Nihonto durability ?

[Tiziano]

I found information about nihontos getting heavily crisp if used to kill, not only by blade on blade contact but also on flesh/bone contact. however i couldn't find an explanation for the damage and an assumption on how much a nihonto can "cut" without the need of repair/replacement .

i assume this is also connected to the Wazamono tests 1797/1805

i would also like to know wot the difference between a Saijô-Ô-Wazamono to a Ô-Wazamono or Wazamono class katana is, in terms of "life span in use" and damage. (i would appreciate an answer considering blade on blade and only flesh/bone contacts, thanks)

 

 

Tiziano

 

-don't worry i'm just curios, i don't intend to use mine against someone-

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Tiziano, are you from Italy ?

If yes contact me at tsubame1@tin.it. We'll talk via MSN or Google.

[Tiziano]

i'm sorry i'm from Germany , my mother gave me this name ... cant help it ...

[Ken-Hawaii]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "heavily crisp," Tiziano, but I get the impression that you're talking about the ha (cutting edge) being ruined when used in battle. If my interpretation is correct, then I think you're worrying about the wrong thing.

 

First, steel is very durable, & the folding process used by Japanese swordsmiths made the blades even stronger by removing the vast majority of impurities. That isn't to say that you can't break a blade or take chunks out of the ha, but that's the rare exception, rather than the rule.

 

Second, although I'm sure that there were lots of edge-to-edge encounters in Japanese battles over the centuries, modern-day iaido, which is based on hundreds of years of battle, teaches us to avoid that situation whenever possible. Any iaidoka on this forum will likely have been exposed to a waza called Ukenagashi where you are taught to intercept your opponent's blade with the side of your own sword, & then let it slip off without doing any demage. I know seven different ways to perform Ukenagashi, so it must have been widely taught. Of course, there are a number of other waza where you do go edge-to-edge, but that's only to save your own butt.

 

Third, Linda & I practice tameshigiri (practice cutting) on a number of materials including tatami omote (thick reed mats wrapped in a cylinder), bamboo, & combinations of those. My shinken (live sword - a sword with a sharp ha, rather than an unsharpenable iaito used in iaido practice) has cut through many hundreds of tatami omote targets wrapped aound bamboo to mimic the resistance of the human body, but other than some minor scratches caused by the silicon in the bamboo, there is absolutely zero damage.

 

Hope this answers that part of your question Tiziano.