It takes almost a year to make a true katana, through joint efforts of master swordsmiths, sword sharpeners, scabbard makers, coating masters and silver artisans. A team of filmmakers has delved into the world of Japanese sword making to bring the process of this intricate art form to the public in exquisite, ultra high-definition (4K) detail.

Complete with epic English-speaking narratives and the wildest sword-making music ever, the crew of the 4K Katana Project have recorded nearly 15,000 hours of footage, equal to 100 terabytes of data! You can follow the true masters at work through each step of the sword-making process.

There are plans to release the documentary in August 2015, but as you can imagine it’s no quick or simple task to edit and produce 15,000 hours of footage! That’s why the project has created a crowd-funding page, and of course they aren’t going to let their donors walk away empty-handed. Donation plans start from ¥2,500 (approximately US$22), with a gift of an “original Japanese sword ear pick” (for those tough battles against ear wax) up to the maximum donation amount of ¥9,200,000 (roughly US$80,000), which will get one generous donor an actual Yoshihara-made katana, among a slew of other gifts.

If you're interested in seeing this film through, you can also follow the project on its Facebook page here for updates.

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