Currently we are working on a massive project that will be coming out in 2012 and mucho amounts of homework is being done to make things just right. One aspect of this project happens to involve samurai's, so we have been diggin' into all things Japanese and came across this video which is the epitome of the warrior spirit. A buddy of ours is a black smith and a few years back gave us a run down on sword making and what also separates the wheat from the chaff, when when it comes to types of metal, carbon content and blade styles used to create knives and swords the proper way. Needless to say it was quite informative and also gave us our logo, as the blacksmith also forged our infamous Wrench Knife from a Craftsman 15/16ths box end wrench as a random gift.
As far as the project goes, details will become more plentiful in a few weeks, but it involves links to several hugely popular bands, warrior spirit and a metal album that could potentially shake up rock radio on Sirius XM Octane and Liquid Metal. Yep, its huge and we are damn stoked to be a part of it. While getting into the mindset of the album for new artwork, we are exploring a plethora of areas involving warfare. The first video being created is based upon the Samurai, so below is quite a bit more info on sword making as that was the Samurai's weapon of choice.
For more info on Japanese armour and sword making here are some links and credits. Also, do yourself a favor if you are ever in New York City. Go to the MET Museum and take a look at their sword collection. You get to see all the cool ornate swords and the craftsmanship and then there is one in the collection that will make you start to sweat. It is nicked from stem to stearn and looks to have seen more battles than any of us might know, especially when it comes to hand to hand combat.
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| Red Samurai Armour, photo courtesy of James R. Miller |
In modern times the most commonly known type of Japanese sword is the Shinogi-Zukuri katana, which is a single-edged and usually curved long sword traditionally worn by samurai from the 15th century onwards. Other types of Japanese swords include: tsurugi or ken, which is a double-edged sword; ōdachi, nodachi, tachi, which are older styles of a very long single-edged sword; wakizashi, a medium sized sword; and the tanto which is an even smaller knife sized sword . Although they are pole-mounted weapons, the naginata and yari are considered part of the nihontō family due to the methods by which they are forged.
Japanese swords are still commonly seen today; antique and
modernly-forged swords can easily be found and purchased. Modern,
authentic nihontō are made by a few hundred swordsmiths. Many
examples can be seen at an annual competition hosted by the All Japan
Swordsmith Association, under the auspices of the Nihontō Bunka Shinkō Kyōkai (Society for the promotion of Japanese Sword Culture).
Blade
Each blade has a unique profile, mostly dependent on the swordsmith
and the construction method. The most prominent part is the middle
ridge, or shinogi. In the earlier picture, the examples were flat
to the shinogi, then tapering to the blade. However, swords could
narrow down to the shinogi, then narrow further to the blade, or even
expand outward towards the shinogi then shrink to the blade (producing a
trapezoidal shape). A flat or narrowing shinogi is called shinogi-hikushi, whereas a fat blade is called a shinogi-takushi.
The shinogi can be placed near the back of the blade for a longer,
sharper, more fragile tip or a more moderate shinogi near the center of
the blade.
The sword also has an exact tip shape, which is considered an extremely important characteristic: the tip can be long (ōkissaki), medium (chūkissaki), short (kokissaki), or even hooked backwards (ikuri-ōkissaki). In addition, whether the front edge of the tip is more curved (fukura-tsuku) or (relatively) straight (fukura-kareru) is also important.
The kissaki
(point) is not a "chisel-like" point, nor is the Western knife
interpretation of a "tanto point" found on true Japanese swords; a
straight, linearly-sloped point has the advantage of being easy to
grind, but it bears only a superficial similarity to traditional
Japanese kissaki. Kissaki have a curved profile, and smooth
three-dimensional curvature across their surface towards the edge -
though they are bounded by a straight line called the yokote and have crisp definition at all their edges.
Although it is not commonly known, the "chisel point" kissaki
originated in Japan. Examples of such are shown in the book "The
Japanese Sword" by Kanzan Sato. Because American bladesmiths use this
design extensively it is a common misconception that the design
originated in America.
A hole is punched through the tang nakago, called a mekugi-ana. It is used to anchor the blade using a mekugi, a small bamboo pin that is inserted into another cavity in the handle tsuka
and through the mekugi-ana, thus restricting the blade from slipping
out. To remove the tsuka one removes the mekugi. The swordsmith's
signature mei is placed on the nakago.
