Ji-Nie for purposes of cutting ability

[M Ubertini]

Hey all,

 

So recently picked up a Sue-Sa school katana from Ray which is lovely. What I’ve noticed which is different from many other nihonto I’ve owned is the proliferation of the Ji-nie/ara-nie concentrated in the monouchi area on the Ura and omote compared to the rest of the blade. Is this specific to the Sa school, do other schools do this or is this generally meant to have a harder cutting area compared to the rest of the blade? I’ve owned many sue-soshu nihonto but haven’t seen this in that style.