Custom Swords

Cloudhammer can make custom blade profiles and custom mountings of Katana.

However, the process is slow, with custom blades taking 1-2 years. Custom katana mountings will take 2-3 months, and one sword costs about $100 more than a comparable blade/fittings/mount.

Contact John Kang at rva.katana(at)gmail.com for more information

Katana Customizations

We source most of our fittings from Longquan, and anything you find from sellers like Ryan, Sinosword, HanBon, etc, we can likely acquire.

Sharpness
Tsuka Samegawa Color
Tsuka Samegawa Type
Tsukamaki Type
Tsukamaki Style
Tsuba Set
Seppa Color
Habaki
Buffalo Horn
Saya
Sageo

Sharpness

SHARP: the default has a wider profile cutting edge best suited for hard targets like green bamboo. It has good edge retention and will cut through tatami, but not as smoothly as razor sharp.

RAZOR SHARP: a narrower edge profile, it will fly through tatami and soft targets; however, they risk edge damage on poorly-aligned cuts. This means rolls for HRC below 59, chips for HRC above.

DULL: for an iaito/mogito; You can sharpen it later to make it a shinken.

ZERO GRIND: This non-traditional method uses a secondary bevel for the best edge retention against hard targets, and smooth cutting through soft ones. However, it leaves a bright line against the edge.

Tsuka Samegawa Color

You can choose any standard color (white, blue, green, red); custom colors are also available at extra cost and extended production time.

AGED: we can use an artificial aging process to give a white samegawa a worn look to it.

Tsuka Samegawa Type

PANELS: This is the standard, with two samegawa panels glued to each side.

FULL WRAP: Available at additional cost, Full wrap tightens the tsukamaki and helps maintain tsuka core integrity.

Tsukamaki Type

LEATHER: available in Black, Brown, and Navy Blue
SYNETHIC SILK: available in any standard color

GENUINE SILK: Imported from Japan. Please allow up to 4 weeks.

Tsukamaki Style

HINERIMAKI: the standard look, wrapped to form diamond shapes with menuki on the inside.

KATATEMAKI: "battle wrap," wound in the middle with menuki pinched at the ends.

Tsuba Set

Below are our recommended tsuba sets, given their size which allows smooth transitions along the tsuka, and availability of steel cast vs. wax cast. However, we can typically acquire any other tsuba set that you would find on sellers like Hanbon Forge, Ryan Sword, AliExpress, etc.