Gin no Bushi Tanto (銀の武士) – Silver Warrior

Gin no Bushi (銀の武士): the Silver Warrior

The word bushi denotes the Japanese warrior, one who walks the path of bushidō: loyalty, courage and self-mastery. Paired with silver (gin), it conjures a noble, luminous figure: the samurai in full bearing and distinction.

This tanto gives that ideal direct form on its silver-lacquered saya, adorned with a samurai motif. The kamon hammered into the fuchi and kashira speak to the warrior’s bond with his clan, a tie of defining importance in feudal Japan.

A T10 steel blade with a genuine midare hamon

The blade is forged in T10 steel, a high-carbon steel renowned for its hardness. It has been clay tempered: by slowing the cooling of the blade’s spine, the clay creates two distinct hardness zones and gives rise to a genuine hamon.

Its temper line follows a midare pattern, irregular and alive, varying along the full length of the blade. A bo-hi groove runs along the surface, reducing weight and sharpening the blade’s visual line.

Black iron fittings marked with the kamon

The tsuba, shaped in mokkō-gata, traces a cross with softly rounded lobes, worked from a black iron alloy. The fuchi and kashira are hand-hammered black iron, each bearing a kamon, the family crest that identified the samurai clans of feudal Japan.

The tsuka combines a wooden core with faux black ray skin, wrapped in a diamond-pattern brown tsuka-ito braid, beneath which black menuki emerge. The habaki in brass is engraved and carved with wave motifs, a note of movement within these darkened fittings.

A silver-lacquered saya with a samurai motif

The saya is crafted from hardwood finished with a silver lacquer that catches the light and lends the tanto its name. It is adorned with a samurai motif, the unifying thread of the entire piece. A black-and-gold sageo heightens the brilliance of the silver scabbard.

Dimensions and handling

With a 33 cm blade and an overall length of 55 cm, Gin no Bushi is a tanto of generous proportions. Its 17 cm tsuka offers a firm one-handed grip. At 0.7 kg, it remains light and responsive in hand. Measuring 57 cm within its saya, it presents elegantly on a stand or alongside a katana and wakizashi.