Katanas, Wakizashi's.. and Knives

A fair number of folks I've come across in their late teens and early to mid 20's seem to boast at having a "knife / katana / sword / dagger" collection, consisting of perhaps 3 pieces at most; even so, they tend to brag on and on without considering how insignificant such a feeble gathering of bladed weapons is.

Let's get started with some of my favorite knives, fanned out in order of classification. Starting left and moving clockwise from 09h00, we have a rubber-grip short-blade knife by Richardson Sheffield (measuring 7" / 18cm hilt to tip, 3" / 7.5cm blade), followed by a downward curved paring knife by Wilkinson Swords (7.1" / 18.2cm hilt to tip, 3.1" / 7.8cm blade), which afterwards highlights a peculiar, non-serrated, stainless steel steak knife without a stamp (8.6" / 21.5cm total length, 4.5" / 12cm blade).

Moving on to the wooden handled knives, we start off with a stainless steel Raptor Lock-Back knife (7.5" / 19cm hilt to tip, 2.8" / 7cm blade), an unstamped stainless steel small game skinning knife (8.1" / 21cm hilt to tip, 5" / 12.5cm blade), and finally my current pride and joy, a hefty unstamped stainless steel hunting knife with 3 ivory bolts (10.1" / 26cm hilt to tip, 5.8" / 15cm blade).

And what about more exotic bladed weapons? Take a gander to the right, at the exquisite design of this Chinese-styled Dragon dagger. Measuring 12" / 30cm from tip to hilt, and 7.2" / 18cm blade length, I can proudly say that the varnished wooden handle and elaborately decorated sheath are the pinnacle of highlighting such an elegant oriental weapon.

The two wakizashi's immediately below are unfortunately no longer in my possession, as they have found their homes amidst the private collections of close two close acquaintances of mine.




As you can see, they were fairly decent in their own rights; the one on the left was more particularly my favorite, being of a far steadier blade and construction than the one on the right.


I wonder who said that Katanas could only be made of metal? Oh, they can be made of anything, really, but then they usually acquire another name.


Above, is my black Wooden Katana, or more correctly termed, Bokken - 38" of sturdy, wooden weapon for training / self-defense purposes. It doesn't have a hilt guard, but still has a very graceful allure when being wielded, not too distant from its steel relatives.

Below: A ruined, low quality katana

Not everything called a "Katana" lives up to that name, as I found out with a bitter smile. Above, the remains of my imported 5-fold processed steel sword after it barely made a cut in a hardwood sapling; the variety of which I have successfully hewed down with other katanas / swords. I primarily attribute it to poor manufacturing, as I constistently utilize the horizontal-to-diagonal upwards cut to flow with the grain of my cuts; it has proven very effective time and again.

As with most weapon care, there are also basic requirements for cleaning katana's, swords, knives, tanto's, daggers, etc. - this can also be quite time consuming.

There are 4 primary steps in ensuring quality care: oiling / greasing, waxing, sharpening and blade integrity testing.

It really is quite straightforward, and the only points I can stress heavily are sharpening to flow along the grain (never against it) and being gentle when testing for damage / blade integrity; excessive tapping can worsen the blade's condition.

In closing, my current pride of my collection, a short, black, 38" single-handed Katana with an exceptional gleam on the blade, emphasizing its tensile strength, sharpness and experience of the manufacturer.

My other primarily featured katanas have sadly found their way into collector's hands in the past 2 years at the prospect of what seemed to be fair offers at the time. I do have a sad spot of regret in parting with them, especially a particular red and white "snow" blade.

To say the least, "so we learn".