Japanese sword is the shorthand for the curved single edged blades of Japan: the katana at roughly 40 inches overall, the wakizashi at around 28, and the occasional straight bladed ninjato that sits alongside them. Everything gathered here is forged by hand from one bar of steel and fitted with a wrapped tsuka, a tsuba and a wooden saya, so what turns up is a real sword rather than a stainless copy screwed onto a rat tail tang. The buyers are collectors, martial arts students who want a sharp blade for soft target cutting, and people buying a milestone gift that will live on a stand for years.
What is on this page
Blade lengths run from 19 inch wakizashi up to 29 inch katana blades, with overall lengths between 27 and 41.5 inches. Steel is one of two house specs. Plain 1095 high carbon sits at 54 to 58 HRC and is the tougher, more forgiving choice if the sword is going to cut anything. Damascus of 1095 and 15N20, forge welded and acid etched, sits at 58 to 60 HRC and carries the folded pattern the whole length of the blade, which is what most collectors want under a lamp. Handles are cord wrapped over rayskin or leather, with a few in green silk ito, and fittings are iron, steel or brass. Almost every listing ships with its own lacquered wooden saya and a cord sageo. One is a two piece daisho set with a matching katana and wakizashi. A handful carry Norse etching, a valknut or a triskele on the blade or the guard, which is where this range meets the rest of the catalogue. Prices run from 285 dollars to 659 dollars.
Choosing between them
Length decides most of it. A katana needs room to swing and a rack to live on. A wakizashi is easier to keep indoors and easier to hand to someone who has never held a sword before. If you are weighing the two, the breakdown in our comparison of the katana, wakizashi and tanto covers reach, use and storage without the usual mythology. After that, settle whether you want the blade sharp or blunt, because the gap between a display sword and a battle ready one changes how you store it and who you let pick it up. The full Japanese range including the daisho sets sits in katana and Japanese swords, and the shorter blades on their own are in wakizashi.
Ransack Viking is a US company based in Chicago, Illinois. These pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from Chicago. Engraving is done in the US after arrival: text 19 dollars, symbol 39 dollars, family crest 49 dollars.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
