Forging
The blade takes shape beneath the hammer. Each layer of steel is folded and re-welded under heat to create a core that is both strong and flexible.
Hand-forged from high-quality carbon steel for outstanding durability. Full tang construction. Wooden display stand included with your order. Built to last.
$390
free shippingEvery piece is unique, hand-forged
Setsuna is a word rooted in the Sanskrit ksana, carried westward through Buddhist transmission: it denotes a minimal unit of time, almost an apparition — the instant in which something exists before it dissolves. In the Mahayana sutras, every moment is a setsuna containing an entire universe. The Katana Setsuna is built to concentrate this quality of transience.
The 1095 carbon steel blade (62–64 HRC hardness, nagasa approximately 27.5 in.) is polished entirely by hand using traditional Japanese stone technique — hazuya, jizuya, nugui. The process demands hours of patient work, but the result is a shifting surface that changes with every movement, every angle, every moment — like a setsuna.
The fittings embrace that luminous instability: steel-gray ito over light samegawa, a swirling-motif alloy tsuba (the moment turning on itself), a metallic-gray lacquered saya that reflects different tones depending on the light, and a powder-pink sageo. Silver-polished habaki.
A collector piece for students of Zen Buddhism, minimalist interior designers, or admirers of Dōgen — equally at home on the shelf of a philosophy library. A katana that invites you to truly stop, even if only for a single setsuna.
| Type | Japanese katana (uchigatana) |
|---|---|
| Blade | carbon steel 1095, hand-polished (≈ 58-60 HRC) |
| Forging | by hand, traditional quench-hardening |
| Nagasa (blade length) | ≈ 73 cm (≈ 28.7 in) |
| Total length | ≈ 104 cm (≈ 40.9 in) |
| Weight | ≈ 1 kg (≈ 2.2 lb) |
| Tsuka (handle) | hand-wrapped (cotton tsuka-ito) |
| Tsuba (guard) | chiseled alloy on both sides |
| Saya (scabbard) | lacquered wood with matching sageo |
| Mekugi (peg) | traditional bamboo |
| Habaki | hand-finished brass |
Time-honored craft. Masterful gesture. A one-of-a-kind, hand-forged piece built to last.
The blade takes shape beneath the hammer. Each layer of steel is folded and re-welded under heat to create a core that is both strong and flexible.
The steel is brought to high temperature, then quenched rapidly: this fast cooling hardens the edge and reveals the hamon, the wavy line that runs along the blade.
The smith hand-polishes the blade with natural stones of increasing grit, revealing its luster, its edge, and the soul of the steel.
Each blade is crafted by master artisans according to traditional forging techniques.
Acciai al carbonio o Damasco ad alta tenuta, scelti per la loro resistenza e la tenuta del filo.
We guarantee our welds and assemblies for life.
Our team replies within 24 hours, by email or chat.
You have 30 days from delivery to return your order. Full refund, no questions asked, as soon as the piece reaches us in its original packaging. Return shipping is on us for any defect found, and a flat fee for a simple change of mind. Our goal: that you fall completely in love with your blade.