Pawn Stars | Rick tells the history of the Samurai Sword

Rick Harrison, start of History Channel's "Pawn Stars" explains one of the most unique items in his shop, an ancient Samurai Sword.

[@millkberry]

Holy shit I'm studying Samurai and fucking... RICK HARRISON. I HAVE FOUND A WILD MEME.

[@bomberguy06]

it always sits on the shelf throughout the series. it's nice to see it out.

[@theMAG101]

Why is he pawing at the blade so much? I was repeatedly taught that you should never touch the blade unnecessarily due the long-term damage the oils on your skin may cause. Either I was misinformed or he's not exactly the guy you want to get advice from regarding blades (I accept that either is a possibility).

[@cathalcostello291]

thats amazing

[@tsgillespiejr]

OMG STOP TOUCHING THE BLADE!

[@harrybradford7380]

No

[@aaaaa89u89uu8]

10 out of 10 most helpful vid on the internet I give you one like and a sub

[@Wasakracker79]

Belongs in a museum.

[@althesmith]

That's the problem with old nihonto- every fold they did- usually about a dozen or so- could have trapped air pockets or scale making a small cold shut. And repolishing the blade completely has a good chance of exposing these. Now, not all of these are "fatal" flaws- but some are- and it boils down to chance. Forge-welds like any other don't age like fine wine, either, and accumulated stresses from time and use can start shearing welds internally.

[@jasonmazzy]

Rick I collect and deal in Nihon-to. (samurai swords) There are several polishers who will evaluate the sword, and repair it for much less than $6000. The going rate for the best in the world is roughly $125 an inch. Japan will also not keep your sword as it is illegal to do so. There has been many rumors and false discussions about this.

[@connorthompson4963]

man those things aren't for sale any more but if you have old of one ill happily buy it of you

[@yrusonoitall]

Man, I've got to plan a road trip soon to Las Vegas, I would love to drive that bike back home.

[@z3r0f4Lc0n]

its beuatiful

[@ukeaddictify]

i love how you know so much about samurai swords, but yet when you seen it displayed in all the other shows, IT IS ALWAYS UPSIDE DOWN! even if the blade is damaged, please display it edge up.

[@supermorshu]

Nice!

[@theHungergames11z]

Katsamuto would be honored of Rick kept it..... because theyre both badasses :D

[@althesmith]

@jasonmazzy : Depends. If he's got long-term protection there (Renaissance Wax) there shouldn't be too much of a problem. With all the blades he has, though, he most likely knows to clean/oil a piece immediately after handling. Again, if you do that asap, the fingerprints aren't that much of an issue. It's when you get prints and leave them there to develop into corrosion that you get a value decrease.

[@sbo1111]

That's your opinion. Many people don't agree with you. That's why some people pay $15,000 for a Samurai sword , while nobody would pay that much for a sword that I make in 2 hours. So there is such a thing as inferior weapons. It can be different based on what you need but genuine samurai are always valued more than what I make in 2 hours, period.

[@Rick1885]

I could see chum playing with that sword, I would play with it!

[@VitoATF]

awesome

[@DieOnlyifITellU2]

just because it can't cut doesn't mean it can't kill, so again, not an inferior weapon, merely something that requires the user being familiar with it...

[@Filiolus]

it's not like the blade hasn't been handled, and it's an item he has said he's hoping to keep. i'm sure he doesnt mind but yeah i guess being more careful would be nice. Its a beautiful sword.

[@Jacno77]

heard rick harrison's great Japanese ancestors got that blade for 15 bucks, "I'm taking all the risk here customer san" was the line they used

[@gisenberg]

what's the red on the blade at 1:24, i love that for some reason

[@Elderunlimited9]

@gisenberg It's most likely something that the swordsmith added for decoration. Especially back then alot of the authentic real katanas were custom designed.

[@solortus]

I'm looking at the scabbard and now I'm curious; was the blade a family sword that was reused in world war 2?

[@esorlaksa]

I so much agree with you. For these people they are just objects with a tag prize. Ever since I watched how they were made and made for whom, I can say that only the Samurai (bushi) should have them. But since they're all gone, only the Japanese should have them because of the high regard they put into these swords.

