Looking for a vintage sword from Japan? Find out what makes antique Japanese swords so unique and sought after by the world.
The Japanese culture is renowned as being one of the most mysterious and intriguing cultures of the world. The island country that existed as a highly introverted society has suddenly unleashed itself to the world through mass media.
Not only is Japan considered to be one of the economic power houses of Asia it is highly revered for its cultural heritage that has many amazing aspects about it. One of the things that has amazed the world wide public has been the collection of antique Japanese Swords.
With a history of more than 4500 years the region has some very unique and old swords as part of its collection. As it is the Japanese history is full of martial arts such as the arts of kendo, aikido, karate, judo, jiu jitsu practiced by the samurais who used to carry their swords around with them.
So what is it exactly about antique Japanese swords that make them highly sought after collectables by sword buyers from around the world? The collection of antique Japanese swords is like no other that you will get to notice and there are many reasons for that.
The distinctive features of antique Japanese swords
Antique Japanese swords are unique in terms of their construction. Originally Japanese swords were made using three layers of steel. These three layers were then forged to form one sword. Even the Japanese term for steel “honsanmai” translates as three layers.
The three layered steel did not have a very attractive aesthetic appeal. Rather it was the function of the three layered steel that gave it precedence over the single steel piece swords. The inner most layer was high in carbon which made it very hard. This provided the sword with great strength and edge retention. The outer layers were deliberately kept softer as this added flexibility to the sword and prevented them from being brittle.
Another unique characteristic of antique Japanese swords was that they were full tang. This meant that the blade of the sword actually extended throughout the entire length of the sword including the handle. This made it extremely unlikely for the blade to be separated from the handle during battle.
To give their swords a classy look Japanese sword builders often made use of Damascus steel which is renowned for its beauty as well as its superior strength. They used a technique which involved folding Damascus steel in many layers and polishing it in such a manner that it would give dual tones of dark and light.
Despite this unique construction of the antique Japanese sword which makes one wonder how heavy it must have been in reality Japanese swords are extremely well balanced when held in hand. This masterful engineering of the sword was done so that the samurais could perform at their level best during battle.
The attention to detail that the Japanese paid to their swords adds even more value to them. The handle would be wrapped in an extremely delicate manner accompanied by a flawlessly grinded blade and available in unique designs antique Japanese swords are truly worth admiring.
