The anatomy of a *wallhanger* katana

[Swordlady]

Some of you may have already seen this thread on SFI. For those of you who haven't, it is an informative look at how many of the cheap stainless steel katana are made.

I took apart one of my cheap kats (looks very much like the one in that infamous Home Shopping Network video clip), and took pictures of what lay beneath.

Here is the kat in question. The fake ito got messed up from some swinging around:



Closeup of the handle:



The "ito" was merely a twisted strand of material, and unravelled easily:



This is what was underneath the fake ito. A piece of black cloth that nowhere resembled same (rayskin):





Check out the big crack!

[Swordlady]

I unscrewed the little pommel nut on the end of the handle:



...and split apart a section of the handle with my hammer:





I unscrewed the end plate, and slid out the rest of the handle and separators:



Notice where the rat-tail tang is welded on. That's liable to snap at any moment!



Another shot of the rat-tail tang:

[Swordlady]

For comparison's sake, here are a few shots of my Hanwei Practical Plus Katana (PPK) disassembled. Mind you, the PPK is one of the least expensive production katana, but at least it has all the right parts:

[Grey Fletch]

I once had a sword like this. I cut and reshaped the blade into a full tang tanto.

[Lisa]

excuse my ignorance but should the rag tail tang be one solid piece with the sword blade itself?

Great pics, btw.

[Andrew Green]

Very much so, that thing looks like it would break cutting a mid sized watermelon.

It's a pain because half the time they even come sharpened, so people think, cool, Let's try cutting something...

Sure, they come with a "don't use this" warning, but so does every other weapon, right down to the sticks, so the warning gets ignored.

Good thread, nice to see the insides.

[Swordlady]

Originally Posted by Lisa

excuse my ignorance but should the rag tail tang be one solid piece with the sword blade itself?

Great pics, btw.

Actually, no *functional* sword would have a rat-tail tang. Period. Think of the tang as the sword's foundation. Even the simple action of swinging a sword places torque on the blade. Its tang should be wide and thick enough to withstand the extra stress placed on the blade, caused by the swing and the resulting impact.

Notice how skinny and narrow the rat-tail tang is in my wallhanger. Imagine if it breaks during a mid-swing. That blade will go flying, since there isn't anything else holding it in place. In comparison, the tang of my PPK is wide, and secured by two bamboo pegs. That tang will probably not snap in two pieces, since it is wide and strong enough to withstand the extra torque placed in the blade. You still need to be careful even with a *functional* sword; they were designed to cut flesh, not hard targets like trees, concrete, or the like.

Also check out the rat-tail tang in my cheap Braveheart claymore knockoff. See the difference between this:

[Swordlady]

...in comparison to the tang of my AT1211. See how much wider and thicker *this* tang is? The tang should be a continuation of the blade itself - NOT welded on.

[Flying Crane]

Good thread, good posts, good pictures. Well done, very educational for those who don't have experience with this.

I always look for this kind if thing when I rebuild a sword. I have rebuilt some lighter Tai Chi swords (NOT the superlight wushu swords). As a lighter blade, they also have a lighter tang, but at least it was still a continuation of the blade itself and not just a rod welded on. Given these are really only meant for Tai Chi forms practice, I felt they were sturdy enough for the type of use they would get, and the hilt overall was definitely much more solid and sturdy than the hilt that these swords come with.

One design trick I have developed in rebuilding hilts is to have the guard "socket" over the bottom 1/4 inch or so of the blade at the shoulder, where it becomes the tang. The guard then extends down another 1/4 inch or so below the shouder, where it meets the grip. This creates an envelope encasing this area, which can be a point of high stress during use. I feel that this design increases the strength significantly, although it's just my intuition and not based on any actual tests. I use a similar "socketing" design where the grip meets the guard, and the grip meets the pommel, so everything on the hilt sockets together and cannot twist or spin during use. Of course the flattened, tapered shape of the tang underneath would prevent this from happening anyway, but I still like how it all fits together tight, like a jigsaw puzzle. Behind the grip, I screw it down with two hex nuts, which are hidden under the pommel. A third hex nut goes behind the pommel itself, but its main function is really to just hold the pommel in place. The main strength is the first two hex nuts behind the grip. In addition, I cover the entire tang with a heavy epoxy. I'm terrified of selling a sword to someone and having the blade come flying out and hurt someone.

Just a few thoughts of my own.

[Andrew Green]

So if I wanted a decent wallhanger, any reccomendations on where I might look?

[Lisa]

after seeing the difference in the pictures, I understand the importance now. Thanks for the clarification and again, excellent thread.

[Flying Crane]

Originally Posted by Andrew Green

So if I wanted a decent wallhanger, any reccomendations on where I might look?

Tell me what you want, I could probably pick it up here in Chinatown in San Francisco and ship to you. A set of three, Katana, Wakizashi, and Tanto, with cheap wooden stand, would probably cost about $50 or less. You want a Cobra Head on the pommel?

[Gemini]

Swordlady, I have to say the amount of time and effort you've taken in creating this thread for the educational benefit of others in rare, and very much appreciated.

[Kacey]

That's really cool, thanks! I know very little about swords, but this makes a great primer!

[Flying Crane]

Originally Posted by Swordlady

(I said it once and will say it again: Stainless steel is usually NOT used for *functional* swords!)

I know that this is the common wisdom regarding Stainless Steel and swords. I have found one source who feels that this notion in general is erroneous and that at least some types of stainless steel can make for a very good blade.

Jim Hrisoulas is the author of three books on sword forging: Complete Bladesmith; Master Bladesmith; and Pattern-Welded Blade. In one of these books he discusses the vast variety of steel available, and what types can make for a good blade. He discusses the use of Stainless Steel, and feels that it can be used to make a good blade.

I don't have any personal expertise on this, but just wanted to point out a differing opinion.