The upper section of the inscription refers to the 2,604th year from the foundation of the empire. The smith began by coating the entire blade with a thin layer of a clay, sand and powdered-charcoal mixture.
The date of manufacture, when shown, is usually found on the other side of the tang. In traditional Japanese sword making, the low-carbon iron is folded several times by itself, to purify it. Its unique edge-tempering compared to the full-blade tempering of the famous Toledo and Damascus swords of Europe allowed a degree of hardness and razor- sharpness impossible to attain in European swords without danger of brittleness and breakage.
Sword Corner Type 32 - If you are allowed to give the weapon a quick, firm shake, does the blade wobble?
How to make a Paper Sword It produces a visible boundary between the hard and soft steel. Sword 31 - 1800's era Samurai Tanto Sword. Sword 65 - This is a 1700's sword with a scabbard that has an opening on the side with a signed knife. Construction The different steps. Signed by Ama Hide. The Samurai warrior always carried a pair of sheathed swords - one long and one short - with the types carried depending upon the occasion. Sword 13 - This is an 1800's Wakisashi sword. Mounted in traditional attire. In many cases the second inscription is a date, so it will pay you to learn the kanji which represent some of the numbers in Japanese so you are able to recognise this. The core-steel, however, remains nearly pure iron, responding very little to heat treatment.