Magical sword?

This is something i have been wondering about for a while now and i have done a bit of research in books at the local shop (mystic karma).

I was wondering if it is possible to build my own samurai sword with magical or paranormal properties. heres the deal.

First thing is i know building samurai swords is an art in itself but this is theoretical at the moment and im just hoping some of the people here might have some insight into this peticular type of magic, or magics as it were.

The thing is is that i have read about how certain metals and gemstones are related with certain astrological signs. My sign is cancer and the gemstones that im particularly interested in are moonstone and emerald. My metal of choice also associated is silver.

There is one more element involved and that is the subject of runes or runic language as i have read this is a powerful magic.

Now in the creation of this sword i was wondering if it is possible to involve the gemstones in the runic language in the handle and some runic writing on the handguard. this would be the key magical part of the whole sword, I did read up a bit on runes and stuff but they are a very hard thing to pin down exactly as there are apparently many theories as to there use and origin. Is it also possible to inscribe runic writings and gemstones on the sheath with certain effects or properties.

Now if this doesn't work it is also a great idea for making designed custom swords with an art value in and of itself. Mind you im not sure the exact purpose of a sword like this if it does work because were in the twentieth century and things like this would have been more useful in the medieval times but it would be very fun to make as part of a hobby and a great collectors item to show to my family and say hey i built that.

Any way anyone with any insight please give me some as i am highly interested in this topic as of late and it seems more and more idealistic to buildit as my mother has recently informed me im of wiccan ancestry and that it would also be worth money as well.

Yes you can make it...but it is not "just" placing stones...you must be able to empower those stones yourself, you need to know what your doing. Why can't your mother help you?

First, you must realize that the gemstones and runes etc. do not hold the power....

They are tools to allow YOU to focus YOUR energy. They don't have the power in and of themselves...(well, they have some, but it's residual, due to the empowered belief of people over time).

As Lady V stated, YOU must be able to "charge" them with YOUR energy. Again on focus, you must also focus on WHAT effect you want to empower the weapon with.

In a sense, the samaurai swords of old WERE magical. You can bet that the forger of such swords put a lot of focused energy into making this weapon, not just physical, but spiritual as well. Indeed, the technique often involved periods of prayer, etc. which is, in itself, a magical ritual in every sense of the word.

They didn't need fancy gems or runes, etc. They aren't important. It's your personal energy focused on that goal, THAT is where the magic comes from....

another method of focusing energy in a sword (if you are religious) is to have it blessed

making Katanas and Wakizashi had to involve prayer, one might say. to fold a blade up to 200 times is no mean feat. it would require pride, dedication, skill, concentration and patience, on a spiritual level

but if you believe in magic, be extremely careful when applying any runes and spells to the blade. get someone trustworthy and who knows what they are doing to help you

Yes i realize that the stones and runes are to be empowered by the person building them because i have read a fair amount but its the possibilities im interested in what things could this sword be capable of if all the factors were properly put into conjunction.

Oh yeah my mom lives about 200 km away from me across the ontario lake and im not sure shes one to be able to help me in this matter as shes been an alcoholic for most of her life and is only now getting the mental effects of it for that matter im not even sure if the wiccan ancestry thing she told me is real or a product of her imagination.

Oh and the making of samurai swords being magical is something i thought about to because i was also reading up on that and the rituals pperformed by the sword makers like not eating before and actually praying that a part ofthere soul go into the sword and such.

Now the whole matter of what i wanted to do with the sword is still up for grabs its definatly not going to be for malevolent purposes as the whole three fold effect when it comes back at you and with runic writing and gemstones and silver that could be pretty nasty. Another revalation though what if the runic writing was done in silver on the sword and the handle and the sheath.

Once again i mention the enchantments are still under investigation and so is the purpose ie defensive, offensive, travelling companion or a magical tool for rituals.

i say good luck to making ti and have fun smelting it i have a samuri sword but it's more of a antique but it does work

I wouldn't be expecting to make it shoot lightning bolts or anything....

This reminded me of my last visit home during Christmas. My cousin (who has pagan tendencies also) is a blacksmith. I asked him to make me a sword. He said he could do it. I know he'll do a great job and can't wait till the final product is finished. I will wait because I'm sure it takes a long time to make. I just wanted to share. Like everyone else said...it's your energy (magic) that makes an item.

This sword of yours wouldn't be able to be used as a sword if made from silver. Wouldn't silver be too soft of a metal to be used as a sword? I know you don't want to use it as such but just interested.

As long as you keep calling a katana a "Samurai Sword" you won't get anywhere :p

The first thing you have to do to wield a sword is train with it, make it part of your body when you fight with it. Don't even think about wielding an enchanted blade if you have no experience or skill with blades, it'll only lead to 2 posible outcomes. 1 would be where you get killed, the other would be that you get possesed by the sword and go on a rampage.