[@BaiHouZhi]

@13098519 1. Spanish Gold Bar (Retail value= $48,000) was bought for $35,000 35,000/48000 X 100= 72.9% (Rounded) found in Season 3 Episode 4 2 Down and Dirty motor frame (Retail Value= $5,000) was bought for $3,000 3,000/5,000 X 100= 60% found in Season 3 Episode 24 3 CSO grenade (Retail Value= $2,000) was bought for $1,600 1,600/2,000 X 100= 80% found in Season 3 episode 13.... Satisfied? Take note that sometimes he pays 50% or lower on the retail value for a good reason...

[@btreed2]

I like the randall at 1:29 in the display case. sword has been discussed on NMB and iirc the conclusion was they wouldn't have spent $2k on it.

[@rainstar98]

gotta love katana

[@DieOnlyifITellU2]

And another thing, value has truely nothing to do with weapons, unless you want to sell it again(which in my opinion, defeats the purpose entirely of having it in the first place). So, yeah, its based solely on if it kills or not for it to be a weapon. And a weapon's a weapon. That's it. No inferiority. No superiority. Just IT... The only way a weapon could be "superior", is if the person using it is a superior killer, and even then, the weapon is just the inanimate object doing the dirty work.

[@ElTiburon22]

I love reading the arguments in the replies. A few things to comment on: 1- collectors want items to be mint. They don't care if the chipped tip happened in battle. To collectors it decreases the value because it's very hard to provide historical evidence. 2. This people pawning items are not getting ripped off. If you are trying to sell something at a pawn shop it is your own fault if you get low balled and accept the offer. If you want full value, use your own time and effort, and sell it d

[@pikkisful]

he fucking owns it

[@UltraredM]

@houseofaction "Moron", Japan can declare it a national treasure, which means by law it belongs in their possession. Which means they get to take it.

[@glee0425]

actually that tip broken or whatever, is actually showing that katana is worth more, cause that katana shows that it was used in battle.

[@Mikeandwendy74]

It would take me one week to fix that blade, zero cracks and it would be as good as new.

[@reallybigmike]

I've always want tto know about that damn sword, every episode it's in the background but they never talk about it.

[@althesmith]

@jasonmazzy : On some of those antiques the hamon is so narrow that a deep chip can extend into the unhardened steel as well. Or removing it and repolishing can expose core iron on a kobuse-construction blade. Either way, not good.

[@sadsuitcase4924]

Look at the pawn shop then compare to now what a change

[@Railriderchris]

Forging the blade requires less than half a month, since it is forbidden by japanese law to make more than two blades per month for a modern swordsmith.

[@YoungT703]

He should keep it clean with the kit so that it won't rust anymore

[@jasonmazzy]

It appears to be of fine construction, but I would like to see the Nakago (tang) and the rest of the sword. In the video it does not appear to be a $60k sword. If you do pay such high dollar for Nihon-to I have a few I would be willing to sell so I could purchase a new Juyo ranked blade. I love the show and truly hope you will post pictures of the sword so those of us who are collectors could study your blade. Thank you for your time

[@Nihontopride]

@jasonmazzy I don't make enough money to buy any blades yet, but I have some expensive tastes. I love the work of the more recent Gassan Smiths, I happend across a blade made by Sakurai Masatsugu once at a garage sale and bought it for $15, was one heck of a find.

[@xXSuDDsMcDuFFXx]

is the handle authentic manta ray hide?

[@infuglenn]

thats just amazing that sword is 520 years old killed people handled by a samurai just amazing

[@AntonyAng34]

I'm calling my buddy to check on this thing. LOL

[@ZibongX2]

Cool. I've always wondered about that sword, since you always see it on the top shelf behind the guys, sitting next to the "death clock". Awesome that it's straight out of early Warring States Japan, but it sucks that it's chipped (and if some of the other comments are to be believed, irreparable).

[@yomomsahoe5797]

You still alive bruh?

[@TheMeJustMe75]

Most people don't understand that fact. People think "oh it's metal, so it's ok for me to put my greasy fingers all over the blade of a sword." People don't take into consideration that the acid in our skin can make the blade rust. I study Kendo and the first thing I ask someone is not to put their fingers on the blade.

[@CUSTERM16A2]

This reminds of when I was a flee market and there was a vendor that wanted 200 dollars for a World War 2 Japanese officer's katana. It would've been worth more if not the shitty restoration that he did. The original leather on the scabbard was replaced with a cheap imitation leather. The blade guard had cheap electrical tape on it for the cloth guard. Finally the worse part was that he took a wire bruss to the blade and destroyed the markings.God I hate it when people ruin good antiques.

