• The katana is the sword most associated with the Japanese samurai sword.katana image by NetGraphi from Fotolia.com
  
  Japanese culture has taken great pride in the merging of culture, both Shinto and Zen, and workmanship in the manufacture of cutting tools. Although many tools are designed primarily for use in Japanese culture, many are easily adapted to use in the west. Many Japanese manufacturers of cutting tools still use traditional manufacturing techniques, and these tools are more expensive than mass-produced alternatives.
  
  

Kitchen Knives

• Japanese kitchen knives are often made using the folded, layered-steel techniques used in Japanese sword making. Japanese kitchen knives are shaped differently than traditional European cutlery. In some cases, the fugubiki and the yanagiba are very thin and flexible, yet strong. These two knives are used primarily for cutting delicate fish and sushi. There are many wide, short knives that look like anything from a large straight meat cleaver to a small, curved vegetable cleaver or knife. Although many of these knives have specific functions in Japanese cuisine, in western kitchens they are often used as general paring knives, cleavers and slicers.
  
  

Wood Saws

• Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke rather than on the push stroke, as with most European saws. This stops the blade from bending in cases where the teeth catch. Because they are less prone to bending, Japanese wood saws can be made out of thinner steel, allowing for less sawdust, better cut precision and better cut consistency. Thinner blades also allow for easier cutting due to reduced friction. The three most common types of Japanese wood saws are Duzoki (the equivalent of a tenon or dovetail saw), kataba (equivalent to a panel saw) and the ryoba (or combination saw with teeth on both side, one set for ripping and the other for cross cutting).
  
  

Bonsai Tools

• Another type of Japanese cutting tools are bonsai tools. Bonsai cutters include trimming shears that look like large scissors and serve the function of pruning shears. Branch cutters are larger and are often designed to be used with two hands. Knob cutters are used to make final branch cuts. Leaf cutters are very small scissors designed to clip 1/3 to 1/2 of a leaf to encourage the growth of smaller leaves.
  
  

Swords

• There is a perception in the west that the Japanese make one type of sword: the samurai sword. However, what is known as the samurai sword in the west has a number of names and variants in Japanese. The katana is the type that is most often thought of when people talk about samurai swords. Other types, however, include the daito, iaito and a double-edged katana. These swords differ primarily in length and thickness of blade. The nodaici is a short-bladed sword with a long handle and the odaici has a longer blade with a long handle. Short swords include the tanto and the wakizashi. The finest quality Japanese swords are forged from two types of metal that are folded and hammered into layers. One layer is soft and flexible. The second layer is hard and holds an edge. Although there are many examples of fine Japanese swords in the west, a masterpiece sword can take years to make and are generally not offered for sale outside of Japan.