Korean To Sword

By Crusader1307

The To Sword was of the Korean weapons category known as the “Hwando” - or “military type”. Seen in use around the 14th Century, The To was a 24-36 inch long, single-edged blade (slightly curved). Considered a “Short Sword” in comparison to other Korean blades, featured a shortened cut down handle (4 to 6 inches) – which was made of wood. Many of The To Swords were either captured or imported Japanese Katana-Type blades that were altered this way. Featuring small “Tsuba” hand guards (a circular metal plate below the blade base), the weapons scabbard was designed to be easily removed in battle. Later versions have a release clip made of metal, which allowed the To Sword to be worn and removed without the need for a scabbard (making it even quicker to deploy).