[@BODLive08]

Damn, what a deliema for Rick

[@rapsod1911]

Maybe to somebody in use is worth 30k but maybe in Japan is only 2-3k. I saw on one japanese site new sword forged by "living national treasure" blacksmith in 2009 for 50k and another from 13 century for 5k just because it doesn't have signature on tang :) They value things differently. They have competitions where you have to quest who is maker of sword just by looking cutting part of blade. That is devil in details.

[@TheHitmanSF]

when my friend watch this..he said "so pawn star is actually exist?" i become speechless

[@lucashc2]

It's not going to be much longer after this vid...

[@kaizeran]

I love the show but I gotta agree with creccy that the sword was not handled correctly. You are not supposed to touch the blade with your fingers, and if you do you need to clean it before you just put it away.

[@FeelinGoode]

1490 wow.... I wonder how many lives were taken with that sword.

[@Crusader1987]

@dr1345 I would assume that even back in the time of the samurai, the handles would be replaced after a period of time just because of normal wear and tear.

[@ReverendRover]

The two aren't actually comparable, really. The best samurai blades were incredibly sharp and balanced to do immense damage through slashing. Most European blades from around the same time were big, heavy things that weren't really designed to cut, but to smash someone to bits who was wearing plate armor.They were designed for very different battlefields

[@jasonmazzy]

@Nihontopride very scary, because each touch on the blade decreases the valur further.

[@tempo529]

Thank goodness they have "writers" "Googling Wiki" so Rick and staff can give answers to questions they would otherwise have no idea about an item. To be fair they do have knowledge on a lot of things,just not everything!

[@darkenlight22]

I thought they only started curving the blade 200 years ago guess I learned something new. I wonder what the fold count is on it. Oh and get a maple holding set blade needs to be in maple to help stop the rust and acids.

[@mel_coba]

if i wasnt going to buy a car in october i'd buy that sword when i go to vegas next month.

[@MrKevstro]

@PANDAbwer So at the time the sword was made they created lower quality swords because of the really high demand?

[@jackfauen9441]

This sword is worth 5000$ at most. Without the papers from the tokyo nihonto group who appraise and give out quality levels upon katana, which then can be used to determine a price point. if you try to set a sword such as this with alot of rust, and chips for anything above 5000$ you are asking far too much. a sword from the 1400s, with no rust and chips, yes you could ask easily 40-50K. And yes chips drop 30% off the price as they reduce sword ingredity if too deep making the value drop

[@kilooneeight]

That's a shingunto. No one will buy it for 6grand. If you send it to Japan, they will melt it down. And the nick on the kissaki is not small. Togishis normally charge polishing by the inch. Give or take polishing that sword will not cost more than 3grand

[@HereMikeWas]

@GoldSilverPawn You should take a trip to Japan and get it fixed and it would also make a great show for The History Channel.

[@chrism651]

Hello Rick, I own a the land of the Giants the sword of Loki from the Viking its a long giant serpent cross curse sword and the sheath has Vikings markings on and it's not easy to swing around its very damn heavy its raser sharp edges on both sides no body sells that type of swords in stores not even all the pawnshops I have the holy Grail of swords and its vintage eara Vikings sword of Loki if you want to see this in person Rick I'm in long beach Mississippi!

[@DieOnlyifITellU2]

the european broadswords were not slashing weapons, they were more of a hacking weapon(true you COULD slash with it, but that isn't a very efficient way to use that type of blade)

[@_Tommmmmm_]

Aren't you not supposed to touch the blades of old swords so the oil on your hands don't ruin them? I'm no expert but I was told that in regards to a Japanese sword my grandpa got off of a soldier during WW2.

[@dgreatll]

Hey Rick, Chumlee wants that sword.....

[@AndyF1996]

@croquis24 not unless an actual samurai used it, katana are imported for the use in blade martial arts like iaido

[@mrbankalot]

fuck, the authenticity of the chip should make it worth the same if not more!

[@theturbocow]

I wonder how many people were killed with that thing back in its day.

[@Belenor]

And he touches the blade with his fingers...wow...

[@dominicbalistreri80]

Me: Can I get change for a $5? Rick: Best I can do is $3.50 Me: DEAL!

