A Bamboo Stick Sword Review

The bamboo stick sword is one of the more common inexpensive katana swords available today. This type of sword is not something new. During the Viet Nam conflict, these swords were found on many of the enemy soldiers. They used them for close combat conditions, and the enemy was highly trained with these weapons.

The bamboo stick sword has an overall length of 41 inches, and the blade is 27 ¼ inches in length, with the exception of the metal part of the handle which is set from four to six inches inside the wooden handle. The blade is made with carbon steel, and is not considered as a true fighting katana. The handle and the scabbard are made from bamboo and can be carried either on the soldier's back or in the traditional side way.

However, many times the soldier could also use his bamboo stick sword for a cane while traveling through the jungle. These swords were not real katana swords, but were only the blades which allowed each soldier to make their own type of handle. They normally did not have a hand guard of any kind. However, the soldiers used them with great skill in close combat.

With a normal or true katana sword the sword makers took pride in their work. They used a method called folding to create a good sword. This was done by taking a piece of low carbon steel for the core, and using two pieces of high carbon steel, one each side of the outer edge.

The steel was then heated and pounded into shape which happened over a period of days. Each day the sword was reheated and re-beaten to remove any impurities from the sword. The sword was usually not folded more than 16 times however, a few have been made with 20 folds, any more than 16 may cause deformities to form in the metal.

The way the smith put the curve in the katana was quite a unique process. They would put a mixture of mud, or clay and water along with grinding stone powder and other items together to form the mud; then they would coat the thick edge of the blade with the mud using a thinner coat than the side and the spine of the sword.

The sword was then heated again and cooled with water; however, some swordsmiths used oil such as olive oil to cool the sword. This process acted as an insulator to help hold the heat in the metal, and as it is slowly cooled the blade began to curve, it also created the hamon, or the swerving line down the center of the blade. The hamon can only be seen after the sword has been polished and serves as the forger's personal signature for each katana.

Let Brian Garvin & Jeff West teach you more about Ancient Swords and the Bamboo Stick Sword on our Colinzi website today.