Habaxi

Thanks

Yeah i know that a katana would not be considered a katana unless it is made of tamahagane, but here no one are that strict about the Japanese traditions they just promote swords made of modern steel and raise the value by saying a swordsmith made that just like he make traditional katana (hand forging, quenching and tempering, etc...) i see no problem of selling things like that but im worried about other things i mentioned earlier, also do you know any Reliable site that can ship a real katana to iraq?

The seller has his own brand name on the blade instead of the swordsmith signature, when someone asked him why the swordsmith doesn't sign the sword he says it's only for historic or tamahagane swords not for a modern steel ones (which it is what he sell) which contradicts what he says that his swords are made in old Japanese traditions and the only difference is in the steel so he can provides affordable swords, I hope you read my other response to the brothers here so you can get the full picture and also help me.

He sells swords with modern steel like 1095 ones, i saw a video where he hit literal cement bricks with a 1095 katana(which may be a sign for a good heat treatment) , i know these swords are better functionally but dont have the same value of tamahagane ones, he says these swords are made according to the Traditions, but what rises my doubts he also sells for a range of (1000$- 2000$) "folded" modern steel swords which is only for aesthetics but damages the sword severely if the swordsmith is not expert enough, im in iraq so his page is the only one here we dont have much, ill be thankful if anyone here know Reliable sites that have shipping to iraq so i can buy a new tamahagane sword or a historic one with shirasaya or anything that has real value.

Thank you, im looking for more opinions (to correct me about if it is ok for a swordsmith not to reveal his identity if im wrong) and to Confront the seller who claims to be an expert

If a seller didnt want to tell me his swordsmith identity is that a red flag? since he didnt mention things like the swordsmith himself didnt want to reveal his identity (which is a normal thing sometimes) "highlighting that he said he takes the swords he sell from world-wide known swordsmiths and said he will not tell the swordsmith name because he is the face of the brand not the swordsmith"

What is the minimum and the maximum carbon content in tamahagane steel? and what is the optimal carbon ratios for a sword made of tamahagane? Also how did ancient swordsmiths know and determine the other metals content in the steel to ensure their swords were functional?

I've seen some people use paper shims in the shape of seppa but slightly smaller, placing them between the seppa and the tsuka to improve the fit of their katana, so If a katana is already stable with no noticeable looseness, does adding paper shims still provide any benefit? Or is it only useful when there is some slight movement that needs to be corrected? Would it enhance overall stability or have no real impact in a well-fitted katana?

Thank you for your effort. English is not my first language, and I thought that "katana" referred to the blade itself without considering the other parts (that's why I said "folding a katana"). Thank you again for correcting me.

Do you know any techniques that a swordsmith can do to reduce the damage when folding a katana made of modern steel?, as you know modern steel is already pure and dont need folding, the folded ones are only for Aesthetics like (hada) appearance or just Japanese traditions, so folding it reduce the carbon content as the result of repeated heating which is also known as (annealing the steel), i heard that you can fold it but with certain techniques that reduce the loss of carbon, i already know about the tatara furnace but modern steel katanas mostly isnt made in it cuz its an Expensive and time consuming method for a modern katana.