Trithorn Hand Forged 1095 Steel Wakizashi Short Sword Set | Three Blades and Three Lacquered Scabbards | Cord Wrapped Handles in Black Red and Ivory | Dojo Display Gift | RK-1791

The wakizashi is the shorter of the two blades a Japanese swordsman carried, and this set brings three of them together. Each one is hand forged from 1095 high carbon steel and given the gentle curve and single cutting edge that define the form, with a shinogi ridge running the length of the flat so light breaks across the blade in two clean planes. The three handles are bound in flat cord over a textured underlay, one black, one deep red and one ivory white, and every sword drops into its own turned and lacquered hardwood scabbard in a matching colour.

Here is something most people do not know about the short sword. It was the blade a samurai kept when he went indoors. Custom and, later, law both held that the long katana was surrendered at the door of a house, a teahouse or an inn, but the wakizashi stayed on the belt at all hours and often slept within reach of its owner. That is why so many surviving examples show a heavily worn handle and a comparatively fresh edge. It was the blade that was carried rather than the blade that was drilled with. These three are forged, ground, heat treated, polished and fitted by hand in the Czech Republic, and they ship as a complete set of three swords and three scabbards.

Specifications

What actually makes a wakizashi a wakizashi

It is not the shape. A wakizashi and a katana share the same geometry, the same curve, the same ridge line and the same mounting logic. What separates them is length, and specifically the length of the cutting edge measured in the old Japanese unit called the shaku. A blade with an edge between roughly one and two shaku was classed as a wakizashi. Shorter than one shaku and it became a tanto. Longer than two and it was a katana. That sounds like bureaucratic hair splitting until you remember that sword length was regulated, that the two sword pairing of long and short was a legal marker of status, and that a smith who missed the boundary by a finger width had made a different sword entirely in the eyes of the law.

The round guard on each of these swords sits against a fitted collar rather than being pinched directly onto the blade. That collar is doing real work. It seats the guard, it stops the blade rattling in the mounting, and it is the part that wedges the sword into the mouth of the scabbard so it does not slide out when the scabbard is tipped point down. If you have ever wondered why a Japanese scabbard needs no strap or catch, that collar is the answer.

1095 high carbon steel and what the heat treat does to it

All three blades are forged from 1095, a simple high carbon steel with close to one percent carbon and very little else in it. Simple is the point. There is nothing in 1095 to complicate the heat treat, which means a smith working by eye and by magnet can bring it up to temperature, quench it and draw it back to a predictable place. We take these to 54 to 58 HRC, which is deliberately not as hard as we could push it. At that range the edge takes a keen bevel and holds it through normal handling, but the spine keeps enough toughness that a knock against the guard of another blade chips a burr rather than cracking the sword.

The satin polish is hand worked rather than buffed. That leaves a slightly directional surface that shows the geometry of the grind honestly, which is what you want on a blade with a shinogi ridge. A mirror buff would round that ridge over and lose the line.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel, the leather or the wood. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On a three sword set you can give each blade a different line, which people often do for three names or three dates. Full detail is on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

A wakizashi handles nothing like a long sword. The balance point sits close to the guard, so the blade wants to move around the wrist rather than around the shoulder, and the whole sword feels like an extension of the forearm. Held in one hand the tip comes up fast and stops where you put it. That is the reason the short sword was the indoor blade. In a corridor or a low room a katana catches on ceilings and door frames while a wakizashi has room to work.

These are sharpened working blades, not blunted display copies, and they are sold as collector and display pieces rather than for sparring. Do not use them for contact drills against another blade or against a partner. If you practise cutting forms, treat each sword as you would any sharp tool and give yourself far more clearance than you think you need.

Care

1095 is a carbon steel and it will rust if you let it. Wipe each blade down after handling, because fingerprints are slightly acidic and will etch a shadow into a polished surface within a week in a humid room. A thin film of mineral oil or camellia oil on the flats is enough. Store the swords out of the scabbards if you keep them in a damp place, since a lacquered wooden scabbard holds moisture against steel. The cord wrap can be brushed with a dry soft brush and should not be soaked. The lacquer wants nothing more than a dry cloth. Our longer method for carbon and pattern welded blades is set out under steel care.

Made in the Czech Republic

This piece is made by hand in the Czech Republic, in a workshop that still works the old way. The steel is forged, ground, heat treated and finished by smiths who learned the trade from the people before them, and the wood, horn and leather are cut and fitted by hand rather than pressed out on a line. That is also why no two pieces come out exactly the same.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import these pieces ourselves, check every one when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, so your runes or your own design go on before it leaves for you.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The cord wrap will have its own rhythm of diamonds. The lacquer will have its own depth and its own faint hand marks. The polish will catch light slightly differently on each of the three blades, and the grain of the three scabbards will not match each other because they are cut from different pieces of wood. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is the trade you make for something worked by hand.

Frequently asked questions

Are the blades sharp when they arrive

Yes. All three arrive with a working edge already put on by hand. They are not display dulls. Unpack them carefully and keep them scabbarded when you are not looking at them.

Can I buy just one of the three

This listing is the set of three swords and three scabbards at a set price. If you want a single blade in one particular colour, contact us before ordering and we will tell you what we can do.

Do the scabbards hold the swords securely

They do. The fitted steel collar at the base of each blade wedges into the mouth of its own scabbard, which is why the sword stays put when the scabbard is tipped. Each scabbard is fitted to its own sword and they are not interchangeable.

Will these rust

They can, because 1095 is a carbon steel with no chromium in it to protect the surface. A wipe down and a thin film of oil after handling prevents it entirely.

Can I have runes cut into all three

Yes, and you can give each blade its own line. Use the rune converter on this page and tell us in the engraving option which line goes on which colour.

Will my set look exactly like the photograph

Close, but not identical. The colours, the steel and the dimensions match. The wrap, the lacquer depth and the polish are hand worked and will carry their own small differences.

What is in the box

• Three hand forged 1095 high carbon steel wakizashi short swords
• Three matching hand lacquered hardwood scabbards in black, red and ivory
• Cord wrapped handles fitted and finished by hand
• Care card covering oiling and storage
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See the rest of the katana and Japanese swords, the wakizashi, the wider sword range and the guides for how we grind, harden and finish a blade.