3) Clay Covering A special clay is applied to the blade by hand, using a thin covering near the edge and a thicker layer over the rest of the blade. This results in a relatively quicker cooling of the edge during quenching, producing a hard edge and softer back.
	4) Quenching This is a critical part of the operation. The blade, with its clay covering, is heated to a predetermined temperature and quenched in a water bath. The shape and continuity of the hamon, the sori (blade curvature), and blade straightness are all determined by the care and skill exercised in quenching.
	5) Sizing The sori is adjusted if necessary, to set the point of balance and point of percussion, and de-scaled. Rough polishing is carried out to size the blade accurately. The habaki (blade collar) is fitted.
	6) Finishing Careful final polishing and fine finish work are carried out on the various surfaces to define ridgelines and bring out the beauty of the hamon.
	Saya The saya is carved from two pieces of wood to match the length, width, thickness and curvature of the finished blade. The two halves are then wrapped in cambric and lacquered numerous times. Final polishing gives the saya finish a high gloss.
	Handle The handle core is comprised of two pieces of hardwood carved to tightly fit onto the tang. Channels are carved into the sides to facilitate two panels of ray skin. The entire handle is then wrapped with high quality woven cotton while small paper triangles are used to help shape the wrap correctly. The Menuki and Kashira are added during this process.
	Sageo The sageo is typically woven of high quality cotton to match the handle wrap. In some cases, the sageo is still woven by hand (see Paper Crane next page), this process requires many hours of skilled hand labor but allows thematic designs to be carried into the sageo.
	Assembly Finally all the pieces can be assembled and the handle securely fastened to the tang. This is accomplished with the addition of two bamboo pegs through the handle and tang.

Parts of a Samurai Sword

The large image below details every part of a samurai sword, giving the traditional name and the english translation

Katana Forging Process Display (OH2154)

This is an elegant display articulating the highly skilled process of forging and polishing a high carbon steel Katana blade. Each step in the process is clearly displayed and explained, using smaller (18½”) versions of Katana blades that have undergone exactly the same processes as full-sized blades. This display is both aesthetically pleasing and highly educational.