i finally got my stuff back...no, i can't put up pictures, not yet at least

Go DR! *Whoots* We'll be expecting those pics soon though :D :D

Here is another post of an interesting kind of sword called the Chokutō... Before we understand chokutō we need to first know a little about the differential tempering technique purely because the chokutō does NOT have such a technique used in its making.

Differential tempering:

This a method used in forging swords and knives to increase the hardness of the edge without making the whole blade brittle. To achieve this, the edge is cooled more rapidly than the spine by adding a heat insulator to the spine before quenching. Clay or another material is used for insulation.



Chokutō

The chokutō is a type of Japanese sword that dates back to pre-Heian times. Chokutō were made in later periods, but usually as temple offering swords. Chokutō were straight and single-edged (sometimes partially double). It is believed that chokutō were imported to Japan from other Asian countries such as China and Korea.

Chokutō was among the earliest in the history of Japanese sword forging. It was created before the differential tempering technology evolved. Chokutō typically come in hira-zukuri and kiriha-zukuri tsukurikomi (blade styles) which make them very distinct from later tachi and katana which rarely use these forms. The main distinctive feature of the chokutō is the blade, which is curved on the katana sword and straight on the chokutō. Its blades are also often confused with shikomizue. Very few examples of chokutō mountings remain and there is little evidence to suggest that they were ever mounted as cane swords.

Chokutō was less effective against other swords which were lighter and had curved blades. This is why the samurai culture turned towards a sword with a curved blade so they could protect their daimyo. Later, several talented swordsmiths learned special techniques to improve the blade of the chokutō sword. They made it more resistant and at the same time kept its original straight shape.

Despite the fact that chokutō is not very useful in battle, many warriors considered it an excellent way to test their skills when struggling against curved blade swords. Its tip is curved and it is delimited by a ridge, which is perpendicular to the blade.

Chokutō have been used in anime and media. One that comes to mind is the Naruto series where the chokuto becomes Sasuke's weapon of choice later on in the series.

Of course gotta have pics :D... So here we go!

Pic1: Nicely shown from swordforum...



Pic2: The actual blade (full tang)



Pic3: A completed set

i already told you, i have no way to take pictures. besides, i posted product pictures of the blades

I understand DR. I was just saying that when you do have a way to get pics we'll be waiting for them and I hope that time is soon ^_^

bah....i could probably take pics using my webcam, but i'd have to find the install disc, unplug the internet to install it (otherwise it tries to update, which makes it not work) and the light's bad

Nah... Hang on until you can get a friend to photograph it or you get the police security cam catch you ripping that dung brains ass off :D :D... Don't worry, post it whenever you get a good pic. That should do just fine :D

Continuing with the sword series, here is another form of dagger made in Japan. It's called Aikuchi.

Aikuchi

The Aikuchi (literally "fitting mouth") is a form of mounting for Japanese blades in which the handle and the scabbard meet without a guard in between. Originally used on the koshigatana (a precursor to the wakizashi) to facilitate close wearing with armor, it became a fashionable upper-class mounting style for tantō (daggers) in the Edo period. Small aikuchi tanto known as kaiken became popular with the Yakuza, as they were easy to conceal; however, the most typical user of kaiken were women samurai from the Edo period onwards, who kept it as an emergency and/or suicide weapon.

Gotta post pics or people won't believe it :D... so here goes:

Just gotta love this hilt:



This is more a fancy engraving. It's called the dragon snake:


Just love this design as well :rolleyes:

If you don't post a pic you dont have it :p... Which one do you have alchemist? :rolleyes:

The only thing I have is a plastic star wars lightsaber :pinkcry:... What I wouldn't give to get my very own katana :rolleyes:

you should be able to buy one for about twenty dollars, plus shipping

Well it's not the cost... customs won't let me bring it back to my country and I don't want to risk trying it by putting it in my checked luggage on the flight. Next thing I know my ass will be in Jail... though that might be much preferrable to this sordid life at work...^^

poor you...um, move?

or you could mail it....lol I mailed my dad's 20 gauge up north, all you gotta do is asay its a firarm, show it and show your id and its ont he way...

