Japanese Sword Study/Reference

this is a study and reference sheet I made to clear up some common misconceptions I see amongst young artists (EVEN PROFESSIONALS!!), which, as a sword, Kendo, and Japanese enthusiast; bother me a lot when I see.

• first of all is clearing up the difference between a display sword (modern crafted) and a functional real Japanese Katana (often referred as "Nihonto" or "Ken").
  take note: not all Kanata and/or Nihonto have just one or two meguki, some Katana have two, some Nihonto have one.



• after that some variations, of course, there is many more, but I listed only the three most common, and one that I have been getting confused a lot with a term from an Anime (Kogarasumaru) which really bother me when people misname it, or think it's like an European sword or a Jian (fully double edged swords).



• third, the three shapes of sword blades (as far as I know) and their proper application.
  take note: the lines inside are the difference of temper (achieved with clay), the edge is really hard metal, the sides stay partially hard, while the core of the sword remained as soft metal for soaking up sparring strikes, this makes the Japanese blade "elastic", meaning it can bend A LOT and not break.



• after that. some assembling, mostly for the purpose of helping young artists (and those lazy pros who don't research) understand how the sword is assembled so they properly draw it.
  take note: the Tsuba, or sword guard, was almost always unique to every sword and/or owner.



• next, the grip, oh the grip, I die a little inside whenever I see someone holding a sword unproperly. most (yes, most, that includes, newbies, growing, students, professionals and veterans) artists out there always get this wrong.



• then it comes the most common mistake, which I see EVERYWHERE!, movies, tv series, comics, cosplay, art, photography etc..etc..etc.. the wielding, the Japanese sword thick from the back, and it has one of the sharpest blades in history of humanity (as far as I know), so wielding it with the edge downward damages the scabbard and eventually splits it in two.



• finally a minor, displaying, some people, believe or not, place the sword downward (example, Barney Stinson's apartment in "How I Met Your Mother" TV series, it really bothers me to see scenes with that misplaced sword) which results on the sword losing the edge, the scabbard getting damaged, and/or the display case getting damaged.
  take note: the Japanese sword is always displayed near a wall (never in the center of the room) and with the handle to the left side, this is because in case there's an intruder who wants to use your own sword to kill you it's not gonna be easy for him to take and draw the sword.

RL examples that illustrate this tutorial the most.
Modern Katana
Japanese Nihonto _{WWII, you can see the "locking" mechanism at the end of the handle and habaki.}

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I hope this helps not just other artist, but sword enthusiasts, collectors, smiths, 3D modelers and martial artists

enjoy!

_{if you see any typos, problems, or misconceptions, please let me know and I'll fix them}