My 3 cheap katanas blade differences.

Q

qtt87

Joined
Aug 20, 2014
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2
Hello!

I know almost nothing about Japanese Swords. I’ve recently inherited 3 Katana and was surprised to see how different the blades were from one another so I googled a bit and came to the conclusion that they were all cheap, but different levels of cheapness.

While googling I found this forum and decided to show the 3 blades to you to see if you can give an opinion or explanation of their differences. I’m just curious.

I uploaded high resolution pictures of them here: http://imgur.com/a/goeQU

I won’t dismantle them because I don’t think I’m capable without breaking something so I’ll just judge them based of the exposed part of the blade. Just as additional information, Katana A doesn’t have a Mekugi hole, Katana B has 1 white (plastic looking) Mekugi, Katana C has 2 wooden Mekugi.

Katana A is very blunt, Katana C looks kind of sharp like my cooking knives (doesn’t cut your finger if you touch it, yes I was an idiot and tried, but could probably cut something with enough pressure applied) but Katana B is kind of sharp too but has an “edge”, in the pictures you can see it because the flash makes it bright, but I think it’s more noticeable in the tip picture. Is that normal?

Also, how can I tell the kind of material without cutting something (and probably breaking them)? I read someone suggesting using a magnet to see if they attract it but the three of them did, is that good or bad?
Why is one of them fatter?

The “hamon” looks fake on all of them because it’s uniform, but it looks different on each blade. Can you tell how was it make and why are they different?

I also read a Katana has to be very polished to use them like a mirror, these are not polished, can I polish them? If so, how?

Thank you!
 
The Hamon look wire brushed... I'll link i little vid on how that look is achieved below... Just at first glance, Sword A and B look to be Stainless Steel and for display only. Sword C looks like it's the best quality judging the thickness of the blades spine and the fittings look decent. It's perhaps a 1045 Carbon steel blade. Check along the Tsuka (handle of the sword) for two pegs. If they are there, try to push them out and carefully remove the blade from the fittings. If successful in doing this, look at how far the blade extends into the handle. If it extends all the way into the bottom of the handle with 2 holes in the metal where the pegs hold it in place, then that is what we call a "full tang" sword, and it will be safe to use for practice cutting on light targets. If it has no pegs and you are unsure how far the tang extends, i'd pass on using it and just keep it for display.

I'm no expert in this field and i'm sure the good folk on here can fill you in more than i can, but that's my 2 cents, hope the info helps.

[video=youtube;7Q0DwFg7KTM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q0DwFg7KTM[/video]
 
ok, from the little I can see, yes, all three are "cheap", but katana three (C) may have an iron tsuba- good- and has a decent blade grind and a fuller- good. You mentioned it also has two wooden pins, great! Of the three, katana three may be a "practical" type katana, in other words, suitable for light (very light, as in water bottles,melons, etc) cutting practice, don't get crazy though, the blade steel may be inferior, it's likely carbon though so keep it oiled. The other two are stainless,most likely. katana B has one pin, plastic at that. Katana one is probably just epoxied in the tsukka (handle) and that isn't cool at all. Values likely range retail around very low for A and a bit over a bill for C, maybe less. All three are probably made in China.
 
Thank you for your answers!

About the fake hamon, what kind of Hamon is the one in the Katana A? Couldn't find any picture of a real Hamon like that. The B and C are both Notare or B is gunome?

I'm liking what I'm seeing about Katanas so much I'm even considering buying a fair quality practice one when I have the money.
 
I think you couldn't find a pic because a real version doesn't exist. When they "paint" the edge with clay, the smith uses a brush, and I've never heard of them laying a stencil on it, it's a freehand thing, like a signature. And Blake, your answer was just as good as mine. :) the fact that we have enough people in here with a modicum of knowledge and a few with an Outstanding, almost encyclopedic amount is what makes this one of the greatest places on the web, imho. ;)
 
For Katana A: Looks like nothing I can think of. Maybe a butchered completely off Midare gunome.

The B is gunome midare.

The C is gunome.
 
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