On the Performance of Odachi Sword from Three Aspects

The Japanese odachi, a large sword traditionally used by foot soldiers in the samurai class of feudal Japan, is a unique type of traditionally made Japanese sword. Its extended blade length and size make it different from other swords, requiring a more complicated traditional heat treatment process to enhance its toughness and elasticity.

This heat treatment ensures that the odachi can withstand the impact of combat, making it ideal for blocking and slashing. The traditional Japanese craftsmanship involved in creating the odachi highlights its significance in Japanese sword-making heritage, with its length and unique design marking it as a formidable type of sword in battle.

1. The blade of the odachi sword

The performance requirements of a long knife and a short knife on the blade are different. The long katana usually needs to block and collide with other swords in the fight, so the odachi sword blade needs to have a certain elasticity, and the blade must also have a certain degree of toughness, not as hard as possible.

Short knives are usually not used for intense fighting, so the rigidity of the blade is large, and the hardness of the blade can be slightly larger, but it is not as hard as possible. If the toughness of the blade is insufficient, the hard blade will chip, which is the most difficult damage to repair. If the blade is too soft, it may cause a large curling edge, which is also difficult to recover. Usually, the edge hardness of a good knife should be above 50HRC Rockwell hardness and below 60HRC. In short, the higher the hardness, the higher the wear resistance, but also the greater the brittleness, and the hardness does not exceed 60HRC.

2. The beginning of the odachi katana

Depending on the application, the grinding requirements for odachi  knives vary. The so-called cutting ability, in addition to the hardness and toughness of the blade, the angle of the cutting edge during grinding is very important. When the blade is sharpened, the angle of the blade is too thick, which is not conducive to assassination and cutting, but it is suitable for cutting hard objects within the armor.

On the contrary, for stabbing and cutting, the angle of the blade is small and thin when the blade is ground, and the blade of this kind of knife is very sharp and unusually sharp. But it is not conducive to cutting hard objects, otherwise it is easy to lose the edge or curl the blade. This principle has long been known to many street vendors. In the past, there were often hawkers selling kitchen knives on the streets, holding the kitchen knives to chop iron wire to show that the steel of the knives was good.

In fact, if you look closely, you will know that the kitchen knife used to chop iron wire has either a thick blade with a wide angle or a thin blade with no sharp edge. This kind of blade is only suitable for chopping hard objects, and it is very laborious to cut a piece of meat. It can be seen that the importance of the opening angle to the cutting ability, that is to say, the kind of treasure knife that can not only cut the iron but also blow the hair and break the hair does not exist. Each knife can only focus on one of the functions of cutting hard objects or soft objects, which is determined from the beginning of the grinding process. After reading this blog, do you want to buy samurai sword online? COOLKATANA would be a great choice for you!

3. The slashing of the odachi 

Even with a good knife, the cutting effect depends on the skill of the user. When splitting the knife, use the strength of the waist, legs and arms to coordinate and exert force to enhance the strength and speed of the splitting knife. In addition, be good at choosing the angle of contact between the blade of the odachi  and the target. For example, when using green bamboo as a test cut, it is generally believed that around 45 degrees is the best. If the angle is greater than 60 degrees, the blade may not cut deep enough to cut it cleanly, and if it is less than 30 degrees, the blade may slip over the target surface.