[@blackbird5634]

ya know, the option to take it back to Japan and offer it as a gift to a museum there or even find the family of sword makers who's name is on it makes way more sense. The fact that it's a 'national treasure' takes it off the market in my mind. Have some class. Restore the sword to a place of dignity.

[@gunnerbunny]

rick......im gonna save for that death clock, im gonna go there and buy it, just wait....LOL

[@emtolor1]

let's say someone told him about sword's value. Don't mention possible damages related to wrong blade handling. In japanese swords world the value has little to do with time, only the quality of forging affects price. About blade condition: The blade obviously need a togishi but the cracks on kissaki are all but tiny. Kissaki will be deeply reshaped and boshi will be lost halving the value. Most important the sugata is not from a Koto blade but from, at least, a Shinto one and this means

[@tokorev747777]

wow! excellent history! just don't let chumlee touch it or you will have shavings lol

[@jasonmazzy]

@gabedamien in this case if it is in the tip it would be the boshi that is in danger.

[@pinkgun7]

@dr1345 lol! nope. Beauty is in thee eye of the beholder!

[@ReverendRover]

My point was that the two are different. You watch someone swing a viking broadsword, and watch someone swing a katana. The katana will be much faster because of the balance. But against metal, European armor, it wouldn't be much good. The are DIFFERENT, none is inferior because they weren't designed to do the same thing

[@LordHannigan]

I wonder how many people that katana has put to rest?

[@MultiVance123]

You're supposed to handle the blade with a silk cloth

[@1BrknHrtdRomeo]

wow...it's awesome just thinking up all these "what ifs"...i'm a pro for thinking like that and I get it from both friends and family asking me to stop thinking that way...hah i can't help but think "hey, wouldn't it be awesome to work at THE pawnstar pawnshop?" xD a lot of possibilities there. i would reinforce the fact that the sword would most likely have been part of some pretty major battles. there's a market for collectors who buy weapons that have killed people lol

[@mattshegelll]

I'll give it to ya for like 20 bucks LOL ONLY RICK LOVE Your show man.

[@jasonmazzy]

I know many $150,000 Nihon-to that have gone there to get there treasure status at what is known as a shinsa (hosted by the NBTHK, and awarded Juyo status or higher). I am curiosu who signed that sword to be worth $60,000?

[@yrusonoitall]

Messed up on comment below, I was just thinking of that motorcycle in that video when Chumlee was giving a tour of the shop. Anyways that sword doesn't really look all that bad, considering how old it is & all, but to bad about the chip. I wonder how much $ Rick has into the sword already?

[@ramonhernandaz4057]

Tengo unas piezas son unos ídolos de la cultura maya de piedra de jade algún coleccionista k les interesen estas preciosas joyas preispanicas

[@squashedeyeball]

Chamley is the king.

[@MrTsquare64]

I LOVE THAT KATANA!!! WANTZ IT SO BADLY!! ^_^

[@LordJoseifius]

"Devils in the details" Funny how he doesnt know that running your hands all over the blade can cause rust to form very quickly.

[@houseofaction]

@crystallinentity creccy is right. touching the blade is a no no. your skin has oils that rust the blade. a swordsmith would tell you that

[@Radvous]

If that was a chip from battle I'd think it would be worth more than 40,000 dollars

[@dsjc666]

I was thinking this if it was in a historic battle and got that chip it's a museum peice worth a lot more than 40k it rick is talking shit he doesn't know crap about Japanese swords

[@blazeaglory]

dsjc666 I think its fake. The real swords Ive seen in Japan look much different. Although I really cant tell from the quality of the video, form what I have seen, this sword doesn't look authentic or at least not over 500 years old.

[@captcorajus]

great... what battle? Where's the documentation? Otherwise, that information is worthless.

[@ss8vage]

You are not supposed to touch the blade with your bare hands, it stains the blade!

[@ballackbeckham]

@HereMikeWas they could still get it taken

[@pinkgun7]

My sister said she would "ride" Rick, until his balls turned blue. She has a major crush on him.LOL

[@MyKillerpanda1]

My father has a samurai sword and it's in great shape can I have the address to your store?

[@Dattebayo9000]

I'm disappointed this wasn't the actual history of the sword

[@mjcw101]

@saint76767676 Because national governments have rules against buying from pawn shops I assume?

[@miamistyle786]

Wonder How Sharp That Thing Is?

[@Mack488]

I'm guessing the Katana is made out of Tamahagane, right?