Second, a katana is a sword of total balance and perfection, putting gems and materials on the handle will destroy its ballance and will make the handle unmanagable and fainfull to wield.

With katana's, the main methods and parts of enchantment are devided between blade, scabard and hilt.

The blade is enchanted by putting runes on it trough tempering, carbon coloring or imprints during the creation of the sword, imprints are less desirable because it ruins the material density and creates weak points.
The most simple and also most powerfull enchantment would be where the escense, hate, love, dispair or fear of slain creatures is captured by the sword(binding spell, soulbinding). This makes the sword progressivly more powerfull with every kill and it is said that when you slay enough beings with it, you can end up with a demonic or devine blade with its own awareness.

Seconds would be the scabard, these require a spell or enchantment with just 1 purpouse, creating a barrier to keep the power of the katana at bay. You can put whatever you want on them or can even use whatever material to create them, although you still have to keep in mind not to make it to heavy since you need to be able to carry the thing around.

Last would be the hilt, you can't put gems or hard materials on the handle part of the hilt, since it'll make it more difficult to wield the sword, a katana is a weapon designed for balance and wielding it requires no less then perfect balance between control and power in both the sword and its wielder.
When you hit yourself with a normal simple day to day katana, you can be seriously wounded, I know that from experience, I have a nudge out of my left leg to prove it.
You can howerever put runes in the material the handle will be made of, with ink or other coloring materials, not with stones or metal. Ivory as material for the handle(like the highlander katana) are undesirable too if they have reliefs on them, but even when its a smooth handle, it'll be to slippery to handle properly.
You can however put gems and hard materials on the end piece and ring of the katana, but they still have to be considered in advance, before the sword is forged, so that the balance of the sword stays perfect.
The common spells or enchantments for the handle would be barrier spells to protect the hands, binding spells or retrieval spells in case the blade is knocked out of your hands, or in cases of really strong(demonic/devine blades, a protections/barrier spell that stops the blade from possessing or hurting its wielder.

In alot of cases a barrier spell like this isn't needed, like when a demonic blade is wielded by an evil person, the person just needs to be more evil then the blade to stay in total control and well, an evil person usualy doesn't mind getting more powerfull by being possesed by the demonic sword.
This also helps a demonic blade to stop good people from using it and devine blades from having someone evil use them.

For a katana, the best way to enchant it would be with writen ruines and mixing something in the metal(as long as it doesn't damage the metals properties) or by using methods of forging that incorperate blood, bones, ashes and so on.
There is a myth about a line of famous katana's that are supposedly forged in a fire of human bones and cooled in a tub of human blood.

You can always fill up a tub with blood of innocents(children, holy people, virgins, ...) to make your blade pritty nasty from the start.

Gems and metals are best used on heavy and big blades, like claymores and fantasy blades( like Conan the Barbarien's sword) or scimitars.

Pffft, magic swords. im still holding out for a magic gun.

this i also didn't mention yet but i understand silver is not only heavy but soft. Well i was researching the techniques used to build Katanas I noticed one method wich requires the folding of a softer steel about ten times and then made into and elongated wedge shape as a core for the sword. by replacing this steel with silver it would make the balance of the sword so that the handle could have a bit more weight.

As for the writing on the handle and the tsuba (i believe thats the name for the circular or square hand gaurd between the hilt and sword) i would use silver leaf or inlay as silver is quite expensive. This is not a sword im just gonna go out and buy raw material and make on my first shot either and i know that. But what i do know is that the hardened steel itself is made weak by engraving even though some people like carvings or etchings in the blade itself its self defeating.

I don't expect this sword to be able to shoot lightning bolts or anything ridiculous. I was thinking more along the lines as the sword being my creation to sum up all the experiance that i gather throughout my life and its soul would be my soul.

The silver core however interests me because theres a specific process in the forging im not sure if the silver will be compatable with as im not sure the critical temperatures are the same nor the atomic make up of the two elements.

When the core of soft steel has the much harder steel which has been folded anywhere from 200+ times enfolded around the core peice the forging is done with clay around the blade in order to make the soft stay soft and the hard stay hard but also at the same time makes the hard harder. I believe the two things responsible are pearlite and ferite and the turn to something martensite (not sure if thats the actual name but close).
In other words the high heats crystalize the edge of the sword so not only is it hard from incredible folding but its got staying power that of which once polished(a process using apporximatly 13 stones some of which costing close to 5000 a peice) is damn near indestructible.
Anyway back on topic i don't think silver has pearlite or ferite in it so im not sure if it would actually bond with the steel and thus make the sword useless. any help on that one.

As you can tell i have done my homework. Oh yeah and i already have about three katanas and two wakizashis and two tantos, i have hade martial arts weapon training and i practice my swing by cutting through wet hay as i was told this is the way to test the cutting edge without damaging the sword. I wouldn't worry to much about the balance issue either for the sword as im not evil just curious.