L6 katana being finished now

This is an L6 Bainite katana by Howard Clark. I have it available for sale and I am polishing and mounting the sword right now.

The sword has a 29-3/8" nagasa. The nakago is 9.75 " long and will be mounted with an 11" tsuka. The blade has an wonderfully centered 3/4" tori sori. The blade is light and fast and would be ideal for both cutting and kata. It is not a big, thick, heavy blade, but a lightning fast piece of near super tough L6 Bainite steel with a martensitic edge.

As is typical of Howard Clark's work the blade has some very subtle tapers. This blade has a high shinogi design (which means it is basically diamond shaped in cross-section). The thickness of the blade at the shinogi and machi is about 6.5mm but it tapers to 3.5mm at the mune. So the shinogi is called "high" because it tapers back to the mune. At the yokote the blade tapers from 4.5 mm at the shinogi to 3.25 at the mune. The width of the blade at the machi is 30.3 mm tapering down to 20.75 at the yokote. So the blade is a very complex, curving, tapering blade. With a 36mm chu kissaki.

In other words a very light, fast long blade perfect for iai practice. But tough enough to handle hard cutting since it is a duplex bainite/martensite L6 blade by Howard Clark.

The theme of the sword is the tonbo or dragonfly. I had a tsuba commissioned in Japan earlier this year with one of my favorite themes -- the sukashi dragonfly.

The tsuba is made by a craftsman in Japan and was made to my specs to match this blade. It is 84mm in diameter and is based on a very famous ko-katchushi tsuba.

The idea on the mounting is to mount it using an antique dragonfly fuchi of mine.

My plan on this sword is to use some nice generic dragonfly menuki for the tsuka and use a traditional horn kashira as was the fashion in the edo period. But I do plan to go a bit different in the coloration -- I want to use a deep burgundy doeskin ito for the tsuka then do a saya with a deep burgundy gloss fading almost to total black by the kojiri. And I intend to do a stylized line drawn dragonfly in the saya. Exactly what it is going to look like I don't know yet as I'm still thinking and designing. But that is the plan.

This would make a marvelous sword for iai, tameshigiri or just display. The work by Howard Clark in the blade is fantastic and the blade has a marvelous sori that extends into the nakago (which will be carried into the tsuka as well when mounted).

I am right now making habaki and about to start woodworking on the mounts. Once I get the cores finished the blade's polish will be completed and the rest finished as well.

My original plan was to offer it up totally finished and sell it as is. However, as I was working on it during the last few days doing foundation work I was struck by the size, balance and feel of the blade. This would be a really fantastic piece for a practitioner looking for a really graceful, elegant blade perfect for kata. So I decided to offer it up now but give the practitioner the option of adjusting the tsuka length. No, I'm not going to do a 14" tsuka on this piece. It won't balance out well at that length. But I could be convinced to go an inch or so in either direction from my suggested 11" tsuka to meet the buyer's needs. Also, the colors, ito type, etc. can be negotiated as well by the buyer. I really like the idea of a deep burgundy doeskin to contrast the fittings and to really give the elegance of L6 a nice framing.

I plan to have the sword done in about a month. If someone buys it now I will work with them on tsuka length and details above. If no one goes for it I'm going to do it exactly how I am presenting it and may end up charging more depending on how creative I get with the saya.

Bare, unpolished L6 blades are simply no longer available directly from Howard Clark but were $3800 unpolished and unmounted. I have seen the bare blades for sale for much more than this now that Howard Clark is not taking orders at this time. This will be a very nice blade that will be fully polished, fully mounted with very nice fittings built with the serious student in mind. And it will be available for use and/or display in about a month. Most of the foundation work is already complete and I have all the parts together and started.

Price: $8950. Which includes shipping and insurance in the US. Check, money order accepted. I will take paypal but would prefer not to since they ding me for about 3%.

SOLD

Contact me for further information or to buy this sword when it is finished.

SOLD 7-16-06

L6 "Bainite" katana by Howard Clark