Miao Dao – L6

The Miao Dao, the “grain leaf” sabre, receives its name from the early 20th century despite its ancient origin. Its history is a subject of debate among some scholars and sword enthusiasts but all agree about its reemergence in the mid-16th century by General Qi Jiguang who resurrected the sword to combat pirates raiding coastal cities. After the victory over the pirates the Miao Dao remained useful battling enemies of the Ming Empire which led to this famous general’s men to be known as the “invincible Qi army”. Highly coveted by the soldiers the swords didn’t pass along this weapon easily. This beautiful Hanwei Maio Dao is the pinnacle of Chinese sword craftsmanship. This verion features a 31 1/2″ L6 steel blade with a groove on on both sides of the blade to lighten the balance. The ribbed handle is a beautilful black which is echoed by the deep black lacquered scabbard. The gorgiously ornate guard and pommel are stainless steel as well as all the other accutrements. An elegant weapon from a more honorable and duty bound age.

L6 Steel

Bainite is a structure of high-carbon steel that combines great strength with excellent flexibility and shock absorption characteristics. It has been known as an exemplary Katana blade component for a number of years but its use has been restricted to a few top-class master smiths, due to the difficulties involved in performing the exacting heat treatment procedures necessary for the production of a Bainite blade body in combination with the very hard Martensite Yakiba (edge section) required for Katana blades. Hanwei has now mastered this difficult process, using billets of L-6 tool steel (a very tough high-carbon low-alloy steel) as a starting point. Blades are forged and shaped in the normal way, then carefully heat treated to achieve the required Bainite and Martensite structures before final polishing.