John Lee Shontai Katana

Masterpieces of asian swordcraft
- handforged from carbon steel and traditionally hardened
- the blade is folded 12 times (makes 8.000 layers) and has a beautiful structure
- the sharpened blade has a fuller for weight reduction
- the hilt (tsuka) is made of wood and covered in real fish skin (same)
- the hilt is wrapped (tsuka-ito) in traditional black cotton
- there are two decorative grip swells (menuki)
- the hilt (tsuka) is anchored to the blade with bamboo pins (mekugi)
- the scabbard (saya) is made of wood
- the blade has a brass collar (habaki) so it won't rattle in the scabbard
- the design follows museum originals

JOHN LEE Shintai Katana
Shintai are material objects that play the part of religious relics. They are the
quarters of the Gods (Kami) in japanese mythology. In addition to the mirror
and the jewels, the sword is a typical shintai. This Tsuba depicts japanese Gods.

Details:
- total length: approx. 101 cm
- blade length: approx. 72 cm
- hilt length: approx. 28 cm
- blade curve (sori): approx. 20 mm
- weight without scabbard: approx. 1.1 kg
- weight with scabbard: approx. 1.4 kg