How old is my katana

Farewell- Tony. Blade Length by: Anonymous Take a wooden yardstick. With the zero end touching your chest between your pectorals, extend both hands fingertips pointing outward down the yardstick making a triangle. Where your fingertips stop will mark the optimal length for draw, control, and dexterity.

Sword for son by: Anonymous don't buy a kid a Katana, give him a stick, or a bokken, once he has matured enough and can weild the stick well a little training, actually a LOT would help then he can look at a sword.

Re Sword length, go to a teacher, see what he says, be guided by that, but the side body measurement is quite good. For the Nimnos that say you should always move up to a longer sword, bull shite, again, go to a master, ask the question, listen to the answer.

Got a sword at a gun Show. The blade is 27 inches and the handle is 12 inches. I'm 5"5' and have no issues with drawing the blade. At first the sword was to heavy. But after a week of practice the blade felt like swinging around a pillow.

Love the blade. Can't wait to get my second one this October. How to measure katana size properly real way by: Anonymous Sorry but most of you are wrong a katan length is measured buy how you can draw it from the saya. Fred Crislip 2 Posted June 2, Posted June 2, Hi, My brother found this katana buried in a backyard in Michigan. Link to post Share on other sites. SteveShimanek Posted June 2, Posted June 2, edited.

Edited June 2, by SteveShimanek. Thanks Steve, The only clean up that I did was in trying to be able to see the incriptions on the tang. Thanks again for your input! John Smith 4 Posted June 2, No remember this is my opinion but it is based on experience. Hey John, I thought that might be the case,the tang looks forged but, there are some things that just did'nt look "right" the fittings look like there pressed , the tsuba is made of cast brass and the habaki ain't quite right!

Thanks for your input Fred. Greg C. Just be sure to share the result Greg. Lee Bray 1 Posted June 3, Posted June 3, John is right. It is a Chinese fake. John Smith 4 Posted June 3, Kristinn J. Erlingsson 0 Posted June 3, That tsuba doesn't look "right" i am no expert but something is off about this sword. Sean McGrath 0 Posted June 3, SteveShimanek Posted June 3, Consider what the blade is made of.

If someone says the sword is carbon steel they probably don't know what they're saying, in this context Steel always has carbon in it otherwise it would be iron.

However, more generally, the term carbon steel is useful to distinguish non-stainless from stainless blades. A genuine ancient or functional Japanese blade would not be stainless, however. If it is stainless, it is almost certainly a modern reproduction designed to only be placed on a wall - it will have little value and will not hold an edge well, if at all. Learn how to check blade sharpness safely. If the blade has been properly maintained or is recently created for use some genuine modern blades do exist then ensure the blade is sharper than any kitchen knife you've ever known.

Be careful of cutting yourself! Check that the sword has a Mekuki a peg that holds the blade to the handle. Look for the line you see going through the back of the sword. This is called a fuller in Western blade parlance, and it is generally accepted that it is used to lighten the blade, and make it more flexible, while not weakening it.

Some other schools of thought suggest it exists so you could pull the sword out someones muscle and tissue which normally creates suction holding the blade in someones body in which case it is referred to as a 'Blood Groove'. Rarely it may have been be used to cut out an impurity in the metal. Check for shine and matte.

The back of the blade and the adjacent sides should be shiny there are katas which you use your katana to make sure no one is behind you by using the mirror-like surface of the sword , but the center and edge may be more matte but still reasonably polished and should have a wood-like 'grain' or water-like pattern think ripples or waves. These patterns are unique to each blade if genuine and not etched and are a major part of a particular blade's beauty and personality.

In ancient blades the pattern forms as a result of the layering and forging process, but in modern blades it may be 'fake' and a result of acid etching. Understand the age of the blade since Japanese blades can be classed by the 'era' in which they were crafted eg.

Gendo for blades made from As a rule of thumb the older it is the better quality it is likely to be, although the work of individual smiths is a major factor in this ie. On average these more recent blades would be worthwhile for training or souvenir purposes, but less so as a collectible. Do some research. If investing serious money then before you do so, get a good book on valuing antique Japanese blades, look at as many as you can to get a sense of them go to a museum , or best of all have the item assessed by a professional.

I have a stamped blade that starts with H and Japanese lettering behind the H. How do I verify if this is authentic when I don't know Japanese lettering? I tried to shine some direct light on Hamon to give you a better look.

Really not sure. Will see what people over at NY toke Kai think this weekend. Does this Hamon look odd as well? Yes, showing it to experts in person is an excellent idea. I can see some detail in your latest closeup shots, but really can't tell much more. Good luck! My preference is still to have a katana over wakizashi if possible. I would look around real hard at the Token Kai, Darius, because anything you buy there has an excellent chance of being legitimate. And this one may not be it Mumei unsigned Shinto blades are not as accepted as mumei koto, although there are some that say you should not buy mumei full stop and others like me not so fussy.

Its good that you are able to send back if not happy, I sent my first purchase back, after reading a few books, it opened my eyes. That book was "the samurai sword, a hand book". Its cheap, many other good starter books out there too. Alex, funny you mention it but that's exactly my first book and I've read through it a few times. Now I want facts and fundamentals of Japanese swords but it's so expensive.

Did it really become that scarce within the span of a year? Forget about that book, Darius. It's good, but not essential, especially at that ridiculous price. You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Paste as plain text instead. Only 75 emoji are allowed.

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