Variable shinogi-height in a single sword: I want your opinions!

by Caleb

QUESTION: A katana with a "low shinogi" has almost parallel faces of shinogi-ji.

A katana with a "high shinogi" has faces of shinogi-ji slanted towards each other, like a pyramid.

An unokubi-zukuri katana has a "low shinogi" in about the first 8 inches from the sword (starting from the guard), and UPRUPTLY changes to a "high shinogi" for the rest of the blade running towards the tip...

I am considering regrinding the shape of my katana to a "variable shinogi-height": at the guard, it has parallel shinogo-ji's, but their angles become less and less parallel--with a linear rate of decrement--towards the tip, where they almost meet like a pyramid.

I want your opinions! Good? Bad? Ugly? Practical (for shifting COP down)? Effective? Ineffective? Indifferent? Please let me know!

ANSWER: Hi Caleb,

Hmmm, all I can say is that is certainly sounds unique. I have never done such a modification myself, so cannot really say how it will turn out - either practically or aesthetically.

All I can really recommend is to try it out on a cheapie to get an idea of how it feels and looks and take it from there.

Let us know how it goes!

- Paul