John Lee Katsumoto Katana

John Lee Katsumoto Katana

Masterpiece of Asian forging
- The blade is hand-forged from 1095 Carbon steel (not stainless)
- Hon-Samrei cross-section
- To reduce weight the sharpened blade includes a fuller (Bo-Hi)
- Traditionally differentially hardened blade as a result of clay applied during the cooling process with an original, beautiful Hamon-line
- Suitable to cutting practice, 60 HRC at the ha and 40 HRC at the mune
- Tsuba made of iron with Samurai-motif
- The hilt (Tsuba) is made of wood and completed with original blackened ray-skin (Same)
- The tight hilt-wrapping from black cotton has been done in tradional Katate-Maki-style
- Habaki from brass
- The handle-end is particularly long and fastened to the hilt with 2 pins of bamboo (Mekugi)
- The sheath (Saya) is made of wood, decorated with an high-quality Sageo (wrapping)
- The ends (Koiguchi, Kurigata und Kojiri) are made of buffalo horn
- Manufacturing followed examples of museums

Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430 - 1473) was an important governor of the Shogun in the 15th Century and a central figure in the Japanese Onin-War. With more than 80.000 soldiers he fought against his father-in-law in the former capital Kyoto. After ten years of war Kyoto was destroyed, while none of them could claim victory for themselves.

Hand-forged in Hon-Samrei-style, one of the most complex forging methods, the blade consists of three differently hardened areas. The blade is made of hardened 1095 carbon steel, the flanks of less hardened 1065 carbon steel and the heart of softer low-carbon steel. A traditional differential hardening as a result of applied clay refines the blade and creates an extraordinary beautiful Hamon-line.

Details:
- Blade material: carbon steel
- Blade length to Tsuba: approx. 77 cm
- Total length without scabbard: approx. 109.5 cm
- Hilt length: approx. 32 cm
- Blade curving (Sori) approx. 27 mm
- Weight without scabbard: approx. 1200 g
- Weight with scabbard: approx. 1500 g

Each sword will be delivered with a certificate and a seal, which guarantees the originality. Each sword has a cloth cover, a high-class collector';s box of wood and a highly-polished felt-carpeted stand.

Please note:
We do not sell this product to customers under the age of 18. Please provide your birth date when ordering. We'll also need a copy of your ID-card or passport by email, scan, fax or mail.