The Lion Dog Katana features an O-Kissaki blade of Hanwei's own high-alloy HWS-1S steel, which combines superior performance with an outstanding O-choji hamon. This steel is made in Hanwei's new factory, with high-tech equipment, producing a very pure advanced-metallurgy blade with the best edge-holding capability and resilience of any blade ever produced by Hanwei. The outstanding performance characteristics of blades forged from HWS-1S steel derive from a combination of the careful selection of alloying elements and a complex processing procedure, basically involving the manipulation of the steels carbon content across the blade section. This results in a very tough and resilient blade with a hard, highly abrasion-resistant edge.