Hanwei Celestial Katana – L6/Bainite Steel

Hanwei's Celestial Katana is truly a unique piece that combines both traditional and modern design. Forged from L6 Bainite, this material is regarded as one of the more resilient and durable sword steels after heat treatment. This nickel-rich steel offers great impact resistance, toughness, and offers remarkable edge retention as the blade is highly resistant to damage.

Since this material is fickle, demanding, and requires a skilled swordsmith, L6 blades are usually seen in high end performance swords. Hanwei has mastered this process using billets of L6 tool steel as a starting point before forging and shaping the blade. It is then heat treated to achieve the final structures before its final polish. Due to the clay tempering process, this blade features a suguha hamon, a symbol of placidity, in line with the theme of the katana. This blade also has a bohi that helps to decrease the overall weight of the sword while improving its point of balance, allowing for quick and agile strikes.

As its name implies, this katana is equipped with a naga maru gata (oval) tsuba depicting a turbulent sea with waves crashing on the rocks. This theme also carries over to the fuchi and kashira. The ebb and flow of these waves are created by celestial bodies that pull at the water's edge to bring balance to our world. As samurai must embrace the tides of life, this Celestial Katana embodies the harmony of both heavens and seas.

Covered with white same and tightly wrapped with black cotton tsuka ito, the tsuka offers its wielder a sturdy and comfortable grip. Tying in the design is a multi-finish planetary menuki. The blade is then sheathed in a saya with a beautiful silver flake and gloss polish. The kojiri, kurigata, and koiguchi is made of buffalo horn while the navy and white sageo accentuates the overall look of the sword.