Swordsman

The iconic curved sword of the Japanese samurai

The katana is the representative single-edged curved sword of Japan, regarded as the symbol of the samurai class and a weapon in which the soul dwells. With a gently curved blade of about 60 to 80 cm, it is made by a distinctive forging in which tamahagane, jade steel, is folded and hammered again and again. The spine of the blade, the mune, is soft steel and the edge, the ha, hard steel, so it has flexibility and cutting power together. The hamon, the temper line, produced by yaki-ire, hardening different parts differently with clay applied, is unique to each blade. Its present form took hold in the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573), and worn edge-up in the belt, the obi, it makes possible the fast draw, iai, that cuts in the very act of drawing the sword.

A thrust-oriented slender sword of Renaissance Europe

The rapier is a thrust-specialized sword born in Renaissance Europe, marked by a long, slender, double-edged blade of about 100 to 130 cm. The blade is narrow, stiff, and sharply pointed, optimized for the thrust. Its most striking trait is the complex swept hilt that encloses the hand, in which several rings, a knuckle-bow, and quillons guard the whole hand like a cage. It was the self-defense weapon of the European noble and citizen and the standard weapon of the duel of honor from the 16th to the 18th century. Though it looks slender, its long blade and large guard bring the total weight to about 1 to 1.4 kg. The foil and the epee of modern fencing developed from this weapon, and it was also the weapon that led to the birth of systematic schools of swordsmanship.

Small fist-held round shield for active defense

The buckler is a small round shield about 20 to 40 cm in diameter, an active defensive tool held in the fist by a handle behind the raised metal dome (the boss) at the center. Unlike a large shield strapped to the arm to cover the body, the buckler was worked with a free wrist to glance a blow aside rather than block it head-on, to strike and push the opponent's weapon away or wind it up and make an opening. It also covered the sword hand, so it was a tool of attack and defense in one, blocking while at the same time mastering the enemy's blade. The 'sword and buckler' technique used with a sword was a core field of medieval European fencing, and several fencing manuals on it survive. Often made from a single sheet of metal, it was cheap, and being small enough to hang from the belt, it was used widely not only by professional warriors but as a self-defense sidearm of the medieval townsman.