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| Kissaki (blade tip or point) of a tachi blade, Bizen school, signed Bizen Kuni Osafune Yoshikage; Nambokucho era (14th century). |
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| The habaki (blade collar) which locks the blade into the saya (scabbard) is visible just under the tsuba (hand guard). |
Early Sword History
Before 987, examples of Japanese swords were straight chokutō or jōkotō and others with unusual shapes. In the Heian period (8th to 11th centuries) sword-making developed through techniques brought over from China through trade in the early 10th century during the Tang Dynasty and through Siberia and Hokkaidō, territory of the Ainu people. The Ainu used warabite-tō (蕨手刀)
and these influenced the nihontō, which was held with two hands and
designed for cutting, rather than stabbing. According to legend, the
Japanese sword was invented by a smith named Amakuni
(ca.700 AD), along with the folded steel process. The folded steel
process and single edge swords had been invented in the early 10th
century Japan. Swords forged between 987 and 1597 are called kotō (古刀)
(lit., "old swords"); these are considered the pinnacle of Japanese
swordcraft. Early models had uneven curves with the deepest part of the
curve at the hilt. As eras changed the center of the curve tended to move up the blade.
The nihonto as we know it today with its deep, graceful curve has its
origin in shinogi-zukuri (single-edged blade with ridgeline) tachi
which were developed sometime around the middle of the Heian period to
service the need of the growing military class. Its shape reflects the
changing form of warfare in Japan. Cavalry were now the predominant
fighting unit and the older straight chokutō were particularly
unsuitable for fighting from horseback. The curved sword is a far more
efficient weapon when wielded by a warrior on horseback where the curve
of the blade adds considerably to the downward force of a cutting
action.
The tachi is a sword which is generally larger than a katana,
and is worn suspended with the cutting edge down. This was the standard
form of carrying the sword for centuries, and would eventually be
displaced by the katana style where the blade was worn thrust through
the belt, edge up. The tachi was worn slung across the left hip. The signature on the tang (nakago)
of the blade was inscribed in such a way that it would always be on the
outside of the sword when worn. This characteristic is important in
recognising the development, function and different styles of wearing
swords from this time onwards.
When worn with full armour, the tachi would be accompanied by a shorter blade in the form known as koshigatana ("waist sword"); a type of short sword with no hand-guard (tsuba) and where the hilt and scabbard meet to form the style of mounting called an aikuchi ("meeting mouth"). Daggers (tantō), were also carried for close combat fighting as well as carried generally for personal protection.
The Mongol invasions of Japan
in the 13th century spurred further evolution of the Japanese sword.
Often forced to abandon traditional mounted archery for hand-to-hand
combat, many samurai found that their swords were too delicate and prone
to damage when used against the thick leather armor of the invaders. In
response, Japanese swordsmiths started to adopt thinner and simpler
temper lines. Certain Japanese swordsmiths of this period began to make
blades with thicker backs and bigger points as a response to the Mongol
threat.
By the 15th century, the Sengoku Jidai
civil war erupted, and the vast need for swords together with the
ferocity of the fighting caused the highly artistic techniques of the Kamakura period
(known as the "Golden Age of Swordmaking") to be abandoned in favor of
more utilitarian and disposable weapons. The export of nihontō reached
its height during the Muromachi period when at least 200,000 nihontō were shipped to Ming Dynasty
China in official trade in an attempt to soak up the production of
Japanese weapons and make it harder for pirates in the area to arm.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, samurai who increasingly found a need
for a sword for use in closer quarters along with increasing use of
foot-soldiers armed with spears led to the creation of the uchigatana, in both one-handed and two-handed forms. As the Sengoku civil wars progressed, the uchigatana evolved into the modern katana, and replaced the tachi as the primary weapon of the samurai, especially when not wearing armor. Many longer tachi were shortened in the 15th-17th centuries to meet the demand for katana.
The craft decayed as time progressed and firearms were introduced as a decisive force on the battlefield. At the end of the Muromachi period,
the Tokugawa shoguns issued regulations controlling who could own and
carry swords, and effectively standardized the description of a nihontō.
