13th Samurai Sword

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I had a request to post some photos of a sword I made a little while back...and the story behind it.
The sword is a fusion of a falchion and a katana of a very early type. The blade is made from a billet with 1300 layers. Every 13th layer is 52100. The wrap is silk, and the Koshirae is sterling and gold. The wrought iron tsuba is a crane. The habaki is inlaid in gold with the characters for "13" and the kashira is inlaid in gold with the characters for "Samurai". The gold menuki are the words "13th Samurai". Tsuka is Ho wood.

This sword is pretty big, but so well balanced that it is light in the hand. You can spin it one handed, or power cut with two hands. Nagasa is 23" and tsuka is is 13".

I am still playing with a pop-open back sheath that releases the sword with a push or a twist.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

More shots:

 

[Eric Kidwell]

Very nice Stacy.

 

[Frank Niro]

Lots of good work there Stacy !!! Frank

 

[Leethal Cutlery]

Did you do the pattern welding Stacy? Cool sword. I like that wakizashi I see there too. Super jealous

 

[David Stifle]

I had the opportunity to handle this sword at the Harrisonburg knife show in Virginia. It's amazingly fast and light in the hand, a blend of the middle and far east, with some intricate inlays and silverwork. Stacy's work is just superb. I was so impressed with this sword I asked Stacy to post some pictures, as I thought you guys would like to see it.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

I think you may get the hang of this yet

 

[kailand09]

I'm glad you had him post these pictures. Stacy, that is absolutely stunning. I wish I would have the opportunity to handle a piece of work like that some day.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I forgot to put the story behind the name.

Some will remember the movie "The 13th Warrior", where a group of Vikings went to the middle east and got an Islamic swordsman to help them defeat an mystical foe.
It was a Mid-east meets Scandinavian blend that made the whole more than the parts.
In this sword, there is a blend of Far-East and Mid-East, making a fast and wicked slicing sword. The hard 52100 13th layers give a biting edge to the tougher steels making the body of the sword. I have started a "book" to go with the sword. It has parchment pages telling the story of its manufacture and info on the materials. The covers are cedar and done in pyrography. It still needs a little touch up. Just to keep the book correct to the theme of the sword, it opens from the left.

The billet was made up by ABS Mastersmith Chris Marks for me, and was just a 5/8" thick by 1" bar of laminate. The sword was forged to shape, and finished by hand in the Japanese tradition.
The edge is only slightly sharp right now, as I have found that untrained people handling large and very sharp objects tend to drip blood everywhere. The grind is a continuous curve to the edge. The spine is a false edge from tsuba to tip. This could be called an iori-mune to the shinogi.

The wakizashi in the photo is one that was made for me by Chris Moss. I did some things to help him learn a few skills, and guided him in learning to make swords a bit. Then I helped him make his engagement ring for Gracie. The sword was a thank you. His skills are totally intuitive, and his swords are amazing. He is the only person I ever met who made his first knifemaking attempt as a wakizashi. It was stunning, and sold for quite a nice amount.