Guide to Making a Samurai's Katana

Samurai fought as Japanese militants for over 800 years. Saburau is a Japanese term that translates as service. Samurai were loyal court administrators or armed imperial guards. Samurai lived by a set of rules called Bushido and used one of the most deadly weapons ever made.

To make a katana sword six months and 15 men must heat, pound, cool, and curve tamahagane, or steel. Once made the sword is polished for weeks and decorated. For 3 days and nights 25 tons of iron-bearing river sand and charcoal are shoveled into a clay furnace, called a tatara. The charcoal is composed of carbon which is a key ingrediant in producing the perfect katana sword. The tamahagane is heated in the tatara to 2,500 degrees F. This scorching heat will melt the iron ore leaving steel. This high quality steel can cost up to 50 times more than regular steel that is heated using modern methods.

While the steel is being heated it is never allowed to become molten. About 0.5 to 1.5 percent carbon must be maintained within the tamahagane. Two types of steel are needed to make an authentic katana sword. A high-carbon tamahagane is very hard and creates the razor-sharp edge. A low-carbon tamahagane is very tough and is used for shock absorption. A sword made with just one type of metal would be dull or brittle.

After the heating is done removing impurities is the next step. A sword smith heats, folds, and hammers the iron and carbon together. This will draw out any impurities and is referred to as "slagging." If other elements are left in with the iron and carbon the sword will become weak. This job is slow and difficult like squeezing water from a rigid sponge. The sword smith is so skilled in his work he can judge the carbon concentration of the steel by the extent in which it yields to his pounding.

Forging is done after all impurities are taken out. Reheating and shaping is done with care. The hard-carbon steel is shaped into a long slight bend. Then, the-low carbon steel is shaped to fit onto the hard-carbon. Forging the hard and low carbon steels together will give the katana a sharp edge and a strong core.

The basic foundation of the katana is done, but now a protective coating must be applied. A thick mixture of clay and charcoal powder is enforced onto the blade's sides and dull back edge. The sharp edge of the sword is only lightly coated. This coating will help develop the sword's signature rippled detail called hamon. The sword is heated once more at 1,500 degrees F. If the sword is over heated it will crack.

Pull the katana from the fire and plunge it into cold water. This is called quenching and enables the bending process of the sword. The two tamahaganes must be contracted at the same rate or proper bending will not commence. This is where great skill is needed as one out of every three swords are wrecked.

Once the hard part is done polishing begins. A professional sword polisher cleans the sword for over two weeks. Special grinding and polishing stones are used that cost around $1,000 each and are treated like family heirlooms. Once the polishing is completed the sword may be decorated.

Extra metal decor is added to the sword's hilt and carpenters create a wooden scabbard. Gold, leather, stones, and other exotic materials are used on the katana sword. The katana was seen as the samurai's soul and treated with the utmost respect. The detailed process of katana making can be seen within the Bushido.

The Bushido is the samurai's code of conduct. A samurai must be humble, dignified, determined, enthusiastic, and fearless. The Bushido, known as The Hagakure or "Behind the Leaves," was written by a samurai-turned-Zen-monk named Yamamoto Tsunetomo. A samurai must not yawn or run from the rain was some advice given by Yamamoto Tsunetomo.

Some other common terms used in samurai culture were shogun, kamikaze, and seppuku. Shogun was a term used to describe a commissioned military leader. Kamikaze were storms that occurred to Genghis Khan's Mongol ships while fighting the out numbered Japanese. The kamikaze were known as "the winds of the gods." Seppuku was a ritual suicide performed in battle. Being killed by the enemy was dishonorable, but going down by one's own sword was apart of the Bushido.

The samurai culture died around the 1800s, but martial arts fighters can be seen as modern day samurai. Not in a military sense but they battle with honor and show respect afterwards. The Bushido is a way of life similar to Zen Buddhism. Katana swords are still popular among collectors and martial artists. The popular film Kill Bill as well as many Asian films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon always inspire the samurai spirit. "What is called generosity is really compassion. In the Shin'ei it is written "Seen from the eye of compassion, there is no one to be disliked. One who has sinned is to be pitied all the more." There is no limit to the breadth and depth of ones heart. There is room enough for all. That we still worship the sages of the three ancient kingdoms is because their compassion reaches us yet today," states Yamamoto Tsunetomo in The Book of the Samurai.

Source: pbs.org/wgbh/nova/samurai