Bamboo Katana

Bamboo Citadel Custom Katana

The Bamboo Katana is a sword of Citadels Limited Edition series. Citadel's swords and knives are completely hand-made one off customs made entirely in their small workshop. 

This rendition of the classical bamboo themed katana is a light and fast sword. Symbolic of the straight growth of the bamboo, the Citadel Bamboo Katana has a small blade deflection.

Crafted from 1075 steel, this Shinogi Zukuri style katana, the blade, as evidenced by its uniformly wave-like notare hamon, is differentially tempered with the traditional clay process. The hamon is distinct and quite visible. The razor sharp blades are made of 1075 carbon steel. Under traditional clay coating differentiated hardened to approx. 60 HRC at the cutting edge and approx. 40 HRC at the back of the blade. By the skills of the polisher the masterly work of the blacksmith comes fully to bear.

The tsuba is hand-cut, shaped and engraved from pure iron. Its nanako stippled pattern was done by a very patient hand. The tsuba has seki-gane inserts of copper that are designed to be more easily worked and shaped than iron to ensure that the tsuba has a tight fit to the blade. Should it be removed to be put onto another blade it will be easier to fit the tsuba because of the seki-gane. Most production katana omit the seki-gane of the tsuba; its inclusion is indicative of the degree of detail Citadel has imparted into its katana.

The habaki is of copper and the seppa are brass. The fuchi and kashira fittings are crafted from highly polished pure iron. The wooden tsuka has the rare inclusion of a full ray-skin wrap overlaid with black silk ito imported from Japan. The ito tight and well knotted.  Menuki of silvered bronze offer a nice contrast to the dark handle wrap (Tsuka-Maki) and emphasize the graceful whole.

The saya scabbard is hand carved and given a gloss black lacquer finish. The mouth of the saya has an inlaid wrap of rayskin that was polished until it was smooth and then made flush with the rest of the scabbard by filling its recesses with black lacquer. The koiguchi is of buffalo horn and is carved to precisely fit the scabbard. An untied black sageo cord is included. The "tsuka" or handle and "saya" or scabbard are hand carved to fit each individual blade ensuring a proper fit.

The sword comes with a black cloth sword bag with silk inside. It also comes with a padded, zippered nylon sword carrying bag with a shoulder strap and external zippered compartment.

Crafted individually from start to finish, each one is of course a bit unique in it's own way. Each  Katana is signed by the smith on the nakago with the sword number and comes with a matching certificate.

Specifications:

Blade Material: DNH7 Carbon Steel
Handle Material: Wood / Ray Skin / Silk
Sheath: Wood
Handle Length: 28 cm
Blade Length: 71,5 cm
overall Length (without sheath): 100 cm
Weight (without sheath): 1250 g