The samurai katana is among the most famous swords in history. The finest samurai katana were superbly crafted and a sword forged by a celebrated swordsmith was certainly the most prized gifts a samurai could receive.
The truly amazing swordsmiths treated their craft like a blend of art, religion, and science. They dressed themselves like priests before forging a particularly fine samurai sword, which started life as only a crude lump of iron. This was beaten time and time again and heated in a furnace to make the finest steel. The raw steel was then folded and beaten repeatedly until the rough sword blade was like countless thin individual blades welded together. A samurai sword blade usually were built with a very difficult cutting edge with a razor-sharp finish wrapped inside a body of springier steel that will avoid the samurai katana from snapping. Finally the sword was polished and mounted in richly ornamented fittings.
The samurai warrior did not use shields in battle because they can use their swords as shields. A skilled swordsman could deflect an oncoming blow after which respond having a killing stroke of their own. Hours of practice were given to the art of drawing the samurai sword, because sometimes one cut delivered straight from the scabbard would be enough to win a fight. One swordsmith boasted that his swords were so sharp when a blade was placed uppermost inside a stream and a water lily floated down toward is, the flower could be cut in two just when was met the samurai katana!