Katana News — 2026-11-10: Hamon Video Tops Reddit, Yorke Sale Final Day, Onimusha at 1.7M
A hamon close-up tops r/Katanas, the Bonhams Yorke sale reaches its final day, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword passes 1.7 million copies sold.
1. Hamon Close-Up Video Tops r/Katanas — With One Skeptic in the Comments
A 72-second close-up of a blade's hamon, posted by u/BladeSummit, became the most-upvoted katana post of the day on r/Katanas with 94 upvotes, and the same video was cross-posted to r/SWORDS as "Newly completed work." Commenters praised the polish and asked about the technique, while u/Brilliant-Bad-284 said the blade geometry is beautiful but the hamon looks "too good," suggesting it may be a chemical etch rather than a clay-tempered line. The video drew 3 comments on r/Katanas and 2 on r/SWORDS.
Source: r/Katanas — Reddit
From the shop:
2. Bonhams Yorke Sale Enters Its Final Day
Bonhams' online auction Japanese Swords: The Peter Yorke Collection enters its final day, with bidding closing from 12:00 GMT on November 11, 2026. The 71-lot sale is led by a Soshu-school wakizashi estimated at £15,000–£25,000, alongside a Bizen tanto dated 1558 and a Musashi tanto by Kurihara Kenji Nobuhide dated 1862, each estimated at £10,000–£15,000. Bonhams notes that the "Masamune" signature and 1346 date on the leading blade's tang are later additions, not verified attributions.
Source: Bonhams — Web
3. Onimusha: Way of the Sword Passes 1.7 Million Copies, Capcom Says
Capcom's latest financial results put Onimusha: Way of the Sword at 1.7 million units sold, ahead of the publisher's internal expectations for the first half of the fiscal year. The game, the first new entry in the series in 20 years, passed one million copies on its launch day and holds a Metascore of 85. Set in Edo-period Kyoto, it stars Miyamoto Musashi, modeled on the actor Toshiro Mifune.
Source: KitGuru — Web
4. Why a Katana "Floats" in Its Scabbard: Habaki Explainer Draws 10K Likes
A short 3D-animated reel from Tokyo Nihonto explains why a katana blade appears to float inside its scabbard: the edge never touches the wood, only the spine rests lightly, and a one-inch copper collar — the habaki — holds, centers, and locks the blade. The reel, which also covers magnolia-wood shirasaya construction and shimming a worn scabbard mouth, drew 10,000 likes and 55 comments on Facebook. It closes with the line: "Two feet of steel. Held by an inch of copper."
Source: Tokyo Nihonto — Facebook
From the shop:
Golden Cloud Tachi with Real Hamon | Full Tang Folded Pattern Steel Pure Copper Mountings 103cm — $304.99
5. Gifted Shin Gunto Sparks a Signature Debate
A poster on r/Katanas says their father was given a newly made shin gunto by someone clearing out a garage, and asks the community to read the tang inscription, noting that online sources contradict each other. Commenter u/Solkreaper reads the signature as "Rai Kunifusa," while u/BlueDuck600 says the inscription does not look genuine; the poster suggests it may be a Seki arsenal mass-produced blade, but BlueDuck600 replies the signature looks hasty and cannot be confirmed as authentic. The thread drew 4 upvotes and 5 comments.
Source: r/Katanas — Reddit
6. Forty-Piece Auction Listing Gets a Blunt Verdict: "All Gunto"
A poster shared an online auction listing of roughly 40 pieces — 20 katana, two wakizashi, a naginata, a yari, a Type 95 gunto, a shin gunto, a ko-dachi and a tanto, plus loose blades — asking for values and opinions, with the seller claiming all are genuine. Commenter u/fnord_disc read one tang inscription as "Katsushige" (勝重), while u/Gabrezu said the lot is all military swords with no nihonto among them, suggesting €50 per piece as a starting bid would be a bargain but warning of heavy paperwork. The thread drew 14 upvotes and 8 comments.
Source: r/Katanas — Reddit
7. Demon Slayer "Breathing Style" Sword Video Draws 528 Upvotes
A 58-second sword video riffing on Demon Slayer's "Breathing Styles" — captioned "Give a man a sword, and he'll invent a Breathing Style" — drew 528 upvotes and 19 comments on r/SWORDS. The clip is a cross-post from r/JustGuysBeingDudes, where the original drew 6,449 upvotes. It is a fan-made meme video, not a product or a review.
Source: r/SWORDS — Reddit
From the shop:
8. Two Katanzo Training Katanas Get a First Look on Instagram
Creator Redneck Samurai posted a first-look unboxing of two katana received from Katanzo, both in the upper-low to lower-mid price tier at around $270–$280 and intended for training. The first, a white-saya blade with a green-wrapped handle, gold fittings and a double bohi, is T10 steel with a genuine hamon and weighs 1 kg, but its ito wrapping is loose; the second, with a painted crane-themed saya and deer-decorated tsuba, is also T10 with a hamon and a tighter scabbard fit. A full review is promised after about a month of training. The reel drew 120 likes.
Source: @the.redneck.samurai — Instagram
9. Iron Tiger Forge Opens a New Cutting Series With the Taka Katana
Kult of Athena lists the Iron Tiger Forge Cutting Series – Taka Katana, the first model of a new cutting line, at $319.99. The 1095 through-tempered blade has no bo-hi and a thickened spine, built specifically for tatami cutting. The listing page was updated on November 6.
Source: Kult of Athena — Web
10. RVA Katana Lists Ghost of Tsushima Katanas at $200
RVA Katana's new-arrivals page lists two Ghost of Tsushima-themed katanas from Phoenix Armory — the Twilight Oni and the Emperor's Tears — each in T10 steel at $200. The same page shows a one-off prototype, the Sacred Valor T10, marked sold out after a price cut from $699 to $225; the prototype had been test-cut on a single tatami mat and carries minor scratches on the blade.
Source: RVA Katana — Web
More Hot Topics Today
Community Hot Threads
Katana care and validity — A poster who has owned a sword for about a year asks whether it is genuine and how to care for it, noting they already know it is not a nihonto. The thread drew 8 upvotes and 4 comments.
Source: r/Katanas — Reddit
Where to buy a good katana/prop — A poster and a friend making a film ask where to buy a good-looking prop sword — explicitly not a real blade — at the lowest price. The thread drew 1 upvote and 4 comments.
Source: r/Katanas — Reddit
BladeForums quiet for katana — The BladeForums Sword Discussion board produced no new katana thread in the last 48 hours. Its most recent katana thread, a question about a T10 katana set, last received a reply on November 3, 2026.
Source: BladeForums — Web
Brand New Arrivals
Balaur Arms Byakko Katana at $378 — Kult of Athena lists a tiger-themed katana in T10 steel with a clay-tempered blade, with a test-cutting video on the page, at 378.00 USD. The listing page was updated two days ago.
Source: Kult of Athena — Web
SBG Sword Forum
Help Identify Cheness waki — The SBG forum's Japanese Swords board has one active thread in the window: a request to identify a Cheness wakizashi, with the latest reply on November 10.
Source: SBG Sword Forum — Web
Edo period tanto price cut to 350 CAD — A seller cut the price of an Edo-period tanto on the SBG forum from 650 CAD to 350 CAD on November 9.
Source: SBG Sword Forum — Web
Anime / Game / Film / Cosplay
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle passes $793.6M worldwide — The first film in the Infinity Castle trilogy has grossed about 793.6 million USD worldwide, and Japanese animation industry revenue reached 28.5 billion USD, up 15.8%, driven by the film. A release date for the second part has not been announced.
Source: Thunder Tiger Europe — Web
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