with swords you can't do that. for instance, in several states it's illegal to own a sword or any other kind of bladed weapon (including a knife, apparently). California's one, i think....NY is another.

moving right along, i just traded the Sapphire one to my mother's boyfriend for his green Korean blade (similar to a straight samurai katana, but of different origins) which is REAL. hand crafted sword AND sheath. i also got a compound bow from him. i'll have to build up some upper body strength to use it, as it's a heavy pull compared to my 34 pound pull recurve, but it'll be useful for hunting (i'd have to camo my recurve)

for those interested, i finally reinstalled my webcam's drivers. i'll be able to use it when i move in with my mother and Rick next week. I may, however, wait until i can buy a real Digital Camera to take pictures

are you talking strictly about katanas or can we talk about other tradtional swords like tanto and wakizashi

Tanto and wakizashi are just fine Seiki! The more info the merrier. In fact the only bottom line is that it be japanese :rolleyes:

@DR - Yay! Now we can get to see your swords *drools and plots evil plans to steal them all ^_^*

well the tanto was a sword more like a dagger that was most notabley used by samurai to commit sepuku or an honorable suicide by plunging the blade into their stomaches

Correct! In fact a katana and a wakizashi/tanto are sometimes carried together by the warrior class and this outfit was called a Daisho.

you know the katana has more fans than the others but it was typically held in the samurai's non dominant hand and held out towards the enemy and waved side to side to keep them at a distance but it was the wakizashi that was used in combat typically and was kept with the samurai at all times even when they entered buildings and had to leave their katana on the kake they still took their wakizashi

Ooooooooh! I never knew that! :rolleyes:

another fact on Katana combat while we're at it is that Katana's had one edge thinner than the other. In fact the slicing edge would be much thinner and therefore more brittle while the blunt edge would be thicker providing support. This being the case, open combat mandated that the Katana never be used head on to block moves. Using the sword edge to block a move was considered poor swordsmanship. The idea in using a katana (and a wakizashi too I guess) was the evade-and-counter move.

There was however one situation in which the Katana could be used to block a head on attack. This move was based on the Katanas curved nature. When facing an attack from above (like a sword slice from above), the katana's convex curve could be used to deflect the attack. The curvature of the blade itself would ensure that the edge did not spoil from such an attack.

thats tight

I thought it was a really cool fighting style because it involves so much movement along with actual attacks. Dodging isn't learnt easily after all :rolleyes:

whee......i found out something interesting....the world famous style of Miyamoto Musashi is the main basis for the modern style of Kenjutsu, commonly known as the mastery of the katana.

it was practiced using a katana and a kodachi

Hyoho Niten ichi-ryu was also made by the legendary musashi minamoto. Its uses two swords.

yes, that's the style i'm talking about...most people assume it was praticed with a pair of katanas, but it was a katana and a kodachi

there are none in the states and I REALLY, REALLY want to do it!!!

It seemed to me that in all the stuff I've learned about the Katana, I still can't get over all the wonderful anime techniques people have come up with over the years. The most notable of all these was from the anime Samurai X. For those of us who don't know, Samurai X is an anime steeped in Japan history and the protagonist is an erstwhile samurai called Kenshin. He was one of the most fearful samurai to exist and was known as Hittokiri Battousai (mankiller Battousai). The story follows his journey through life and how he fights for righteous causes. His swordfighting style is called Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. Its a "dragon" technique because all the sword moves are based off how a dragon would attack. The technique has many moves and I'm going to try to list the bunch here:

Ryu Tsui Sen (Dragon Mallot flash) - This involves a really HIGH jump into the air and a downward slash. The basic principle was that swordsmen were often prone to aerial attacks.

Ryu Tsui Sen Zan (Finishing Dragon Mallot flash) - Pretty much similar to Ryu Tsui Sen except that instead of a slash it's a poke with the sword facing downward.

