Questions, answered.

The answer depends on where you live. Below is what our research found for your country.

In every country, KTN sells to adults only.

You must be 18 or over to order, or older where the law of your country sets a higher age.

Before you can add a katana to your cart, the configurator asks you to tick a box. By ticking it, you certify that you are 18 or over, or older where the law of your country says so, that buying and owning a katana is legal where you live, and that you accept our Terms of sale and Disclaimer. A katana cannot be added to the cart without it.

Rules differ. Some countries ask nothing of an adult who keeps a katana at home. Others require a permit to own it, to import it, or both.

Almost everywhere, not without a legitimate reason. Our rule in every country: keep your katana at home, transport it in a closed case, and never carry it in public.

Every KTN katana is sold with a sharp blade. We do not offer an unsharpened version today.

In several countries a blunt sword is treated like a sharp one, so a blunt blade would not change the rules.

Yes, if the person who receives it is an adult and the law of the delivery country allows it.

The rules that apply are those of the delivery address, not those of the buyer. Choose the delivery country above to read them.

KTN is a katana brand. You design your katana in 3D in our configurator. A forge in China that has worked for more than a century makes it by hand, and ships it directly to your door.

[TO CONFIRM: KTN legal entity and country of registration, as shown on the Legal notice]

Not yet. We only deliver to countries whose law we have checked.

If yours is missing, write to us and tell us where you live.

We read the weapons, customs and tax rules of each country, in official texts first, then in legal guides when an official text could not be read.

Each country shows the date it was last checked and the sources used. Laws change, so this page is guidance, not legal advice. If in doubt, ask the authorities of your country. Read our Disclaimer.

We deliver where the law allows a private buyer to receive a katana, and only to countries we have checked. Every order ships directly from the forge in China.

Directly from the forge in China, where it is made.

Your katana leaves China as an export and enters your country as an import. It goes through customs on the way, and China is its country of origin on the customs papers.

Usually, yes. Your katana enters your country from abroad, so import duty, import VAT or sales tax, and a carrier clearance fee can apply. The amount depends on your country and on the value of your order.

You pay them, usually on delivery. KTN never pays duties or taxes for you, in any country, and our prices never include them.

More on our Shipping page.

Two steps. First, your katana is forged to your design. Then it travels from the forge in China to your door and clears customs.

Forging: [TO CONFIRM: forging time; the site currently says Forged in 6 weeks]

Delivery: [TO CONFIRM: transit time by region]

A customs check can add time.

Not every carrier accepts swords, so we only ship with carriers that accept them on the route from China.

[TO CONFIRM: carrier name, and whether a tracking link is sent by email]

[TO CONFIRM: delivery cost policy]

Any delivery cost is shown at checkout, before you pay. Import duties and taxes are separate: see Will I pay customs duties or import taxes?

Plan for an adult to receive the parcel at the delivery address. You already confirmed your age with the tickbox in the configurator, and the carrier may ask for a signature.

In Germany, the law requires the parcel to be handed only to you, the named adult, and the carrier may ask for ID.

Customs can hold a parcel to inspect it or to ask for a document. Write to us with your order number and the customs notice, and we will help with the documents they ask for.

Where a permit is required, customs can refuse or seize a katana sent without it. That is why we do not deliver to those countries, or only once the condition is met.

Keep the packaging. Take photos of the box and of the katana, then write to us with your order number.

[TO CONFIRM: deadline to report damage or loss, and how it is settled]

See also our Shipping page.

Yes. It has a real, sharp steel blade, mounted with real fittings: tsuba, tsuka, habaki and saya. It is made as a collector's piece.

[TO CONFIRM: whether KTN katanas are made for cutting practice (tameshigiri)]

Yes. Every KTN katana is delivered with a sharp edge. We do not sell an unsharpened version today.

Handle it with the care a sharp blade needs: see How do I handle it safely?

Yes. A forge that has worked for more than a century makes each katana by hand.

Every part is shaped, polished and checked by hand before it leaves the forge.

In China, in a forge with more than a century of work behind it, which makes each katana by hand to your design.

Every order ships directly from the forge, so China is the country of origin of your katana.

Mostly the length of the blade. A katana has a blade longer than about 60 cm. A wakizashi, the companion sword, sits between about 30 and 60 cm. A tanto is a dagger, under about 30 cm.

Worn together, a katana and a wakizashi form the daisho. KTN makes katanas.

Our four tiers. Each one sets a level of materials and finishing, and rarity grows from one to the next: Core is where you begin, then Capsule, Heritage and Shogun, the rarest.

[TO CONFIRM: price range of each tier, and the store currency]

It depends on what you choose. Each part you pick in the configurator, from the steel to the cord, changes the price, and the tier sets the level.

Prices are shown in Thai baht (THB). [TO CONFIRM: price range of each tier, and the store currency] Any import duties and taxes of your country come on top, and you pay them on delivery.

Because most of the work is done by hand, and it takes time. The steel is forged and heat treated. The blade is polished. The handle is wrapped by hand over ray skin. The scabbard is lacquered wood. Each fitting is made for one blade.

Finer steel, a finer polish and rarer fittings take longer, and cost more.

Two katanas can look alike and be made very differently. The main gaps: the steel, the heat treatment (a real hamon or an etched one), the polish, and the fittings (cast or made by hand).

Very cheap swords often save on what you cannot see, such as the tang inside the handle. Our four tiers make each level clear before you choose.

