New samurai swords

[Bartman]

Someone gave my dad these swords today while he was at work. They are sweet although not as sharp as I thought. I guess they need to be sharpend but either way they are wicked

Their was 3 different sizes and it came with a stand. Anyone know anything about them?

[peterm15]

yes... yes i do...

first off there replicas.. there pounded out not folded like real samauri.. it takes a LONG time to fold a sword ( ive heard of them taking 50 years and folding is what gives them there strength... ... these are purely a decroative peice and should not be sharpened.. it will ruin the look... and i hate to say this.. but there really worth nothing.. ive seen them as low as $25 for the 3 set and stand...a real samauri sword can run upwards of $500,000... there really nice to look at and you can get a nice effect if you switch the order there in ( biggest on bottom) and pull it out slightly, there should be a nice design on the blade and when the right light catches it they look amazing...

it really doesnt matter what there worth or anything i just thought you might wanna know.. i like collecting knives and stuff and am soon looking into a sword... but just a replica like you have there.. to me theres no point in buying the "real" thing.. well gave a good one and i hope you like them... they are really nice..

[bistrobob85]

I think Peterm15 is right. I see tons of them in stores and they're all replicas which shouldnt be sharpened or used at all. True japanese blades are worthless, they take so much work...

[peterm15]

bistrobob85 i think u mean pricless not worthless.. lol...

[darkscale]

hi, peterm15
is right about them being replicas (well almost) there are simply display swords and are not ment to be used let alone sharpend likely made from stainless steel and would likly break if used for cutting .asfar as real samurai swords(nihonto) go most authentic
pieces sell from any where from 500 for like an old army sword(gunto)in bad condition to the tens of thousands for modern japanese made swords,the swords do not get their strenth from the folding of the metal that was a method of purifiing the metal
as the steels back then were'nt like todays the strenth comes from the fact they use two or more types of steel in the blades ,a softer steel core wraped in a harder(more carbon) steel then diferentially temperd meaning the edge(ha) of the blade is harder than the back, alowing it to hold an edge yet be flexable at the same time. swords are one other hobby i have
so i know a little about them
steve

[Bartman]

Thanks for the replies.
Yea, we didnt think they were worth anything but I didnt know their was a real sword and replica's, cool! Ill rearange them and see how they look, haha, I was wondering what order they were supposed to be in.

Thanks!

[peterm15]

hey steve.. id like to see some of what you have.. right now i only have 3 display knives but there all in my closet somewhere.. so if you can snap a few pics id like too see them..

and thanks for the lesson, i knew there was more i just couldnt remember.. i heard this years ago....

p.s.... they tempered the swords by putting through extreem heat.. right?? and dont the ammount of folds effect the price of a sword???


Bartman.. there supposed to be in the order that you like them to be in.. just experment with blades in and out to see what you like.. then keep it that way.. you could also just hang them on a wall without the stand.

[darkscale]

well heres a pic of what i have for now
the swords are temperd by coating the blade in clay and then heating to about a bright orange/white color (cant remember the temp) then qwenching it in water the clay is thiner on the edge of the blade so it gets hotter therfor harder than the back of the blade where the clay is thicker, the value depends on many things
from the shape of the blade, to the grain patern in the blade the hamon(temper line) and like a lot of things who forged it and there ranking ,their are useually about 10-15 actual folds done wich works out to somewhere around 15- 30 thousnd layers
somthing like that anyway, basicly if you fold the steel once you get two layers ,twice four and so on,
steve

[Bartman]

Could you explain what "folding" is. Id like to learn a little on this, its interesting. Sweet swords as well!!

[darkscale]

basicly the steel used to make japanese sword starts out a powder like substance wich is placed in a forge, it then melts together, forming small pieces of metal, those are then placed in a pile heated and hammerd so it welds itself together(forge welding) the block is then cut halfway throught and folded over,heated and done again,again until the desierd consitancy is reached . it also helps remove any contamanants from the steel
if you go to www.swordforum.com you can find a lot of very intersting info on all kinds of swords

[Bartman]

Cool. They've got a forum for everything!

[chas*e]

I have been collecting military swords and bayonnets for 20 yrs and I started with a crap set of Jap swords, I have over 200($50,000) now, but it did give me the collecting bug... so keep up the good work and don't listen to anyone if you think they look nice well go for it..

[darkscale]

so keep up the good work and don't listen to anyone if you think they look nice well go for it..

i agree
chas*e have any gunto you want to part with?

[peterm15]

they do look nice.. thanks for the info darkscale... and nice swords...

bartman.. have you decided on a display setup yet.. when you do id like to see it.. see what you came up with.. enjoy them,,,

[Bartman]

What do you mean set up. I placed them in the order you said, which did make it look better , but what else can I do?