Hi Ryu Sen (Flying dragon flash) - This is a move where the swordsman uses his left arm and the centrifugal force of rotation to ram the hilt of his sword into a sensitive spot in the opponent. Pretty effective but no blades :D

Ryu Kan Sen (Dragon wind upwards slash) - This is a counterattack move. Using incredible speed the swordsman first evades an attack and launches himself with a slash towards the opponents neck.

Ryu Kan Sen Tsumuji (Dragon wind upwards slash hairspin) - This move involves jumping at an oncoming attack and using a tumble/rotation to spin around it while unsheathing the sword at the same time. This way the rotation helps the swordsman avoid the attack while at the same time adding power to the counter slash. Pretty powerful move in the anime. Kenshin uses it just before he realizes that the sword he's been given is actually reverse edged.

Ryu Kan Sen Arashi (Dragon wind upwards flash storm) - A much more powerful version of Ryu kan Sen involving more speed and power and an early launch against the oncoming attack.

Ryu Sou Sen (Double Dragon Slash) - This is a move that involves multiple attacks one after the other toward the enemy giving the enemy very little time to react. It's more effective on enemies who's reactions are inherently slow such as bulky or non-agile opponents. The multiple attacks are actually aimed at vital points to effect maximum damage.

Ryu Sou Sen Garami (Double Dragon Entangling Slash) - This basically involves attacking a single focused point instead of multiple vital points

Ryu Shou Sen (Rising Dragon Slash) - This move involves an upward slash against attacks from above. When combined with the power of the oncoming attack the resulting effect can be catastrophic to the enemy.

Sou Ryu Sen (Paired Dragon Flash) - This move involves unsheathing the sword very fast in a high speed iaijutsu (unsheathing technique). This move however is followed up with a slash by the scabbard (saya). This is basically because with the opening iaijutsu the swordsman is left vulnerable to attack.

Sou Ryu Sen Ikazuchi (Reverse Paired Dragon Flash) - Pretty much the same move as Sou Ryu Sen but in reverse leading with the Saya. The opening attack is with the scabbard at which point the swordsman continues the rotation and unsheathes the sword to complete the second attack at the full rotation.

Dou Ryu Sen (Ground Dragon Flash) - In this move the swordsman pierces the sword into the ground and lashes it upward causing a shockwave and dust to pass along the ground toward the enemy.

Kuzu Ryu Sen (Nine headed dragon flash) - This is one of the two most powerful moves of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. It involves the godlike speed of Hiten Mitsurugi to attack all the nine vital points of the body at once. Once launched it is unblockable since all nine vital parts cannot be defended at once.

Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens soaring dragon flash) - The most powerful move of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. This is a hiougi meaning it is a very secret technique and is not taught to a disciple until the disciple has reached a sacred level of development. It is the only move that can block the Kuzu Ryu Sen. This is a succession technique for the moment the master teaches it to the disciple the master dies in the attempt and the disciple becomes the new master. It is a battoujutsu involving light speed unsheathing of the sword to attack the opponent. In standard unsheathing techniques the foot opposite the scabbard hip is put forward first to ensure that the swordsman does not slice off his foot in the move. In amakakreu however the scabbard foot is put forward first in an attempt to put the swordsman closer to the opponent. This is then followed with a light speed iaijutsu, a rotation and a second slash with the power of a rotation. If the first iaijutsu were to somehowe be avoided the speed of the rotation creates a vortex of vaccum which draws the oppnent into the swordsman's attack circle keeping them ripe for the second slash. In the masters words "Even if the enemy avoids the fangs of the dragon, they will be rendered immobile by the force of it's passing and will be ripped apart by it's claws"

What is a Kodachi?

Not sure about kodachi - The larger varient of the katana was a no-dachi.

I admit, I havn't read it all, but it's late at night and reading through all that is just... blah, not possible for me at the moment.

Katana isn't the name of the weapon; the sword is literally called taisho (katana being the Japanese for 'sword', which ended up becoming a well-spread term in the West for the weapon).

Katanas were next to never actually -used- in open war-fare, considering their poor use as a weapon. Even leather put up decent resistance against the draw-cut style used with the katana, and therefore, samurai were far more likely to use the yari, naginata (especially amount female warriors, or the warrior monks, sohei) or dai-kyu.