Murakami Sword

A Murakami Sword is an elegant blade made specially by the smiths of the Murakami Clan. It was presented to a member on their seventh birthday.

Forging
All Murakami swords were forged out of Chakra Metal, a unique material that possesses unique qualities. To forge one, an assortment of hard and soft pieces was selected, and form these the spine of the weapon was forged. The softer steel, to make the weapon flexible and able to absorb kinetic shock and what would become the blade (from the harder steel, for obvious reasons of sharpness and durability). All of the pieces were folded and hammered back out several times, making the steel of the sword layered, giving it superior physical properties. In addition, the blade steel was twisted together from two layered rods. Then, the blade and the spine were forged together while hot and meticulously crafted into the desired shape. The entire process would normally take days to weeks. The smiths only worked by night to be able to judge the current state of the heated metal by its color. During the entire forging process, Chi Chakra was poured into the blade giving the metal properties no amount of additional enchanting could grant a normally-forged blade. At this stage the weapon was black, rough and unadorned. The smiths would continue etching more decorative designs into the blade, filing, scraping and polishing it, and finally fashioning a grip, a scabbard. When used, the blade of the sword give off an iridescent sheen, like that of a butterfly's wings. Upon being presented with the blade, the clan member was asked to name his new weapon.