| One of the popular legends is that Amakuni and his | | | | very hard but very brittle. Folding it over itself over |
| son Amakura were standing outside their sword | | | | and over again to create steel with up to 30,000 |
| smithing shop when the army was returning from | | | | laminations strengthened this hard core. Around this |
| battle. As a sword maker to the Emperor's army | | | | hard core, softer and more flexible steel was |
| Amakuni was expecting to be acknowledged by the | | | | wrapped. The two steel were welded together and |
| Emperor, as had been the norm in the past. | | | | the edge was tempered (tempering created the |
| However, in this case he was snubbed by the | | | | Hamon on the blade). The end result was a blade |
| Emperor and soon understood why when he saw | | | | with exceptional edge holding and cutting ability. And |
| many of the sword blades carried by the soldiers | | | | with the flexibility to withstand continuous contact |
| were broken. He was determined to research and | | | | with other weapons or armour on the battlefield. This |
| build the perfect sword. | | | | is how the unique nature and shape of the Japanese |
| After a period of sabbatical and reflection, Amakuni | | | | blade is believed to have been created |
| and his son went about developing a superior | | | | The myth of blood grooves. Why do blades have |
| weapon. The next summer when the Emperor | | | | blood grooves? Answer: - to allow air or blood to |
| returned from another battle, none of the swords | | | | escape from a STABBING attack because it will |
| were broken and the Emperor passed and said to | | | | enable you to with draw the blade from the body. |
| Amakuni, "you are an expert sword maker, none of | | | | However the samurai sword was made to cut or |
| the swords you made failed in battle". What Amakuni | | | | slash not stab. So what are these grooves for? |
| is said to have developed is a style of sword that | | | | Answer: - The grooves (hi) exist for 2 reasons. |
| was hard enough to hold an edge but flexible enough | | | | 1) To reduce the weight on the heaver blades |
| not to break or shatter, the paradoxical combination | | | | making them easy to deploy. By using this method |
| needed for a good blade. | | | | the balance was undamaged. |
| The Japanese did this by creating a sword from two | | | | 2) Grooves were also used to cut defects out of |
| different types of metal. The core was made of | | | | the blade occurring from the forging process. This |
| steel with a high carbon content.This makes the steel | | | | could happen to the best sword smith on occasion. |