There is no single best steel. It depends on what you want from your katana. In the configurator you can choose:

1045 or 1060: plain carbon steels, tough and forgiving. 1095: high carbon, hard, takes a keen edge. T10: tool steel, very hard, holds its edge for a long time. 9260: spring steel, it bends and returns rather than chipping. Folded steel and Damascus: layered steels with a visible grain.

Not sure? Start from a tier: it pairs each steel with fittings of the same level.

Look at a few things. The blade is carbon steel, not stainless. The tang runs into the handle and is locked by a peg (mekugi). The hamon comes from heat treatment, not from etching. The habaki holds the blade firmly in the saya. And the seller tells you clearly what the steel is and how the blade was made.

A nihonto is something else: a sword forged in Japan by a licensed smith. A KTN katana is not a nihonto. It is a katana you design, made by hand to order.

From a seller who tells you exactly what you buy: the steel, how the blade is heat treated, where it ships from, and what the law of your country requires.

Be wary of a very low price for a sword sold as hand forged. At KTN you see and choose every part before anything is forged.

You can buy a Japanese sword (nihonto) in Japan, but it is a different object. It is made in small numbers by licensed smiths, registered as an art object, and priced to match. Taking one out of Japan has its own formalities.

A KTN katana is designed by you, made to order, and shipped to your door where the law allows it.

Start with what it is for: a first katana, or a piece for a collection. Then set your level with a tier.

In the configurator, choose the steel and the hamon first, then the tsuba, the handle, the saya and the cord. Every choice is saved as you go. Nothing is forged until you are sure.

Your katana as you designed it, in its saya, with its sageo.

[TO CONFIRM: what else is in the box, for example a bag, a stand, a care kit or a certificate]

Yes, that is the point of KTN. In the configurator you choose the tsuba (guard), the tsuka (handle: ray skin, cord and wrap style), the fuchi and kashira, the menuki, the habaki, the saya (scabbard) and its sageo (cord), and the blade: steel, hamon, groove and finish.

More than a quadrillion possible katanas.

You build your katana part by part, in 3D. Every choice is saved as you go, and nothing is forged until you are sure and you order.

Not sure of a word? The Glossary explains every part.

Engraving (horimono) is not an option in the configurator today.

[TO CONFIRM: whether engraving can be requested]

Write to us as soon as possible with your order number.

[TO CONFIRM: until when a design can be changed, for example before forging starts]

Yes. Write to us with what you have in mind: a photo, a colour, a tier. We will answer you.

The payment methods open for your country are shown at checkout. Payment goes through Shopify's secure checkout.

[TO CONFIRM: list of accepted payment methods]

Our prices are set in Thai baht (THB) today. If your card uses another currency, your bank converts the amount and may charge a fee.

[TO CONFIRM: whether prices are shown in local currency at checkout]

[TO CONFIRM: payment taken in full at order, or in steps]

No. Our prices never include import duties, tariffs, import VAT, GST or sales tax, or carrier clearance fees, in any country. You pay any that are due under the rules of your country, usually on delivery.

The duties and taxes depend on your country: see Will I pay customs duties or import taxes?

Every KTN katana is made to your own design, which limits returns. In the European Union, for example, goods made to the buyer's specifications are an exception to the 14 day right of withdrawal.

[TO CONFIRM: return policy and return window, if any]

Read Returns and refunds and our Terms of sale.

Write to us with your order number and photos of the problem. We will look at it with you.

[TO CONFIRM: warranty, its length and what it covers]

Write to us as soon as possible with your order number.

[TO CONFIRM: cancellation terms, for example before forging starts]

We do not deliver to countries where our research shows a katana would be refused. If customs still refuse or seize a parcel, write to us with the customs notice.

If you refuse a parcel because you will not pay the duties, taxes or fees, and it comes back to us, we refund the price of the katana less the original delivery cost, the return cost and any charge we had to pay. The duties and the return shipping are not refunded. See Article 14 of our Terms of sale.

[TO CONFIRM: what happens to the order and the refund if customs refuse or seize a parcel]

Keep the steel clean and lightly oiled. After each handling, wipe the blade with a soft cloth, from the back toward the edge, then lay a thin film of oil.

Never touch the steel with bare fingers: skin leaves salt and moisture, and both cause rust. Keep the katana in its saya, in a dry room, away from heat and direct sun.

After every handling, and regularly when it rests. Check it more often in humid weather or near the sea.

Use a light oil made for blades, such as choji oil, and wipe off the excess.

Hold the saya with the edge facing up. Draw and sheath slowly, with your fingers away from the mouth of the saya (koiguchi), and let the back of the blade slide along it.

Never test the edge with a finger. Keep the katana out of reach of children.

On a stand, in its saya, lying flat. Keep it away from direct sun, heaters and damp walls.

Place it out of reach of children and of anyone who does not know how to handle it.

By tradition, a katana on display rests with the edge up and the handle to the left. For a right handed owner it cannot be drawn quickly that way: a sign of peace and trust. The handle to the right was a sign of readiness.

Today both are fine. Choose what suits your room.

In its saya, inside a closed bag or case, out of sight, and only for a clear reason, such as moving house or going to a class. Go straight to where you are going.

In many countries, carrying a sword in public without a legitimate reason is an offence: see Can I carry my katana in public?

We advise against it. A katana edge is polished on a series of stones by a trained polisher (togishi). The wrong tool can scratch the blade or erase the hamon.

If the edge needs work, write to us first.