Medieval Weapons - The Passion of Swords

December 16, 2009

Japanese Swords - A History Based on Traditions

Filed under: General — Tags: , — admin @ 1:20 am

Japanese swords are those swords which were forged using the sword making traditions of Japan. Their distinction from other sword classes lies in the form of their blade, which is in fact curved and one sided as opposed to other types of swords which are usually sharp on both sides of the blade and is straight. Japanese swords are also meant to be lighter and sharper, since its effectiveness greatly relies of the speed and agility of the one using them.

Back then you really can’t collect Japanese swords much because they were outlawed after the World War II, which meant all forms of productions of Japanese swords were banned and it was illegal for you to have one unless you were a member of the police force or have a government permit. But later on this changed and the laws against production and possession of Japanese swords were amended, thanks to the recognition of the historical and artistic values of these swords. As sword collectors drew closer to the new class of sword collectibles, this brought out a new market in the sword making industry.

This change on the perception of the use of civilian swords has given rise to currently known sword makers like Paul Chen who is now among the best in the creation of modern Japanese swords. He usually creates these swords using the tradition methods of forging so you really get the actual type of swords that were used during the old days. Paul Chen’s sword making career started out when he wanted to add to the antique sword collection of his grandfather. So as early as eight years old, sword forging became his passion. After thirty years of studying with both Chinese and Japanese experts, he finally made his way through the industry to where he is now.

With the Japanese sword making industry on the rise you shouldn’t miss out on the new releases of great Japanese swords from popular forges.  Japanese swords will always be a creative, unique and artistic way of adding to your sword collection. These swords are also ideal for those who are teaching themselves to use them.

July 10, 2008

The Katana, The Soul of The Samurai

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 5:06 pm

Has a huge fan and sword collectors i am always on the look for my future acquisition when i am on down times. One Type of swords that i am simply crazy about are Samurai swords.

The Samurai sword also called the Katana is probably the most advance sword ever forged in the history. It is important to understand that the term Katana is often usesd incorrectly as a generic name for a Japanese sword. This is wrong, there are actually a lot of different Japanese swords, the katana is simply the weapon of choice used by most samurai.

Katana were often paired with the Wakizashi or “Shoto” which is similar but smaller version of the Katana. Katana were mostly worn by the warrior class. Some warrior were also wearing the Tanto which the smaller version (The size of a dagger). The weapons combined togheter were called the Daisho and were considered by Samurai to be linked with their honour and for some, their soul.

As you can imagine, there are so mouch more that can be said about the Katana, the wakizashi and even the tanto, let’s just start by saying that these sword are amazing.

As a fan of every type of sword, we will also talk about the various swords that were seen in history, like the Medieval swords, roman and viking swords, ninja weapons and more…

That should be interesting don’t you think?

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