So does the Penang store at Kek Lok Si sell actual practise Katana? Most importantly good steel blade materials?

Hi FreeFall,

All katana blade uses Choji Oil. Choji Oil is very simple to make. Its 98% Mineral Oil + 2% Clove Oil. Mineral oil can be Singer Sewing Oil. Clove oil, u need to buy it. Mix them all up, you have Choji.

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Added on July 29, 2008, 10:29 pmThanks Crash,

Thats a darnit thou. I'd love to try tameshigiri with the proper blade.

Nox

This post has been edited by serphinox: Jul 29 2008, 10:29 PM

Clove oil can go to chinese medicine shop they sell them. As for Mineral oil the closes resemblence is Singer Sewing oil but if you can but high quality ones from Ace hardware or hardware stores would be better.

I do have some blades to let go. if your interested. email me at addyngo@gmail.com

Technically, it is illegal to own any assault weapons in Malaysia but Unsharpen/blunt ones are normally known as Decorative sets and deemed harmless so the authorities will not be too strict with it. Nevertheless, Carrying any objects that looks like an assault weapon and possesses a scare to te public safety is still illegal. So a summary will be NEVER TO SHOW your blade off in the public eye and should always keep in it house to avoid any unseesecary matters.

A Replica Katana looks exactly like the real thing (of course it has to be a high graded katana) the difference are normally.

1. How the Blade is made as the real katanas are 100% hand made. Replicas maybe machine made or 1/2 manmade 1/2 machine made
2. the compound of the steel but nowadays due to technology you can still fine very high end steel compounds for katana but will not be cheap.
3. if the Hamon is etched or natural. Hamon is a Japanese word. Google it as i dont know how to explain it

Nowadays, there is no such thing as a real katana unless its an antique or its worth RM10K or more with a certificate to authenticate that it is handmade. So the only thing to look for is
1. the Compound of the steel.
2. the hamon, it should tell you if the blade edges are harden or not and also how the blade is roughly made.

Professional shops? Dude, Shops are the ones that will slithe your throat as they need to pay for bills/rents, so dont hope to see cheap stuff in shops unless they are like tesco or carrefour that buys and sell in bulks. Besides, its Malaysia, and base on the law, selling it publicly is still illegal.

And as for sharpening your Katana, its a NO NO. Never ever sharpen your katana unless you know how to do or unless you are not intending to use it for practice because a wrong geometry of the katana will cause the cutting to fail and by sharpen your katana the incorrect way, you actual spoils the Hamon and cause the blade to expose itself to the air which will rust the blade.

Oh... did i mention that GOOD KATANA blades rust? because of the compound "carbon". exposure to sweat and air and not wiped will rust the blades.

Lastly, for many of us who likes katana but dont know the law, this was what i found

ACT 357
Corrosive And Explosive Substances And Offensive Weapons Act 1958 (Revised - 1988)

SECOND SCHEDULE - (Sections 2 and 12)

1. Any knife, sometimes known as a "flick knife", which as a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife.

2. Any knife, sometimes known as a "gravity knife" which as a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force and which, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever or other device.

3. Any whip manufactured from bicycle or motorcycle chains, or from any similar kind of chainwork.

4. All kinds of knuckleduster.

5. Any blade or other instrument attached to or forming part of a bicycle pumpu, metal pipe or stick, and concealed therein, which is capable of being used for cutting and stabbing.

6. Any knife-like instrument with three sharp edges and a sharp pointed tip, sometimes known as a "bearing scraper".

7. Any small axe normally used as a weapon and commonly known as "kapak kecil".

8. Any sword, kris, parang or other knifewhich on any part of it is written, embossed, inscribed with or which otherwise bears any verse, word or character conected with or relating to any religion or belief.

9. Any sword or parang which is normally meant to be used as a weapon and not as an agricultrual implement or household or garden tool.

10. Any spear or spearhead.

11. Any crossbow.

12. Any Patrolite, Stun Gun, Taser, Control Club or any such similar instrument, device or equipment operated by battery or electricity or any form of power.

(Am.P.U. (B) 131/89, P.U.(A) 23/92.)

Checkout www.friendster.com/serphinox for my collections.

[quote=simonkingsamurai,Oct 2 2008, 03:31 AM]
young man , are you know what is 440steel or 420steel , stainless steel ???? , oh ~ ya carbon steel ? which hard steel ? and which soft steel ? hehe 440steel is hard steel , home spoon is just normal stainless steel , i sell lots of 440steel blade item , i test 440steel blade with stainless steel blade . . . stainless steel blade cant stand the hardness of 440 , but carbon steel blade can win 440 because carbon steel is more flexible power to tahan 440 . . .


For education purpose with no intentions to harm feelings, Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel

All the 440, 420, stainless steels are all STAINLESS STEELS due to high amount of Chormium compound. High amount of chromium makes a steel stainless (less corrosive), hence Stainless steel. Carbon is what makes steels so all steels are called carbon Steels. To exactly identify them, bladesmiths categorise them into

* Mild (low carbon) steel: approximately 0.05–0.15% carbon content for low carbon steel and 0.16–0.29% carbon content for mild steel.Mild steel has a relatively low tensile strength, but it is cheap and malleable; surface hardness can be increased through carburizing.

* Medium carbon steel: approximately 0.30–0.59% carbon content. Balances ductility and strength and has good wear resistance; used for large parts, forging and automotive components.

* High carbon steel: approximately 0.6–0.99% carbon content. Very strong, used for springs and high-strength wires.

