William Obviously, I would never claim to have any particular knowledge of sword smithy except for one interesting fact I learned long ago: Japanese swords were made from blended levels of steel, with a more malleable core which provided flexibility and a more brittle exterior which held quite an edge. A friend of mine once showed me a sword dating from the Muromachi period: it’s blade were like rings on a tree. A wonderful thing about crowdfunding is it allows accomplishment of worthwhile objectives that would otherwise be ignored, such as the recreation of the legendary “Hotarumaru” (蛍丸). Legend has it that during the Nanbokucho period, the Aso clan (the initial founders of Higo), who lost in a battle with Takauji Ashikaga, had a dream where fireflies gathered around a sword with a chipped blade, and the blade returned to its original state. A wonderful thing about this project is the skills it drew upon and fosterd. All pieces, such as the hilt, the tsuba (the part that is inserted between the blade and the handle), and the scabbard (the tube that holds the sword) were recreated, finished with wrapped pigskin, and coated with lacquer. Kumanichi has the full article for all of our sword nerds: