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Kanji for Sword
The kanji most commonly used for "Sword" are 刀、剣、刃.
刀
Kanji that mean Sword
刀 (katana / tō) is the sword as Japan made it famous: the single-edged, curved blade of the samurai. Two strokes draw it. It is the katana of 日本刀 (the Japanese sword) and the radical hiding inside dozens of cutting characters — 切る (to cut), 分 (to divide).
剣 (ken / tsurugi) is the double-edged straight sword of legend and of sport: 剣道 (kendō, the way of the sword), 真剣 — literally “real sword” — which came to mean “deadly serious”, and 剣士, a swordsman. Sacred swords in myth, like the Kusanagi blade of the imperial regalia, are 剣.
刃 (ha / jin) is the edge itself — 刀 with a mark on its cutting side. 刃物 is a bladed thing; 白刃 a drawn blade. Around them: 斬 (to slash), 鞘 (scabbard), 侍 (the one who wore it).
Words using Sword kanji
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
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剃刀
かみそり
razor
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剣道
けんどう
kendo; Japanese martial art using bamboo swords
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刃物
はもの
edged tool; cutting instrument; knife
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剣士
けんし
swordsman; swordswoman; fencer
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刃渡り
はわたり
length of a blade; walking barefoot on the edge of a sword blade (acrobatic stunt)
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真剣
しんけん
serious; earnest; real sword (as opposed to a wooden practice weapon)
Before you use Sword kanji
刀 reads as the katana — clean, iconic, safe. 剣 reads as the sword of legend and of kendō, with the bonus association of 真剣, "dead serious". 刃 alone is just "blade/edge" and can read faintly menacing, like naming the sharp part. All three are legitimate; pick by which sword you mean.