* Ultra high carbon steel: approximately 1.0–2.0% carbon content. Steels that can be tempered to great hardness. Used for special purposes like (non-industrial-purpose) knives, axles or punches. Most steels with more than 1.2% carbon content are made using powder metallurgy.

Ancient katanas are made from Medium Carbon Steels on the outside forged with HIGH or ULTRA High Carbons folded into the inside. This gives the blade tip hardness when you slash and bouncing softness on the outside when you defend and block.

With technologies nowadays, Katana Blade Steels may not needed be folded or forged base on tranditional methods already for Mono steels (a new technology) are as strong as any other forged steels. e.g. Victornoix, J&K Kitchen knifes. infact, some mono steels are so strong, the traditional ones just breaks upon battle combat.

So, in simple summary, if Katana blades are made from Carbon Steel, 1st thing 1st is ask, Which grade of carbon steel is it? Low, Mid, High or Ultra High. The higher the scale, the more expensive 440 (low Carbon Steels) comes in 4 grades. 440A, 440 B, 440C and 440 F. Entry level should be 440C anything else is not advisable as its as good as a display unit only. Even said that, i dont recommend practising with hard objects with 440C steel because we dont know if the steel compounds are made with EXACT precision as anything more or less by 0.1% can cause chaos. hence a certificate is preferrable to understand the percentage of steel compound used in it. Unfortunately, thats what you can get in Malaysia for no one is willing to import any Mid or High carbon steel blades due to the price and customs issue. (it will be another long story on why customs would give problems when importing them).

As for full tang battle ready, what it means is that,
1. TANG means the grip conforms to the shape and follows the outline of the tang, which is a solid piece of metal. It is a single piece of metal from tip to base but the hilt/handle is usually encased. The handle may be affixed to the tang with rivets or pins. A full tang generally implies a tough and durable sword hilt / handle. This method of production means that the sword is stronger as it is a solid construction rather than a blade fixed to a base which can come off through wear or contact.
Looking at the diagram a full tang is when the handle is inserted, the nakagoriji should reach somewhere at the end tip of the handle base.

2. Battle Ready just means is sharpened.

Another point for you to ponder about is that the harder the steel is, the more brittle it gets. thats how nature works (too bad) thats why traditional katanas are made with foldings (hard on the inside, soft on the outside). So do you want a blade that is Super hard but breaks when it cannot resist a strong blow or a blade that is is soft but will chip and flatten upon combat but does not break easily?

Should i made a wrong statement, do correct me. this is my findings from the numerous leisure studies on steel, owning the blades and sharing my knowledge (more like stealing knowledge) with ironsmiths.

but if you wanna know more, lets chat. I dont mind sharing knowledge. You may know something i dont

3 for Rm200?

Good Deal indeed.

Everyone one here loves Katana because the title of the topic is "KAtana" hence it will more or else be talking obout Katanas

Some wanted it for practise, some wanted it for display, some wanted it as a form of Japanese Arts & culture, some wanted it for k!lling & some wanted it for collection purposes.
I want it for all the above except K!lling or harming anything alive.

Everyone has their own perspective of why they wanted it; its like asking "why do you like your partner and not have a cow as ur partner instead?" (just a metaphor)

Good start!

Declaring it as personal use/servenir/antique at the customs post will not work. Trust me, i just lost my USD400+ katana to the customs by declaring it as gifts. They will inspect, call you up, tell you to go to KLIA customs check then tell you that it's illegal and say it will be confiscated unless you have a police clearance which is somewhat known as a weapons license and there is no way you can get it unless you are rich or is a dato.

all the "if you are a sensei in Kendo you can get it into malaysia" is a BS because he too will need to have a police clearance which by definite is easiler to get then a noobie collector but being a sensei does not mean you can take them into malaysia.

This post has been edited by serphinox: Nov 7 2008, 12:48 PM

Hi Unrealweapon,

I never watch Manga Vagabond hence im not familiar with what Katana he uses but a Miyamoto Musashi is a famous Japanese samurai who discovered the art of swordsmanship call of The Book of Five Rings. He also has his own Katana tsuba signature which is as shown below.

As Katana is not that legal, getting it off the streets are a little diffcult. Since u r in Malaka. Jonk Street has an old man tat sells low graded replicas and high price. you can try it there if you want to. As i am a collector, i may be able to find 1 but will need time.

PM me if you are interested.

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Added on November 26, 2008, 5:13 pmHi there,

It is not a katana. Your picture shows a Bokken (Pronounce as "Bok Kun" or wooden stick) . A bamboo version is call Shinai.

Depending on where you are its not illegal.. u can get it in any martial art shops. Let me know where you are located.

a Shinai


This post has been edited by serphinox: Nov 26 2008, 05:17 PM

well most sports shop sells bokkens. Shinai needs to be ordered.. And boy its not cheap. If you are looking for low grade wood Bokken, Jonker Street has it for 12 - 15 ringgit. KL wise, medium grade ones can be found in some Royal sports shop.

If you cant find it let me know. I got someone that supply it.

Ah... you want a bokken. Low grades are easy to find. Melaka Jonker and Royal Sports in Shopping centers will have them. High grades are hard to find. Good Luck on that.

Royal Sports at 1 utama or Sunway Pyramid then.

It's a Musashi. The photo you showed is a Paul Chen's masahiro katana. Very expensive

This post has been edited by serphinox: Jan 9 2009, 05:05 PM