United Cutlery Shikoto Odachi

When you hold a Shikoto Hammer-Forged Longquan Master sword in your hand, you are holding the same sword a warrior used more than 2,500 years ago. Using methods used by Bronze Age swordsmiths, the 49 3/8” 1060 high carbon steel blade has been hammer-forged and clay tempered to produce a visible hamon line. Clay tempering imparts edge retention that's simply without equal,prior to the intense heat of the hardening phase, Shikoto's seasoned swordsmiths coat the newly formed, unrefined blade with clay – a thin layer along the edge, a thicker layer on the body and spine. When the blade emerges from the hardening forge, the clay layers' contrasting thicknesses cause the steel to cool at slightly different rates, yielding two distinct hardness regions. Differential hardening gives this magnificent sword a harder cutting edge and a softer spine, which is the hallmark of a high-quality weapon. The tsuba and handle fittings are of solid iron and the wooden handle has traditional cord wrapping over genuine, tea-dyed rayskin. A black lacquered and polished wooden scabbard with cord-wrapping houses the blade. Also included with the Shikoto Longquan Master Nodachi Sword is a certificate of authenticity with forging specifications, signed by the master swordsmith who crafted the blade.