This tamahagane blade is built for the assembler who wants the blade first - the steel, the hamon, the nakago - and makes every other decision from there. It ships as a complete blade body at 37.8 inches total: 28.3 inches of forged tamahagane from tip to habaki-moto, with a 9.5-inch nakago extending beyond. No tsuka, no saya, no fittings. The blade is the whole product.
Tamahagane is produced in a traditional tatara furnace from iron sand and charcoal. The smelting creates raw ore that smiths sort by carbon content, fold, and forge into Japanese blades - the high-carbon pieces forming the hard edge and core, the low-carbon material providing the tough outer jacket. That differentiated construction is what gives tamahagane its characteristic combination of hardness at the edge and resistance to brittleness through the body.
The hamon on this blade is the crystalline boundary formed when clay-coated steel meets the quench at different speeds - the hard edge zone cooling faster than the clay-insulated spine. Its exact form is unique to this forging. The jihada - the grain pattern across the flat - is the surface evidence of the folding process, visible and distinct to the material.
The nakago carries its natural black-rust patina as forged. Japanese smiths preserved this deliberately: the patina protects the bare steel from red rust when the tang is enclosed in a handle. No holes are pre-drilled. Mekugi-ana placement depends on the tsuka dimensions and fittings the assembler chooses, so drilling is left to the buyer. Free shipping, 30-day money-back guarantee.
- 28.3-inch tamahagane blade, full tang running 9.5 inches into the nakago - steel continuous tip to end.
- Real folded hamon: the differential clay-tempering line unique to each individual forging.
- Natural black-rust nakago patina intact - the same preservation method Japanese smiths have used for centuries.
- Jihada grain visible across the blade flat - the folded steel signature of authentic tamahagane.
- 1.26-inch width, 0.75-inch sori, 1.76 lbs - standard katana geometry throughout.
- No pre-drilled holes on the tang - drill mekugi-ana to your own tsuka dimensions for proper custom assembly.
Specification
| Item Number | TK-JP-G10461 |
| Primary Color | Steel |
| Primary Material | Tamahagane Steel |
