Shinwa Sword Making Process

Each Shinwa sword is hand forged at temperatures of up to 1,100 °F and continuously heated, folded, hammered and shaped before being oil quenched and then straightened. Damascus steel blades are folded as many as ten times to yield up to 2,056 layers of premium Damascus steel. After quenching the blade is then ground and hand sharpened and polished by the swordsmith on a series of wet stones. Each set of these wet stones contains a finer level of silicate particles, which produces an even sharper edge. In the final stages of this painstaking process, the tsuka is wrapped and tsuba and other fittings are added before a thin coat of oil is added to the blade to prevent corrosion.