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Samurai sword set

What kinds of swords are displayed in a samurai sword set

In pre-industrial Japan, a samurai sword forged for a long time and was considered a sacred art of sword making.

The first samurai swords we're straight bladed, single edged weapons imported from Korea and China known as “chokuto”, which were later replaced with the curved blade at the end of the 8th Century.

The name of the curved blade swords which replaced them was “Tachi”. The reason behind the transformation was that samurais found out that a curved sword could be drawn more swiftly from the scabbard and provided a far more effective cutting angle.

Samurai sword set

During this period, the most powerful samurai know as “shogun” would wear two samurai swords to display power and authority. Nowadays, this high quality samurai sword set consists of 3 swords:

1.) Katana - usually measuring around 30” to 40” this is the longest sword in the set, generally used for outdoor combat.

2) Wakizashi – the “honor blade” of the samurai and will never left their side. Also known as “shoto”, around a third shorter than the Katana at between 12 and 24 inches, this was worn indoors by samurai for its obvious better maneuverability.

3) Tanto - A small knife usually 10 inches shorter and used in much the same manner as wakizashi. Tanto knife is sometimes worn with wazikashi and is also used for the ritualized suicide called the seppuku.

Most swords are decorated especially on the “tsuba” or the sword guard. To own a high quality samurai sword set, a shogun must find the best blacksmith or swords maker whom he trusted his life with, because the quality of his swords would help him survive battles aside from his swordsmanship skills.

As part of the samurai sword making process a sword tester took the new blade and cut through the bodies of corpses or condemned criminals. They started by cutting through the small bones of the body and moved up to the large bones. Test results were often recorded on the “nakago” (the metal piece attaching the sword blade to the handle).

Samurai sword point

The point of a samurai sword is called a “Kissaki”. This is the hardest part of the sword to polish and forge and to hand create a quality one would require an extremely skilful samurai sword maker. The value of a sword is determined largely by the quality of the point.

Collecting high quality samurai sword set

In modern times, samurai sword collectors are looking for rare samurai swords pieces that have distinctive markings on them.

If you like to buy a Japanese sword set for your collection, it is best that you will look for custom samurai sword set. Closely examine the blade for any signs of rust, pitting, or corrosion.

Japanese samurai sword set related articles:

Japanese Iado swords, learn about the iaido practice sword. With the right training sword, you efficiently and gracefully perform the art of drawing a sword.

Japanese long sword, find out what are the differences between Japanese long swords and the katana. Learn some tips on how to collect Japanese daito swords.