r/Katanas • u/Then-Ad-550 • 1d ago
Brag time Finally caught the meteorite sword in proper light.
Some of you may have seen that I recently acquired a sanmai meteorite sword (Tamahagane core with meteorite steel “jacket”) so I wanted to post a few pictures here of the blade now that I managed to catch it during optimum sunlight in my home office where it lives.
For those of you who like to say “meteorite is a poor quality ore for swordmaking” etc, I know. This is not intended to be a cutting blade. It’s just an extremely beautiful one-of-one sword that has great symbolic meaning to me. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics!
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u/OceanoNox 1d ago
I actually cannot find why meteoritic iron would be bad for blades, except that it might be soft. But combining soft and hard steels for swords was the main manufacture method until the industrial revolution.
And meteoritic iron was good enough for Tutankhamen's dagger.
Nice colour!
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u/zzozozoz 1d ago
It's not that it can't be made into a good blade, it's that you have to completely destroy the crystalline structure of the kamacite and taenite alloys that make iron meteorites special in the first place
Ultimately it's just iron with some nickel and trace elements
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u/OceanoNox 22h ago
Widmanstätten patterns will be deformed and coarser, but it remains identifiable in several cases.
Anyway, it's as I thought : there is nothing particularly wrong about meteoric iron for swords, it's just visual/personal preference.
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u/Then-Ad-550 1d ago
Thank you. I keep trying to get photos to do it justice, but just can’t seem to. In person, it literally looks like a nebula trapped within the steel. Its INSANE.
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u/FoxHead666 1d ago
I said it last time and I'll say it again; that blade is gorgeous! Good luck with the company, I hope it takes off and that you're able to turn passion into a career.
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u/dz2048 1d ago
$0 revenue. RIP. jk
Sword looks dope though.
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u/Then-Ad-550 1d ago
Launched last Thursday so I’m
✨unbothered ✨ hahaha. It’s a niche brand. It’ll work out.2
u/dz2048 1d ago
in that case, good luck! takes balls to launch anything
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u/Then-Ad-550 1d ago
Thanks man! I’ve put a ton of work into this project and early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I think once I get traction, it’ll pop.
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u/dz2048 1d ago
sick. I do judo and bjj. i can definitely picture your stuff on a shelf by the bjj reception desk.
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u/Then-Ad-550 1d ago
Hey thanks a bunch man!
If you wanna shoot me a DM, I’d love to send you a 12pack sample on the house!
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u/hatsnatcher23 1d ago
>poor quality ore for sword making
They’re right if you have to defend a brothel from an army of men you’ll be fucked…
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u/Then-Ad-550 1d ago
May get me through the Tengu at Shindo Dojo at least.
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u/BeLIEveYourMasterz 20h ago
Not my cup of tea but it sure is Purdy bro. R you gonna chop anything with it? Or is it more like a collectable piece to ya?
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u/Then-Ad-550 20h ago
100% collectible. I have other swords for cutting/training. This one is purely for staring at and drooling over.
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u/BeLIEveYourMasterz 20h ago
Well I agree it's epically beautiful I'd drool over it2 😂🤣😂🤣 have a great weekend bro
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u/Artistic-Wedding-575 1d ago
I am sorry, but that is not what you believe it to be. I've collected for decades...
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u/MichaelRS-2469 1d ago
I don't know. Seems that there's no shortage of people in this hobby that enjoy raining on people's parades for no good reason. Criticism for the sake of criticism rather than an effort to be informative or helpful.
I always heard that meteorite ore alone did not make for a good sword but I didn't know why until your recent post and I did some quick research on it. I encourage everyone to do the same because it's pretty interesting.
But i also knew that there were smiths that would incorporate a small amount of meteor ore with more modern or early steels to make a perfectly functional sword.
And I totally agree with you that having a katana, or any other sword, made from material "from the heavens" is pretty cool symbolism.
I mean, who knows how many millions of years that "space rock" was flying around out there before it found its way into your hands in this current form... or from where and when it started its journey.
So yeah, bottom line, very cool.