Not too long ago i purchased a new katana for training unfortunately it came with much too sharp a blade for the dojo. What is the best way to dull a katana with minimum evidence of alteration to the blade so it is still safe for training?
If it's an expensive katana, don't ruin it like this. If it's a cheap katana it wouldn't be suitable for training even after you dulled it down. Wait and buy an iaito.
This^^ Decent iaitos are cheap. Unless you're doing tameshagiri or something similar, iaito is all you need. Just treat it as if it were a live blade so you don't develop bad habits.
Check out YouTube for video of what happens to a cheap sword when it hits something hard. You won't use it for much other than solitary practice or covering a stain on the wall once you see what happens
That depends on your time zone. I'm sure either would be tossing in their graves if they saw some of the stuff being peddled as kenjutsu today.
Thomas, I don't see any shinken being used in your dojo's training (about which I have no comment one way or another). Did your instructor tell you to get one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa7ZbEuEdJc
I didn't deliberately purchase a live blade, i was going from the retailers description. The sword was neither cheap nor that expensive. It was kind of economy-practical. I paid $175. On the retailers website it was advertised a 'practical' sword, meaning it was fine for martial arts. I brought it into class and my shidoshi suggested warming the blade in warm water and using a product called 'smooth n dry' which would take the edge off of it. Can't find hide nor hair of it though.
Katanas have been used in the past in our class, and i wasn't told to not get it either. I brought up the subject before and my instructor even offered me to quote his details if there was any problems with the transaction process due to legalities. I purchased it half for my own pleasure and half for the intention of using it in class.
No offence, but I would be skeptical of such an instructor. What's wrong with bokuto, fukuro-shinai, and iaito exactly?
Practical = target cutter It's not suitable for contact. At best you're going to wreck the sword. At worst you're going to wreck you and the people around you.
Go to Iraq or Syria and join ISIS. Then you can chop off a bunch of peoples heads with the katana. that will dull it eventually.
