Kobuse: Clay-Tempered & Folded 1095 Steel Mix Blade for Katana, Wakizashi, Tanto or Ninjato

Kobuse Steel is made of two types of steel: core steel (1095 Steel) and outer steel (Folded & Clay-Tempered 1095 Steel), with the core steel wrapped in the outer steel.

1095 Steel is folded to form the outer steel. It is folded 13 times, resulting in an 8192-layer structure that provides superior strength and flexibility. The blade’s visible tenuous undulating grain was created by folding it repeatedly during forging. Clay-Tempered 1095 steel is used for the core steel.

After thoroughly refining and tempering the steel, a special clay is applied by hand to the blade, with a thin layer near the edge and a thicker layer covering the remainder of the blade. This causes the edge to cool relatively quickly during quenching, resulting in a hard edge and a softer back. The beautiful genuine hamon on the blade is also a result of the blade’s differential cooling (quenching and tempering).

The blade is then polished using a Hazuya stone, which is a very thin Uchigumori stone fixed with paper. Hazuya is a special stone used to bring up hamon; the stone is extremely fine and soft against the steel. This sword’s blade is entirely finished in Hazuya. The work is carried out in order to achieve a mirror-like surface on the shinogi-ji and its edge.

 Main Points

• Base metal: Kobuse Steel. Our ultimate steel blade, which is made from a special mix of 1095 steel.
• Folded steel is different from high-carbon steel in its forging process. Folded blades are made by repeatedly heating, hammering, and folding the metal. Our folded steel blade is 13 times folded, resulting in 8192 layers. Folded steel improves the blade’s cutting ability and durability.
• Hand-forged blade, fully made especially with your custom specifications, exactly as asked.
• Can be made for any katana, chokuto/ninjato, tanto/kanto, or wakizashi sword. We can also make other, custom sizes as per your needs.
• The blade can be clay-tempered, adding a beautiful natural hamon with the pattern of your choice.
• We can add a blood-groove (bo-hi), or perhaps a double one, or even a double Kiriha-Zukuri blood groove, giving the sword a more intense look and feel.
• The blade can also be microplated, adding a layer of color which enhances its aesthetic and protects it. We recommend using microplated swords for light cutting only since the coloring can fall off with extreme usage.
• Extremely durable blade, made for heavy-duty swords wielding.

Available Blade Sizes

• Tanto/Kanto Curved Blade: 13″ ~ 33cm
• Wakizashi Curved Blade: 20″ ~ 50.8cm
• Katana Curved Blade: 31″ ~ 78.8cm
• Ninjato/Chokuto Straight Blade: 31″ ~ 78.8cm