A Katana, (In Japanese spelled as “かたな”) can be described as a medium sized, single edge sword with a curved blade and meant to be handled with two hands at a time. Katanas are known around the world for being quite possibly one of the greatest swords in military history. Its legendary status as a weapon comes from its incredible sharpness. It is said that it can cut a person in half with the flick of wrist, and more embellished tales claim that this sword can cut stone and steel.

The process to make a katana sword is very complex. To complicated to adequately cover in this informal essay. But the main idea is to use an extremely hard but brittle metal for the cutting edge and using a soft but ductile metal to provide structural rigidity. The combination of these two metals allowed Japanese swordsmiths to succeed where foreigners had failed and make a sword that sacrifice sharpness for resiliency nor resiliency for sharpness. The two metals in question would expand differently to the same temperature thus the main body of the sword would bend during the final stages of production, thus creating the signature curved shape. More details of the manufacturing process can be found in this hyperlink.

The Katana has been so strongly associated with Japan that it would be a waste of time to demonstrate this connection. Rather consider the length of time the Katana has been a symbol of Japan; The Korean Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty records a Korean swordsmith being sent to Japan to learn the trade of Japanese sword making. The document in question is dated in 1460 A.D.