Hanwei Bamboo Katana – 1065 Carbon Steel “Stick Katana”

As its name implies, this Bamboo Katana by Paul Chen Hanwei has a unique look when sheathed, giving it an appearance of bamboo. This design is inspired by the time in history where the samurai were banned from carrying their swords in 1876. Since this was not well received by the warrior class, the stick katana was invented, allowing the samurai to continue carrying their weapons, but in its disguised form.

This bamboo katana has a full tang blade forged from 1065 carbon steel and clay tempered to reveal a striking midareba hamon. Although designed for tameshigiri or as a display piece, this katana does not have a tsuba due to its simplistic design, mimicking a piece of bamboo. In line with the design, both the tsuka and saya are made of bamboo as well.