Thread: Secrets Of the Samurai Sword

This here was on last night on PBS. Unfortunately they don't rebroadcast it online although they do have a preview and some info. For members interested in forging I think it would be well worth seeing. You might want to keep an eye out for it.

Jimmy, I actually have a couple of Katana's, and I believe there's an old Gentleman on the Island of Okinawa still making them on an Anvil outside in a Blacksmith shop. His family has been doing it for over 1000 years. I may try to convince OS to take a trip over there and pick me one up...Ha.....I'm back.....

The Code of the Samurai is as intriguing and beautiful as the samurai itself.

During the 9th & 12th centuries in Japan the warrior class were known as samurai aka Bushi (Bushido). They lived by a code. The code was verbally passed on to each generation of samurai. Over time, 7 chief virtues emerged, they became the written form of Bushido.

Sometimes called the the Seven Virtues of the Samurai, the Bushido Code or The Samurai Code of Chivalry,

Gi - Rectitude
Yu - Courage.
Jin - Benevolence
Rei - Respect
Makoto - Honesty
Meiyo - Honor
Chungi - Loyalty

Credit is generally given that a Chinese man aka Confucius, is the father of these values in China.

Therefore you'll find these variations of moral values in China, Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere too.

Originally Posted by zib

Jimmy, I actually have a couple of Katana's, and I believe there's an old Gentleman on the Island of Okinawa still making them on an Anvil outside in a Blacksmith shop. His family has been doing it for over 1000 years. I may try to convince OS to take a trip over there and pick me one up...Ha.....I'm back.....

Glad to see ya back Rich

I googled it and found you can view it online at Veoh.com. I have never used veoh before, so I don't know if it is totally safe and/or legal. You can watch a 5 minute preview there, but beware, there is other objectional content on the page. You have to download and install some piece of software from them to see the full video. I plan on doing this and then removing the software. I'll let you know how it goes when I'm done (sometime tomorrow evening, probably).

No worries, Veoh is safe and legal, their program is legit too.

Originally Posted by zib

JHa.....I'm back.....

glad to see it !!

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I googled it and found you can view it online at Veoh.com. I have never used veoh before, so I don't know if it is totally safe and/or legal. You can watch a 5 minute preview there, but beware, there is other objectional content on the page. You have to download and install some piece of software from them to see the full video. I plan on doing this and then removing the software. I'll let you know how it goes when I'm done (sometime tomorrow evening, probably).

Originally Posted by WongKonPow

No worries, Veoh is safe and legal, their program is legit too.

Well, on installing AntiVir (my antyvirus) detected a low threat trojan in the uninstall file, so I chose to deny access and delete when it popped up. This left me able to use the software and watch the full movie. I then wanted to uninstall, so I got rid of the add-on in Firefox and attempted to do a standard uninstall throught Windows (Vista). Since I did not have the unitstall file, I was not able to do so. I ran the installer again and, after doing some research, chose to ignore the trojan warnings in order to get the uninstall file. More of the same warnings when uninstalling, but it in sow gone. Should odd posts start appearing on my SPR account, you will know why.

As for the video itself, I think it is worth watching. Lots of great information and history. Very engaging, in my opinion.

For the most part, the show is decent. The smelting is the real deal as is the swordsmith and some of the commentary is valid and reliable. The technical explanations are not as bright as I would expect from the bright people they hired, but it does the job for the average TV viewer. There are only a few mistakes and I was probably just picky. Not really enough to grumble about given the rest of the good job.

I have a modest collection of Katanas and they can be some of the most gorgeous blades ever made. They are a real time consumer to sharpen. Plan on hour after hour of careful honing. One came to me so sharp if you were foolish enough to try you could shave with it easily.
I have a couple of videos on making them and the old gentleman you mentioned may be the one in the video. The video starts from picking the steel to finishing with his making a full size Katana. He says people wait for 3 to 5 years for a sword and buy them as wedding presents, corporate promotions, new male child in a family and on it goes. he also makes them for collectors around the world. They are the ones that have to wait the five years for one. Cost ? Many thousands of dollars depending.
It's amazing to watch him sit with a pice of steel and direct his apprentices where to strike the steel just by the motion of his smaller hammer. Neat stuff!