Hello all.

I am wondering if it is possible to have a sword altered.
Basically, I have a blunt sword and I would like to have it made into a cutting sword. Can I just have it sharpened?


More details:

My sword is a Katana. We say Iai-to, a sword used to practice Iaido (Japanese sword drawing).
It is very cheap and probably low quality. I don't feel the need for a super expensive, wonderful, $10,000 shin-ken (real sword). I just want something to practice cutting with.

Any thought??


Josh

I too would avoid using a iaito for cutting or even just hitting something... They are not made with this in mind.

Aside from the metal of the blade, the hilt construction could be a problem. Many cheap iaitos I've seen have a plastic handle wrapped quite loosely with nylon ribbon. I've seen some handles that were beginning to crack just from dry handling, I wouldn't trust them to withstand impacts from cutting. Plus, it will be practice cutting, which means that maybe some cut will be less than perfect and will put quite a strain in the sword.
I also suspect (from the balance) that the tang is not quite as long or thick in those as they could be in katanas.

So even though you could manage to cut something with it (even without a real sharp edge), it would probably be dangerous, and not representative of what you'd get with a katana.

I'd recommend getting a katana built for cutting. I haven't been looking for them, but I'd believe you can find some for less than $10,000... Even if they are not super-quality, at least they will not be so dangerous to work with.

Regards

For a katana built for cutting, I'd check out this site: http://www.bugei.com/index.htm

I'm not a big katana enthusiast, but I have heard good things about this company from friends who are. These run in the neighborhood of $1000.

There's also Cold Steel, which puts out katanas at about half that price. I'd expect the quality to be correspondingly lower as well, but I have heard good things about Cold Steel katanas.

Maybe you can go with a cheeper Paul Chen or Hanweï if you don't wan't to spend 1000-1200 on a nice Bugeï...

I own one myself (the Dragonfly). Very nice sword but I won't use it for extensive cutting (due to the price and the fact that it is a delicate weapon).

Given your location it might be difficult to get a steel katana for cutting purposes; I have a friend currently in Japan who like you wants a sharp steel katana but related to me the difficulties in obtaining a license to possess one. An alternative you might consider is to go to Tozando, go to the Iaido page and then to the Miscellaneos page and look for Mr. Tameshigiri; it's basically a cardboard target that you can cut with an iaito. They also have a good selection of quality iaito with a good price range.

Thanks guys. It's pretty much as I expected.

Rob. As I understand, getting a real sword here in Japan is not so difficult. Taking one out of Japan, however, can be a problem.

As for prices here in Japan, they are getting cheaper, but as fas as real swords go the lowest you are going to pay is about $5000 (maybe 4000) and Japanese people are very suspicious of such a price...

The http://www.bugei.com/index.htm website was pretty cool

Thanks again.

Josh

Bugei's swords are generally regarded as having exceptional quality for the price. They are made by Hanwei, but the quality control is much tighter since Bugei is run by some rather serious JSA practitioners.

When I lived in Yokosuka, the wardroom of my ship had a basic katana forged to specifications as an end of tour gift for a departing CO. This was done by a smith in Kamakura (if memory serves there are three or four swordsmiths who operate in the shadow of the Daibutsu) and the price fell out in the neighborhood of 80,000 yen, or roughly 800 dollars. There weren't many frills, and we used a Captain's silver eagle rank pins as menuki, but it was a sharp and servicable blade. It might be worth a train ride to check them out. He also took it out of the country with no difficulty. As I understood it, only antique nihonto were required by law to remain in Japan. I might be mistaken on that score, though.

Your sensei should be able to give you more information, though, and possibly a letter of introduction to take to the swordsmith so he doesn't mistake you for a mere tourist.

Edit: You may want to post this question on Bugei's sword forum, now that I think of it. One of the board's moderators is a professional togishi. But personally, I think the other members here have already given you a good answer. Iaito are not built to take the stress of cutting, nor are most katana under a certain price point. The last thing you want is to have a blade shatter on a sloppy cut, and it happens. My advice would be to keep using the iaito for its intended purpose, keep training and save up for a good sword. That will make your tameshigiri all the more rewarding. And ask your sensei about these things. That's what he's there for.