One Piece anime katanas recreated as exquisite letter openers by Japan’s swordsmith legacy heirs

https://ift.tt/2v8yBCk Casey Baseel

Slice through your paper foes like Zoro and Law would.

If you’re going stick One Piece into the box of a single genre, the hit anime/manga is a pirate story. But creator Eiichiro Oda has always crafted the series aesthetics to be whatever he thinks is cool, and so swordsman and Straw Hat Pirate Roronoa Zoro doesn’t fight with a cutlass, rapier, or any other standard buccaneer blade, but rather a trio of Japanese-style katana.

All of Zoro’s katana were created by master swordsmiths in the One Piece world, and those craftsmen’s present-day, real-life counterparts are the cutlery makers of Seki, a town in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture which in generations past was a major supplier of steel to samurai warriors. Seki has now branched out into bladed instruments for less violent purposes, such as cooking knives, shaving razors, and letter openers, which brings us to a tie-up between Seki-based Nikken Cutlery
and One Piece.

Nikken has recreated Zoro’s three swords, starting with the Wado Ichimonji, the earliest katana the character is seen carrying.

Each of the One Piece letter openers is made of stainless steel for an authentic and weight feel. They’re officially classified by Nikken as “paper knives,” and promise to open envelopes with a satisfying slice. The included display stands are two-tiered, allowing you to keep the swords sheathed or place the scabbard on a different level of the rack so that you can admire the naked blade as well.

In the course of his adventures, Zoro goes on to acquire the Sandai Kitetsu, which has a uniquely irregular hamon hardening line.

▼ Unlike the in-anime Sandai Kitetsu, Nikken Cutlery’s version isn’t cursed.

Rounding out Zoro’s trio of weapons is the ominous-looking Shusui, with its jet-black blade contrasting with a fiery hamon.

And finally, if you’re a fan of One Piece’s other katana expert, Trafalgar Law, Nikken’s artisans have also produced a paper knife of his Kikoku.

Nikken Cutlery has previously offered curved katana-style scissors based on the personal weaponry of historical samurai, but this is the company’s first anime crossover. Each letter opener is priced at 4,000 yen (US$36) and can be ordered here directly from Nikken Cutlery.

Source: Nikken Cutlery via Japaaan
Images: Nikken Cutlery