About the Soshu Kitae Katana in Shirasaya

Made by the same Mastersmiths who bring us Project X, this stripped down version is a rare chance to own a true Soshu Kitae laminated blade in traditional, high quality Shirasaya fittings.

Shirasaya is a traditional method of displaying a high quality Japanese Katana and in this case, the Shirasaya is of the highest quality - lacquered high quality wood with Buffalo horn inserts allowing the blade the "breathe" and help prevent rust from occuring.

While the blade is ready to cut straight out of the box, due to the lack of a handguard/tsuba we strongly recommend that it is remounted before useage to avoid your fingers accidently slipping down onto the blade..

You can find a large selection of top quality fittings in our store here - including saya, tsuka and many different styles of tsuba so can relatively easily customize it yourself if so desired.

Amazing value for money foe such a stunning blade.

About Project X Japanese

Quite simply, Project X is a collaborative effort between Ronin Katana, SBG and Longquan's top sword forge - all working together to create the absolute best quality Katana ever made outside of Japan.

The blades of these swords are hand forged by Certified Master Smiths in the soshu kitae tradition (seven panel steel). This school was developed by the legendary Japanese smith Masamune, and combines panels of hard, medium, and soft steels.

 

Soshu Kitae Lamination - far right. It is by far the most complex and desirable lamination technique.

The core of the blade is formed from softer, more malleable steel giving it exceptional flexibility. A layer of slightly harder steel is bonded to each side of the core to add support. The last layers are a very hard steel bonded to the top, bottom, and both sides of the core forming the ha (cutting edge) mune (back edge) and shinogi-ji (blade flats). This form of laminar construction provided for a sword that could be sharpened to a razor edge due to the hardened steed used for the ha, but was extremely resilient to battle damage due to its softer more flexible core.

As a by product of the process, the blade features not only a hamon, but also attractive lamination lines, resulting in a very active and attractive blade with criss crossing lines and interplay between the lamination and hamon.
 
At the end of the day, there really is nothing else that comes close anywhere near this price point..

If you want the best - THIS is it..

For more information please read the full article and overview of the Project here: Full Details and Project Overview

 

STATS:

Blade lamination: Soshu Kitae seven panel steel Steel: 1095/1060/1045
Tempering: Differentially hardened (clayed) and water quenched
Rockwell Hardness: 62 edge / 40 spine
Fittings: Shirasaya
Kurikata, Koiguch, Kojirii: Polished buffalo horn

 
  

How to Use