Yay, my first Real sword

[zephri]

I ordered a Tenchi Ko Katana from sbg a less than a week ago it came in the mail today. It was not as sharp out of the box as I thought it would be but that was easily solved with a steel, now it's razor sharp, I did a cut test on the shipping box it came in and it was scary how easily it glided through it.
Now, I have a question about Tatami mats where do I buy them (cheaply) and how do I prepare them for cutting?

 

[beluga]

It would be wise if you took a lesson in Japanese swordmanship (the one that also teaches you how to perform tameshigiri) before you start swinging around that beauty. As tough as a katana is, it is a wll known fact that a wrong cutting technique can cuse the blade to bend or even to break.

You can buy wara at www.bugei.com or www.tameshigiri.com. Soak the wara in water for 24 hours before cutting, dry it a bit (put it outside for 2-3 hours), then you can start cutting it.

That's a beautiful katana. Congrats on your first real sword.

 

[zephri]

Okay, know of any places near Indianapolis where I could learn this? It sounds like it could be a lot of fun.

 

[J.S. Carter]

Midwest Kendo Federation

Indianapolis, INCentral Indiana Kendo Club: Hajime Sugawara

Baxter YMCA (317-881-9347)
8202 US 31 South
Indianapolis, IN 46227
Tues, Thur: 8:00 pm -10:00 pm

Contact: Hajime Sugawara
Email: hajime222@yahoo.com

Contact: Shunsuke Akagi
Phone: 317-475-1459

Good Luck! Nice lookin Sword! What kind of steel is it made out of?

 

[zephri]

According to cheness cutlery it's 9260 spring steel.

Thanks for the info, unfortunately I work 5:30pm to 4:00am. I'll still check it out though.

 

[averageguy]

I ordered one of these as well - unfortunately it arrived with a slight twist in the blade and will be going back tomorrow. I ordered directly from Cheness forgetting that Paul offers a small discount on these. I like the blue ito on yours. It's a great size and even a smaller person like me can wield it with one hand. The longer handle on these makes them more aesthetically pleasing for me than the normal wakizashi and probably quicker feeling.

 

[zephri]

The ito is actually black, My camera seems to have a color issue (weird the scabbard's wrap shows up as black).Hmmm This has tempted me to buy a blue ito now.