How much bend acceptable in Katana blade?

ferguson

ferguson

Joined
Feb 21, 2001
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I just received a used Hanwei Wind & Thunder katana. It has a slight bow in it, maybe 3/16" to 1/4 of an inch. Would this be safe to cut with? Would the presence of a slight bend make it more likely to bend? I'm new to Japanese swords so I don't know if this is acceptable or not.

Thanks,

Steve Ferguson
 
well, technically no bend at all is acceptable. even the slightest bend with prevent the sword from being drawn from the scabard in an iai stance. some may not agree but ive found that to be used in the manner it was intended to be used, a bend isnt acceptable at all.
 
By bend I assume that you mean the blade is bent rather then the curvature of the blade itself. Why would you keep a bent blade? I would ask the seller for my money back.
 
agree'd, as long as your not talking about the curvature as said (and not like a "ninjato") then get back to the dealer and demand a refund or replacement. A bend affects noto ALOT and even a little twist which you can get during tameshigiri will completely effect it, so don't heasitate to get back to them.
 
I agree 100% that blades used for cutting must not be twisted or curved to the side. They don't track through materials properly and large forces will be developed that warp the blades even more during powerful cuts. That's the reason that I no longer trust soft tempers in swords...they eventually suffer ductile failure and end up warped. A thick, rigid blade will overcome these problems.
 
a thick rigid blade adds resistence to a cut...edge geometry is everything, if you like swinging crow bars then thats your choice, but a sword shouldnt be thicker then it needs to be. Rigidity is a subjective thing, alot of katana smiths (non-japanese) can relieve the stress from the hamon to give alot of flex ability like a euro sword (john lundemo I know does this using a salt bath temper, i'm unsure of how howard clark does it).
 
I know conventional wisdom says that thicker blades have more drag, but I have blades over half an inch thick that sever free hanging 3" ropes (I can do 2) or stacks of 5 said ropes on a block. Edge geometry on my "Solid Class" blades is better than on many thin bladed knives. They are heavy and a little outrageous, but for pure cutting power on substantial materials I've seen little that comes close. I also have some thin swords (0.125-0.160") but not the skill to track them through my targets.
 
hmmm well if your happy with them, I'll get a howard clark L6, see who comes out on top ;)
 
How much curvature are you comfortable with?
There's no given amount of sori (sword curvature). Some japanese swords were straight, others were as curved as shamshirs, other again were slightly curved. The curve was evenly distributed along the blade in some cases, or very near the tsuka (sword handle) in others. They were made following the customer's directions and preferences.
 
ferguson said:
I just received a used Hanwei Wind & Thunder katana. It has a slight bow in it, maybe 3/16" to 1/4 of an inch. Would this be safe to cut with? Would the presence of a slight bend make it more likely to bend? I'm new to Japanese swords so I don't know if this is acceptable or not.
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I was looking at this post and wondering if the writer were refering to side to side bend?

Daniel
 
knightsteel said:
I was looking at this post and wondering if the writer were refering to side to side bend?

Daniel
Click to expand...

Yes Daniel, I was, not the natural curvature of the blade (sori?). Thanks for all of the replies. I bought the sword from a young lady on Swordforums. Perhaps I should have demanded my money back, but I bought the sword for considerably less than I have ever seen them sell for. The bend is such that the ordinary person would not even notice. Laid on the kitchen counter, there is about 3/16" of gap under the flat, about 1/3 of the way back from the tip. I suspect a bad cut by someone with much strength.

I'm not a swordsman and probably won't ever cut with it, but I abhor imperfection. It makes a pretty wall hanger.

Steve Ferguson
 
The side to side bend does make it much more vulnerable in any cutting. But it probably can be corrected. That little bend can usually (but not always) be torqued out without cracking the edge. But it needs to be done precisely the first time, otherwise you will end up with a series of small bends.

I could straighten it for you for postage both ways plus $20.
 
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