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Old Pine Katana
Bugei is pleased to announce the latest addition to its sword lineup -- the Old Pine Katana. This beautiful sword was created using a new, modern, high alloy unfolded steel with a completely modern heat treatment developed by a metallurgist at Hanwei.  The result is a sword with an extremely interesting hamon and incredibly high performance. James Williams has spent a great deal of time with a number of prototypes and has cut a huge number of varied targets with these swords. James has said that there is *nothing* on the production market today that approaches the durability of these blades.
Our goal was to make a sword that was without peer in terms of performance but would still have a beautiful and somewhat traditional look. Since the sword is intended to be a strong workhorse that you can rely on day in and day out for years, the sword is mounted in an understated "pine" motif. The pine tree endures year round as it is an evergreen which befits the steel used for this fine and powerful katana that will never let you down. The blackened iron tsuba is a classic design picturing a pine tree and pine needles. The shape was chosen as it allows the swordsman to place the sword on the ground in front of them without worrying about the sword rolling. The fuchi kashira are also blackened iron with pine motifs. The menuki are gold gilded representations of pine cones. The green saya represents the year round green of the evergreen pine and sports understated hand-painted gold needles.
The tsuka is wrapped in brown silk ito with blackened samekawa underneath. The sword has two mekugi and all saya parts are made of fine horn.
The thoroughly modern high alloy steel katana has light niku but is of moderate weight and dimensions with an extended chu kissaki and moderate sori. It is a very sharp blade that is an aggressive cutter that should handle any conventional cutting practice. It handles relatively lightly in the hands but of course balance will vary according to blade and tsuka length as chosen by the customer. The prototype sword shown in the photographs is approximately 30 inches long with a 14" tsuka.
This sword is available for order now from Bugei Trading Company. As swords arrive from the factory and pass our stringent quality control orders will be filled on a first come, first served basis.
Customers have a choice in sword length (nagasa). Customers may order a 28.5" sword or a 30.5" sword. Since every sword is hand made there will be slight variation. Tsuka lengths available are 11" and 13" for the 28.5" sword. Tsuka lengths for the 30.5" sword are 11" and 14".
Please do not hesitate to call Bugei Trading if you have any questions. | 
