[MS] Blade Shape & Groove

The Dotanuki Iaito is a very special model based on the ones of the famous blacksmith Dotanuki Masakuni. His blades were not of a remarkable quality, but they were especially heavy and had many different original shapes which were almost never copied in history.

• Standard Blade: very similar to all other models, except its very heavy weight: about 1,200 g (without Saya).
• Unokubi Blade: Unokubi means " like the う letter" in Japanese. It refers to a blade that does not have a Shinogi (the top part of the blade). The groove starts under the Habaki and stops at about one third of the blade. Where the groove ends, the blade starts to get thinner.
  This pushes very much the balance of the sword towards the Tsuka, allowing to keep a balance very similar to a standard weight Iaito but with a very heavy blade.
  It is said that this finish makes cutting easier as the cutting edge (the mono uchi) is thinner. With its shorter groove, this version is even heavier, 1,250 g (without Saya).
• Daiboshi Blade: Daiboshi simply means "big hat", and it refers to the kissaki (tip) of the blade. The Boshi is precisely the part of the Hamon temper line that extends towards the kissaki. The Kissaki of this model is therefore much more longer than that of the other two models. Moreover, the groove is also limited to one third of the blade, which makes it the heaviest Iaito blade made in Japan- all workshops included. Similarly to the Unokubi version, this blade type is the heaviest, weighing about 1,250 g (without Saya).