There are many details to look into and terminology to learn when looking to buy your first katana. What is the best katana steel? And what kind of style should I look  for? This guide will help ease the gap between a new katana buyer and a knowledgeable katana buyer.

  CHECK OUT MY BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO KATANA TERMINOLOGY HERE.

Let’s begin with the function of your potential katana. Are you looking for a decoration to hang on the wall as the center-piece of a room, or are you looking to go out in the backyard and take a few hacks at some water bottles and tatami mats? Most people cannot resist the urge to cut things when they have a sword in reach, so we will focus most of our attention on the functional katana.

When most people think of buying a katana, they immediately conclude that they will easily have to shell out at least 500-1000 bucks for any sword that will do more than look pretty on your wall. This is not the case. There are a few affordable options out there that will function as a cutting tool, you just have to know what to look for. Let’s start off with some different types of katana steel.

Stainless Katana Steel

While stainless steel is great for knives and shorter blades, the brittle nature makes it prone to shatter on blades longer than around twelve inches. Stainless steel swords are decorative and can break if attempting to cut objects, potentially maiming or killing the user. It is not advisable as a katana steel for anything other than a conversation piece.

Carbon Katana Steel

Carbon steel is measured by a hardness scale with the first two digits, 10, designating it is steel. The second two digits, 01 to 99, represent a carbon content of .01% to .99%.  The range for proper katana strength and durability is between 1045 and 1095 strength. Here are the 3 most popular carbon sword steels.

1045 Carbon Steel

1045  Carbon Steel is on the soft end of the spectrum. Softer steel will bend rather than break, increasing durability. It will also lose its edge more frequently.

1060 Carbon Steel

1060 Carbon Steel is considered a good balance, as it has flexibility and can keep a sharp edge longer. Many people consider this to be the optimal katana steel to work with.

1095 Carbon Steel

1095 Carbon Steel is incredibly hard, but  can take a sharper edge and keep it for longer. While it is not considered to be fragile, it is not as tough and flexible as a lower carbon content sword steel.

Spring Katana Steel

Spring steels have the addition of a small amount of silicon added to them and are in that sweet spot of .60% carbon content. The addition of silicon gives the blades great flexibility, which allows them to spring back to their original shape when bent, hence the name. The two types of spring steel used for katana are 5160 and 9260.

5160 Spring Steel

5160 Spring steel has a low Chromium content, not enough to be considered stainless. The addition of a small amount of silicon however, results in a truly tough alloy favored over many other sword steels.

9260 Spring Steel

9260 Spring Steel is also known as Silicon Manganese Steel. It has ten times as much silicon as 5160 Spring Steel, and is known to be incredibly flexible. Due to its ability to spring back from an almost 90 degree bend, it is a very popular katana steel.

Tool Katana Steel

Tool steels have become incredibly popular recently, due to their toughness and ability to keep a sharp edge and hold it. There are two standouts that are the most popular.

T-10 Tool Steel

T-10 tool steel has a high carbon content and a small amount of silicon. The fact that it is a tungsten alloy means it is incredibly scratch resistant in addition to being tougher than sword steels of similar carbon content.

L6 Bainite

L6 Bainite is known as the toughest katana steel on the market. It is a low alloy steel and is hard to work with, which means you will pay a lot.

Damascus Katana Steel

Damascus Steel is essentially any steel that has been folded in the process of making that particular sword. Originally the Japanese used this process to get rid of the impurities of Tamahagane, the traditional katana steel used by Japanese. Many Damascus steel swords will be advertised as ” High Carbon”. This is typically at the low end of the spectrum at 1045 Carbon steel. Still fair quality, but needs sharpening more often than higher carbon content swords.

 

 

Katana Tang

While you won’t usually find a katana of quality steel without a full-tang, I cannot stress the importance of making sure you are buying a full-tang katana before purchase. You do not want to even swing a sword with a tang like these!

If you found this informative, please like and share, and if you want more, check out this article about the anatomy of a true katana here.