BOTOUKEN SWORDS
Japanese L6 Swords
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Korean L6 Swords Click
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SWORD OVERVIEW
All of our products are produced one at a time by a small team of craftsmen in
South Korea (they are not mass produced in factory assembly line style). Our
team has been working together for more than several years now, and the
members are highly skilled professionals in their fields. All forging and heat
treatments are conducted by the smith who holds a metallurgical engineering
degree. We have 2 gentlemen working on wooden parts (saya and tsuka), 2
gentleman working on fittings and assembly, 2 gentlemen working on sharpening
and polishing. Together, the team has created more than several thousand
swords currently used by many sword practitioners around the world. We start
with highest quality steel and use scientific methods to create our swords.
THE STEEL
Our standard sword is made with SKS51 steel (equivalent to AISI L6) produced
in Japan which is normally used for low temperature cutting tools. The metal
composition of AISI L6 is shown below (source: www.metalinfo.com) The steel is
produced in Japan with extremely low impurity level.
|
|
AISI L6 |
|
Element |
Min % |
Max % |
|
Carbon |
0.6500 |
0.7500 |
|
Manganese |
0.2500 |
0.8500 |
|
Silicon |
|
0.5000 |
|
Phosphorus |
|
0.0300 |
|
Sulfur |
|
0.0300 |
|
Chromium |
0.6000 |
1.2000 |
|
Copper |
|
|
|
Nickel |
1.2500 |
2.0000 |
|
Vanadium |
|
|
|
Tungsten |
|
|
FORGING
The steel bar is heated and forged with a power hammer into a shape of sword.
By using the power hammer, even amount of pressure can be applied to the
blade. In case of hammering with hand, the smith could get tired and possibly
miss a spot or apply uneven amount of pressure throughout the length of a
blade.
HEAT TREATMENT
All our blades are differentially hardened. During the heat treatment, the
steel is heated to the desired temperature with a gas heater. By using a gas
heater instead of charcoal, we can assure that the heat is evenly and
precisely applied to the whole body of the blade. The specimen temperature is
measured within 5 degrees Celsius using 2-color optical pyrometer. (No, we do
not compare the color of the steel to the full moon to guess its temperature).
The quenching oil is also heated to the exact desired temperature with
electric heaters. The precise temperature control of the steel and quenching
medium allows the smith to produce desired steel structure in our blade.
POLISH
We offer two types of blade polish. We would either finish the surface in
mirror polish or in martial art polish. For the martial art polish, the blade
is hand polished with natural stone to 8,000 grits. We do not offer full
polish due to cost reason. A quick note: labor cost of a skilled craftsman in
Korea is comparable to that in US or Canada.
WOOD WORK and FITTINGS
All wood works and fitting works are done after the blade is made. The
craftsman makes the habaki from a brass or silver plate to fit each blade. Our
unique 4 layer lacquered saya is made to fit the blade perfectly. Tsuka is
supported with same (rayskin) produced in Japan. Same panels are used for
standard models and full same wrap is applied to high end models.
THE FINAL PRODUCT and OUR GUARANTEE
The final product is a blade that cuts very well, holds a good edge and does
not bend even with inaccurate cutting. Our superb heat treatment allows us to
make our blades much lighter but more durable compared to the products from
most other companies*. Under normal use, our swords will not bend, break or
chip. Our swords are extremely tough and require minimal maintenance. Such
quality allows our customers to spend more time and effort on training rather
than sword maintenance.
Our expectations is that these blades will last through 100,000 bamboo cuts
(2~3 inches diameter bamboo poles). Of course, occasional sharpening would be
required and some repair on wooden parts might be necessary. However, we
guarantee that the blade will not suffer a breakage or chip, or we will
replace the sword**.
*Some companies with poor heat treatment technique cannot reduce the weight of
the sword as they lose durability drastically when the thickness of the blade
is decreased. They cause shoulder injuries and muscle fatigues easily during
practice. Those weapons should not be called swords, more like axes.
**We would not guarantee against chip if a customer hits metal (such as nail
in lumber) with the sword, cuts a dirty target or intentionally tries to
damage the sword.
