WITH the increase of firearms use in modern warfare, the sword is no longer the weapon of choice on the battlefield. Yet swordsmith Ji Shaocong, known for his preeminent handicraft, has a long list of customers including Jackie Chan and many TV series production crews who ask Ji to forge swords as artworks or props in shows.

The swordsmith is only 33 years old, but his swords enjoy a nationwide reputation. Ji has cast thousands of weapons for popular TV costume series such as "Water Margin," "Consort Yang Yuhuan" and "New Shaolin Temple," while Jackie Chan recently ordered three of Ji's swords for the kung fu star's martial arts club due to open in Shanghai soon.

Ji was born to a family of swordsmiths in Longquan, Zhejiang Province, a city boasting a history of more than 2,000 years of producing fancy swords, which were described in ancient books as "exquisite beyond compare" and able to "cut bones like mud."

The age-old and superb sword-forging techniques of Longquan are included on the national list of intangible cultural heritage.

Previously, Ji and his family ran a sword workshop in Longquan, selling semi-made swords (only the blade) to wholesalers, like many of their peers in the city. But in 2005, Ji and his brothers decided to establish their own brand Quan Ji, and opened Quan Ji Sword Store in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang.

"I noticed more and more people were in need of a tailor-made sword, helping them find the best balance between the sword and their bodies," Ji says. "So I quit the wholesale business, and the Hangzhou store is oriented on making exclusive handmade swords.

"Manufactured swords are forged by automatic steam hammers, and hence one costs around 60 yuan (US$9.40), but a handmade sword costs much more. Generally, the production of the blade takes up to half a year," he adds.

In Ji's eyes, forging a sword is like creating an artwork. Having produced many swords and knives that have won national awards in industrial art, Ji prefers to imitate while develop ancient China's weapons.

"Today in costume series and films, people may see weapons in grotesque shapes which are eye-catching but visionary," Ji says.

He appreciates swords from Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) best, as the blades were simply warped by strips of clothes, "suggesting the swords' original simplicity."

And the ancient-style swords are very welcomed by the market as well, demonstrated by the fact that some of Ji's customers are prepared to pay up to 150,000 yuan for them.

An important reason why Ji's company is able to forge ancient-style swords is that Ji's family revived the technique of producing swords which was lost during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976).

According to Ji's introduction, the making of a sword goes through a total of around 30 procedures that include tempering, forging, smoothing, carving, embedding and polishing, to ensure the swords boast four major traditional features - toughness, sharpness, strength and softness.

The combination of toughness and softness sound contradictory, but Ji explains: "Harder does not mean better, because waving a hard sword to chop or cut could damage the wielder's hand, only a great equilibrium of toughness and softness is the best."

There are two vital steps to balance the toughness and softness - forging and compounding.

Forging demands workers to fold and hammer the red-hot iron repeatedly. Since the iron is dual-layered before hammering, once the piece is hammered, it is folded four times. The folding removes impurities, while the multiple layers combine hardness with ductility to create toughness.

"Hammering a dozen times is required for making a blade flexible," says Ji.

His most satisfactory piece, a duplicate of a sword from the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), which adopted the aerosiderite (an extremely hard iron) extracted from a meteorite that fell in Argentina more than 4,000 years ago, has been hammered into 720,000 layers.

Different styles of hammers and methods of hammering also allow swords to feature unique patterns on the blade, which, though visible, cannot be felt by stroking.

And the following step, compounding, gives swords the combination of toughness and sharpness by steeling hard iron at the edge. "It's like making a hamburger, workers knead hard steel and soft iron together, driving the hard steel to the middle, and the flexible forged iron to the edge," Ji explains.

In this age when acquiring rare material is much easier than in the past, Ji believes it is possible to duplicate many ancient-style swords since the techniques of producing Longquan swords has been recovered.

Therefore Ji keeps studying the history of China's weapons, and the young man not only imitates old pieces, but also makes new versions that are as practical as ancient swords but also creative and modern.

Ji recently forged a sword named "The Supreme" which utilized a steeling technique from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a grinding technique from Japan, and modern anti-rust skills.

Moreover, Quan Ji tailor-makes the scabbard, a sheath for the blade, to customers' specifications, so they can choose the material of the handle and scabbard, and select the decorative jewelry and metals.

"The market is booming, so the culture of swords is not going to become extinct, but can be carried on and developed, which is my duty," he says.

Nevertheless, making a sword is very dangerous, especially during the process of grinding and polishing which, according to Longquan sword's requirements, takes at least five days in order to ensure the sword glitters light "like that of frost and snow."

Ji shows his hands which are scattered with calluses and scars, while two fingers have been cut and deformed. One day in 2003 when he was learning to grind, Ji didn't realize his right index finger was almost cut off until he noticed blood everywhere.

Despite the injury, he does not show any regret.

"Even though that finger was cut off, the others remain capable of making swords. And as my skills improve, the probability of getting hurt will decrease," he says.

"I am not afraid of getting hurt, I am only afraid that one day I will lose inspiration and patience."