SpudFiles

Well..I cleaned up the katana my brother and I made when I was 14.
After 20 years of neglect and chopping down a tree with it.( TIMBURRRRRR!! )..it was about time..
A Katana should be made up from three kinds of steel, soft, hard and springy...but that was out of my league.So is hardening, so helas...no nice flamy pattern on the side either....

The tsuba or hand-protection plate is polished brass.The handle itself is hardwood.It should be wrapped in stingray-skin before fabric is knotted around it to increase grip.An ornament should finish off the pin that holds the grip together..
No luck on that either..
Basically I know the process of building a real katana, but this I consider just a fun project...Just a wall-piece.

The looks are better than ever, but still not as good as a store bought one..But this one is literally as sharp as a razorblade....and doesn't break like a store bought one....


I tried to knot the fabric on the handle, but it didn't feel very comfortable.
Maybe I will strip the handle to half its thickness so the knots won't feel so bulky..I cut the fabric too short so I could only knot a short section.
Just did it to show you I do know my stuff...I just fork it up all the time
The knots are truely great for grip though..Those Japanese guys where pretty smart.

Anyway...now you know what I was up to 20 years ago..

pics...

how did u make that when u where 14

Angle grinder, a sharpening stone, a file and a lot of patience...

how thick is the steel

4 mm I think..

I made one even earlier out of a leafspring from a tank, wich my brother got when he was in the army..
That was harder but it gave a lot of " twang" when I hit something with it..
At least it gave me some practice..

My brother did the bulk with the angle grinder, I did the rest.
The steel looked so bad when I first got it..a very uneven and rusty surface.

I still feel like I need to refine the handle..

Looks more like a to...

Seems like a pretty good showpiece, though.

very nice still but whats it made off i thinkin about makin one also how long did it take to make it.

Sweet, why not try to get the flamey patter bu treating it with acid

Nice blade! It looks like that took some effort. Amazing what can be done by a 14 year old with little tools and good old fashioned determination. I am a bit of a knife nut myself, so I can appreciate this work a lot (never made a knife myself though).

Cutting a tree down with a katana...
It's an agile cutting weapon... not a mass-with-sharp-edge weapon like an axe, which is usually used to cut down trees... but hey, if it works...

Again..that took some determination..

And it looked like hell afterwards...

very nice still but whats it made off i thinkin about makin one also how long did it take to make it.

uhmmm...STEEL!


Took me and my brother about 3 weeks the first time..this revival cost me 3 days..

Great thing to have lying around for the little ones to stumble apon.. I used to love finding knives around the house. Dad had a collection bt slowly left them places by accident lol.

i meant like just like a flat piesce or did u get it from a junk yard or somthin

All dangerous stuff is in the shed...elevated well beyond their reach..

i meant like just like a flat piesce or did u get it from a junk yard or somthin

Either would be fine so why ask?

Sweet, why not try to get the flamey patter bu treating it with acid

Sticky fingers there?
You must have meant to say " epoxy" and who is Patter Bu???And why would I threaten him with acid..

But no...why fake it?
It will never have the quality of a real one anyway.I don;t feel it would make it any better...