Praying Mantis Katana New

This Shobu Zukuri style katana is another new creation of the smiths at the Hanwei Forge.

The most common style of Japanese blades we all known are the shinogi-zukuri blades which all has a yokote line that is running vertically from the edge of the sword to the back in order to define the tip of the sword.

Now, the style of blade that is used for this Praying Mantis sword is the shobu-zukuri style. This type of style has no abrupt change at the end of the sword and is in fact more graceful.

The koshirae of this sword (tsuba fuchi&kashira) are themed with a praying mantis, which is a symbol of cunning and power in the traditional Japanese culture. The blade is forged out of a L6/Bainite billet of steel with almost the same measurements as the XL or Elite Swords (with a V-shape blade). So it’s a real cutter !

The green silk ito and deep brown of the saya does provide an excellent contrast to the dark copper and golden accents of the tsuba and fuchi and kashira.

An exceptional piece of art if you really want to hear my opinion