Balaur Arms Shinto Oni Katana

The Oni Katana from Balaur Arms draws its inspiration from the immaculate Katana of the Edo Period, a time when the Katana is often regarded to have reached the apex of form and elegance whilst losing none of its deadliness and power. The unification of Japan under the Tokugawa finally brought an era of relative peace to a Japan whose feuding Daimyo had been in a state of near constant war for a century and a half. The Katana was still the companion of the Samurai for centuries to come and in this more peaceful era the Katana was often embellished to a high degree as a display of status, class and a homage to culture and the arts by the Samurai. Though an object of great beauty, these swords were kept every bit as keenly sharp as their ancestors, ready for decisive action.

The blade of this Katana is forged from tough T10 high carbon steel which was clay-tempered in the traditional manner to create a hardened edge of wear-resistant steel. When finished the blade was polished to a mirror sheen with care taken to not only beautify the steel, but to also bring out the vibrancy of the Togari style hamon line. A bo-hi groove lightens the blade in the spine to create a more responsive, swifter sword that sacrifices little in regards to durability. This groove terminates in a geometrically shaped triangular end which is formed to gracefully follow the contours of the blade instead of just ending upruptly – a fine detail often overlooked on other Katana. The blade edge has Niku shaping to give the edge greater resiliency to damage and the tip features a geometric yokote form which uses differing geometric planes to create a tip that is reinforced and resistant to damage when thrusting or puncturing. This is a feature often overlooked in many other Katana manufacturers who will cut a corner here to simply simulate this feature with differential polishing.

The tsuba, fuchi and kashira components are crafted from highly detailed and quality-cast antiqued brass which is embellished in gold and silver and prominently feature Shinto Oni demons and spirits. The hardwood tsuka grip has panels of genuine rayskin which are overlaid in tightly bound artificial silk tsuka-ito cord of dark blue.

The sword comes with a saya scabbard of well-formed wood with a textured lacquer finish which is more scuff and scratch resistant then the high gloss lacquer seen on many other Katana scabbards. Koiguch, Kurigata and Kojiri components are crafted from genuine and finely polished buffalo horn and they serve their purpose of helping to prevent the saya scabbard from splitting at its seam. The scabbard is accented with blue-lacquered rattan and the sageo cord is of matching silk – a cloth katana bag for storage or transport is included.

How to Use