Moro ha katana are far less common due to their impracticality (handling a
sword with a double edge is not that easy) and lesser strength.
But throughout the Japanese history , there are records from this kind of blades
so it’s not an invention from a fantasy minded person who has watched
too many anime movies.
In this Moroha family there are 2 common styles :
- Moro ha shape
- Kissaski Moroha shape
The Moro Ha style had a fully double edged blade. So the sharp edge is running
from top to bottom on both sides of the blade. The Kissaski Moroha style (as seen on this model of Paul Chen) has a double
edge too but the edge on the back of the blade is only running halfway the blade
where it transform into a strong mune.
Typical for the Moroha style is the ridgeline that runs the entire length of
the blade, in the centre between the two cutting edges. This version also feature
a hi. The shape of the blade has much in common with the unokubi zukuri style
blades.
These kind of blades are in fact a combination of a tachi and a ken katana.
The tachi katana are know for their bigger curvature (sori) and a Ken katana
was an old Japanese straightsword with a double edge.
On this version, the back edge is not sharp and to me that’s a good and
especially safe discussion from the Hanwei forge !
