The disassembly of a katana

When you want to perform maintenance or cleaning tasks on your katana, it is best to first disassemble the katana.

-Samurai care set

Step 1:

Locate the Meguki on the handle of the katana. Most modern katana's have 2 Meguki in the handle. They can sometimes be difficult to find as they may be (partially) covered by the Tsuka-ito.

Step 2:

Take the hammer and punch from the set. Place the katana on the box in which the kit is located and ensure that the Meguki you are going to remove is not on the box, but outside of it.

Place the punch on the Meguki and tap it with the hammer until it loosens. Do not hit too hard, as you might damage the Meguki. Several light taps work best to loosen the Meguki. Repeat this for the other Meguki.

Step 3:

Now that the Meguki are removed, you can start removing the handle. This requires some caution, as the blade may already be quite loose in the grip. Never grab the blade to pull it out, as this can cause serious injury.

Hold the katana vertically, with the blade facing upwards and your hand close to the  Tsuba. Ensure that the sharp edge is facing away from you. Gently tap the side of the handle with your other hand until the blade is loose enough to slide out. Once it is loose, carefully pull the knife out of the handle by pushing the Tsuba upwards. When the blade starts to slide out, you can shift your grip to the tang of the blade.

Step 4:

You can now remove the fittings, namely the Tsuba, Seppa, and optionally the Habaki.

Once the katana is disassembled, you can use the other items from the maintenance kit to clean the katana.

Step 5:

Once the katana is cleaned, you can reassemble it. If you have removed the Habaki, replace it first. Followed by the first Seppa with the notched side facing away from the Tsuba. Next is the Tsuba and the second Seppa, again with the notched side facing away from the Tsuba. Finally, you can slide the handle back into place.

When all the parts are back on the tang, hold the katana vertically again and use your free hand to gently tap the bottom of the handle. This ensures that all parts are fully in place again.

Place the katana back on the box and use the hammer to tap the Meguki back into place. If the original Meguki were damaged during removal, you need to replace them with new ones. Disassembling a katana may seem complicated, but with practice, it becomes easier.

You can find our katana maintenance kit here.