Clay Tempered Full Tang Shinken (真剣) | Soaring Snipe Katana: TangGu (湯谷) Kobuse Blade (甲伏造) + TangGu (湯谷) Hashō Koshirae (波翔拵)

This uchigatana-style koshirae（打刀拵）, named Soaring Snipe（飛潮）, is made with Kobuse-zukuri（甲伏造）construction, where a hardened steel jacket surrounds a softer core. The blade surface shows Masame-hada（柾目肌）and Mokume-hada（杢目肌）, with straight-grained lines and wood-like textures. Along the edge is a Gunome-midare hamon（互の目乱れ刃文）formed through clay tempering（覆土焼入れ / Fukutsuchi Yakiire）. The saya（鞘）is finished in uginuri lacquer（烏金塗 / Uginuri）with reflective particles. Buffalo horn fittings（牛角）reinforce the koiguchi（口金）, kurigata（栗形）, and kojiri（鞘尻）. A golden-yellow sageo（黄色下緒）is tied at the side. The tsuka（柄）is wrapped in golden-yellow ito（黄色糸）using hineri-maki（捻巻）over hon-samegawa（本鮫皮 / genuine ray skin）with kofū shiage（古風仕上げ）. Hishigami（菱紙）form a diamond pattern. The menuki（目貫）in blackened white copper（煮黒白銅）are shaped as wave motifs（波文）. The fuchi and kashira（縁頭）, made of blackened white copper（煮黒白銅）, are engraved with wave patterns（波文）. The tsuba（鍔）is a mokko-gata（木瓜形）guard made of white copper（白銅）with a blackened finish（煮黒仕上げ）. Its relief shows a snipe in flight above waves, rocks, and mist（飛鷸・波・岩・霧）.

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TangGu (湯谷) Kobuse Blade

This blade is hand-forged (Tezukuri / 手作り) , following the principles of Japanese swordsmithing. It features a Kobuse-zukuri (甲伏造) laminated construction, reflecting the structure of traditional Tamahagane (玉钢) swords.

Blade Forging Details

• Blade Name: TangGu Traditionally Forged Kobuse Blade (甲伏造)
  

• Forging Method: This blade is forged in the Kobuse-zukuri（甲伏造） style, where a hardened outer layer of steel is forge-welded over a softer inner core. It is differentially hardened using traditional clay tempering（覆土焼入れ）, resulting in a sharp edge, resilient spine, and a visible hamon（刃文） that reflects both performance and craftsmanship.

• Materials: Hand-forged steel using traditional methods

• Purpose: Suitable for Kenjutsu and Tameshigiri (test cutting) practice, collection, and display. Unsharpened blades are available for Iaido upon request.

Blade Specifications

• Blade Length (Nagasa刃長): Approx 71 cm
• Handle Length (Tsuka 柄長): Approx. 24 cm
• Width at Base (Motohaba 元幅): Approx. 32 mm
• Thickness at Base (Motokasane 元重): Approx. 6 mm
• Width at Tip (Sakihaba 先幅): Approx. 24 mm
• Thickness at Tip (Sakikasane先重): Approx. 4 mm
• Kissaki Length (Tip 切先長): Approx. 35 mm
• Mekugi-ana (Peg Hole 目釘穴): 1

Blade Characteristics

• Shape: Shinogi-zukuri (ridged blade 鎬造), Iori-mune (flat ridged spine 庵棟), Chū-kissaki (Medium-sized tip 中切先)

• Forging Pattern (Hada 鍛肌): The forging pattern shows Masame-hada with Mokume influence（柾目肌交杢目肌）, where masame-hada（柾目肌） fine straight grain lines run longitudinally along the blade, and mokume-hada（杢目肌） swirling woodgrain-like patterns appear in layers. This is achieved through folding and directional forging in the orikaeshi-tanren（折返し鍛錬） process.
• Temper Line (Hamon 刃文): The blade has a Gunome-midare（互の目乱れ刃文） temper line, with alternating rounded peaks and valleys formed through clay tempering（覆土焼入れ / Fukutsuchi Yakiire）. Clay is applied to specific areas of the blade before quenching to control the hardness gradient and produce this pattern.

Special Features and Workmanship

Hi (Groove) Engraving

• Type: Shinken Hi (真剣樋) with Marutome Tome (丸留め止め).
• Processing Range: Extends to the tip, fully polished inside the groove

Polishing Work

• TangGu Polishing Levels:
  • Advanced Polish
  • Sashikomi Polish

Fittings and Mountings

Blade Fittings

• Tsuba (Handguard 鍔): Mokko-gata tsuba（木瓜形）, crafted from white copper（白銅）with blackened patina（煮黒仕上げ / Nibu-iro). The surface shows a snipe in flight above waves, rocks, and mist（飛鷸・波・岩・霧）.
• Fuchi-Kashira (縁頭): Blackened white copper（煮黒白銅）, with wave patterns（波文 / Namimon）engraved on both fuchi（縁）and kashira（頭).
• Menuki (目貫): Blackened white copper（煮黒白銅）menuki shaped as ocean waves（波 / Nami）, placed under the tsuka-maki.
• Habaki (鎺): Polished copper（磨き仕上げの銅 / Migaki dō）habaki（鎺）with rounded lines.
• Samegawa (Ray Skin 柄鮫): Hon-samegawa（本鮫皮 / genuine ray skin）with kofū shiage（古風仕上げ / antique finish).
• Handle Wrapping (柄巻): Golden-yellow silk (or cotton) tsuka-ito in hineri-maki（捻巻）style with hishigami（菱紙）forming diamond patterns.

Saya and Accessories

• Saya (Scabbard 鞘): The saya is made in uchigatana koshirae style（打刀拵）, with buffalo horn（牛角 / Gyu-kaku）fittings at the koiguchi（口金）, kurigata（栗形）, and kojiri（鞘尻）.
• Saya Lacquer (鞘塗): Finished in uginuri-style black lacquer（烏金塗 / Uginuri）with reflective particles.
• Sageo (Cord 下緒): Japanese-made Golden-yellow sageo 

Measurements

• Blade Weight: Approx. 0.6 kg
• Sword Weight (without Saya): Approx. 0.95 kg
• Total Weight: Approx. 1.2 kg
• Overall Length: Approx. 102 mm

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