Hanwei Orchid Katana
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Price range: $899.99 through $999.99
- Shipping estimated at checkout
- Every blade inspected before shipping
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Overall Length
- 40 1/2''
- Weight
- 2 lb 2 oz
- Brand
- Hanwei
- Culture
- Japanese
Overview
Hanwei Orchid Katana
The Paul Chen / Hanwei Orchid Katana features a sharpened, hand-forged & folded K120C powder steel blade, differentially tempered using a traditional claying method to produce an HRC60 edge, HRC40 back. The temper line (hamon) is evident and prominent and the grain pattern (hada) shows distinct layers. The saya (scabbard) is deeply lacquered in blue. High quality ray skin (same) is used on the tsuka, and the tsuka-ito and sageo are woven from premium Japanese cotton. The tsuba is made of blackened iron, with an Orchid and Butterfly decoration inlaid in silver, brass and copper. The scabbard mouth (koiguchi) and cord knob (kurikata) are of buffalo horn, and the fuchi, kashira and kojiri are of bronzed iron with silver and gold detailing. The blade collar (habaki) is a one-piece brass construction.
Specifications
Every measurement that matters
- Brand
- Hanwei
- Culture
- Japanese
- Pommel
- N/A
- Overall Length
- 40 1/2''
- Blade Length
- 28''
- Weight
- 2 lb 2 oz
- Edge
- Very Sharp
- P.O.B.
- 5 1/4''
- Thickness
- 6.7 mm - 4.8 mm
- Width
- 29.7 mm
- Grip Length
- 10 3/8''
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Country of Origin
- China
- Type
- Katana
Reviews
What collectors are saying
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Ramble Time: Top 3 katana for backyard fun, learning tameshigiri, light cutting, and prettiness..
The Maker
Hanwei
Shop Hanwei Swords, Armor & More
Master sword smith Paul Chen created Hanwei Swords and led the early industry by creating authentic handmade swords of the highest grade steel over the last several decades. A favorite amongst the industry, the original Hanwei factory suffered from a fire and ownership changes. In 2025, the factory closed and original collaborator Frenchie Jin’s forge (Dragon King / Kingston Arms) has taken over, improving and reintroducing past models. The reinvented Hanwei focuses primarily on Japanese and Chinese models, including the Performance Series Katana. Many of the original European models are now adopted as part of the Kingston Arms line.
Often paired together
I’m very happy with this. Looks beautiful and I’m having a lot of fun practicing with it. I’m excited to see how well it cuts
I think this is a very beautiful sword. It’s light and easy to swing. Practicing with it is pretty fun and not as tiring as my dojo pro because of the lighter weight. The tsuka is kinda small and I actually like that about it and the shape makes it feel nice to grip. The samegawa is one of my favorite parts of this sword, the nodes are bigger than a lot of the other reproduction katanas I’ve seen. The flower theme of the fittings on the kashira, fuji, and tsuba are lovely, the ito feels comfy, and the menuki looks good. The pointed kojiri was something that I didn’t think I’d like too much when I saw the pictures, now they have grown on me a lot and it gives it great character. The blade has a beautiful hada and hamon, and I love the kissaki. I haven’t cut anything with this yet, I look forward to it though. I’m very happy with this katana
I purchased this sword because I’d been eyeing it ever since Matt Jensen made a review on it.
10/10 blade and fittings, sword is like a racing car compared to my previous purchases.
Only complaint is that the blue paint used in the current run I received is not the same blue as the one in the pictures or in Matt Jensen’s review, and is much darker and requires very bright light to even show the blue paint.
Well I come back after having used this sword for tatami and pool noodles.
The tsuba and seppa becomes loose on my Orchid after a few cuts on pool noodles, and overall the fit inside the tsuka after 2 tatami sessions and 10+ pool noodles is less than satisfactory.
I do not know if this is an issue with the current run of Orchids, or with this specific blade in particular. Attempts to repair the issue have not gone well, and overall I no longer can use a sword like this safely for cutting.
I will note, there is no damage to the actual blade. The blade itself cuts fine and retains the edge well.
This is a sword I’ve been eyeing since the early 2000s and I was super excited to be able to finally pick one up. Overall the sword is beautiful and just about everything I hoped it would be. It feels very sturdy in the hand and much nicer than any other sword I’d owned before. The only reason I’m not giving it five stars is that I ordered a standard grade sword and I was a bit disappointed to see some chipping of the lacquer on the saya next to the kojiri and there were some minor rust/tarnished spots on the blade itself. Minor things aside I am still glad to finally add this sword to my collection.