The Craft of the Japanese Sword

View other editions of The Craft of the Japanese Sword.
View books by Leon Kapp, Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara.

Swordsmithing for beginners - Rated
There are several very good books out there on the Japanese sword, but in my opinion as a newcomer to this subject, this one is the best. Very straight to the point, lots of information, and many fine black & white photos of Japanese blades in excellent detail.
For me the balance of the book is just about perfect. It tells me in sufficient depth all I want to know about the various aspects of sword making, down to the fitments and the scabbard, and it keeps subject matter like sword appraisal to a nice minimum. I am unlikely to ever want to appraise a sword, in fact it is highly unlikely that I will ever hold a genuine Katana, that being the case, I certainly don't want to be informed of the finer details of appraisal.
All in all a truly excellent introduction to the Japanese sword, and far better than some of the weightier and more expensive tomes that are currently available.

Informative, but colour pictures would go a long way... - Rated
This is an excellent book, not just in binding quality, but in the way information is presented to the reader. I believe that the success of the book lies in the effective integration of the authors; traditional Japanese swordsmith, metallurgist and journalist, to create a technically informative, yet interesting read.

On a slightly critical note, however, I would have liked to see some glossy colour pictures of the steel composites at various forging temperatures. Some descriptions are presented in the book, but colour photos would go a long way to appreciating how the composite structure of the blade changes visually throughout the duration of the forging process. My understanding from the book, is that this is one technique an experienced swordsmith employs to approximate temperature of the blade at each stage of the forging process.

How modern swords are made (with colour pictures) - Rated
Beutifull & Fascinating book. Big and well illustrated with lots of photos, many colour. Cover all the processes of making a blade from casting the raw iron to fitting a scabbard & collar. Loads of information, and a great read. It follows the work of Yoshihara one of the best smith in japan today. Nothing to do with Iaido, just a beutifull book about the sword itself & how it is made. Buy it !!

Excellent, and different to most others - Rated
This is a book about swords, but more than that it's a book about sword makers. Although it will serve as an introduction, Kanzan Sato's book is probably a better choice for swords alone.

Where this book shines is in its description of the craft processes that go to making a sword. Four makers are included; a smith, a polisher, a habaki maker and a scabbard carver. All describe their contemporary work, in great detail. It's a very modern treatment - formal koshirae are mentioned, but the scabbard maker's tale is of working on a plain "white scabbard", as that's what his current market is.

Probably the best book on this subject you can buy. - Rated
This book taught me almost everything I wanted to know about Japanese sword making. A well researched, written and presented book. Excellent for the beginner and collector alike. Buy it!