T10 compared with 1095

by Alan
(Auckland NZ)

QUESTION: I have just purchased a katana made of T10 steel, that has been clay tempered to a hardness of 58 - 60 HRC. I purchased this from a guy in New Zealand who goes under the name of Samuel 1957 @ Look Find Buy Store, and i was wondering if you have heard of him, or his swords. Aparently his swords are made in China, but the one i have has a signiture on the tsuba which according to the local Arts Museum is definatly Japanese. And is a manufactures signiture, which unfortunatly has no English translation. Is this a common practice to have the signiture on the Tsuba, instead of the Tang. Or is it the Tsuba makers signiture? Any information would be greatly apreciated.
Thanks Alan.

ANSWER: Hi Alan,

There was a discussion about T10 vs 1095 here on the SBG Sword Forum a little while ago that should shed some light on that question.

With regards to putting the signature on the tsuba, that is a modern thing - and definitely not common.

Hope this helps.

- Paul

Comments for T10 compared with 1095

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Double stat.
by: Anonymous

If it has been clay tempered, shouldnt it have 2 temper stats? what is the spine temper? if its t10 steel and has a full 58-60 temper all the way through, that's going to be pretty brittle. High RC hardness, but low tensile strength before you reach the snapping point.

tsuba is a copy probably
by: Anonymous

your sword is made in china, then its probably using a lot of parts that are copied from japanese swords, ... very easy for them to buy one original and then make a mold to knock off as many as they want.

The sword is probably a not that bad of a sword, but if you bought it off an aussie and it is made in china then you paid too much, cause you could have bought it from a chinese guy for sure and saved the middle man, which I do for all my swords.

Just cause the tsuba and maybe some parts are copies does not mean its bad quality either. It can be a very high quality copy, in this case it might be because you are even questioning if its from japan after the seller told you its from china.....

Spine of a T10 Blade
by: Anonymous

Edge 58-62 HRC and the spine 38-42 HRC , % Carbon 0.65-.077 For T10 Steel , If the temper is done right it's crazy tough!

Tsuba signing
by: Peter Dekker

Some tsubas were signed in the past, but in this case it was always the name of the tsuba maker. It was only done by the better ones, ordinary makers would leave their work unsigned. On a modern tsuba, it doesn't say much. It could be a reproduction of a signature of a good maker of old, or a signature of the modern maker.

hey stupid
by: Anonymous

hey idiot from 2007 clay tempered blades aren't through hardened. That is the whole point.

getting off topic T—10 vs. 1095.
by: Guy

Ok the tusuba disscusion is interesting but....
We are getting off topic.

So... I have read a lot of different views and wich conflict.
So... I am interested in buying a KATANA sword and I just want to know; real simple wich is better.
1095 / 1090 (0.95% carbon)
Vs.
T—10 tool steel.

G.lavoie

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