ken kata

TAMAHAGANE  - SUMIHIRA MANABE - sword maker

From the dvd /Video  " ART OF THE Japanese SWORD "

Narrator : 

Swordmaker Sumihira Manabe produces his own "Tamahagane" for his swords.

Manebe uses " Less refined iron sand brought down by remote mountain valleys." 
Manabe : 
" When I look at masterpiece swords of the Kamakura period, they have extremely interesting and good quality surface steel
When I saw this, I wanted to produce this kind of sword.
Then, I tried to figure out how to make that kind of sword.
In the end, I arrived at this kind of method.     

Using just pure iron sand doesn't produce good results.
Chikusa sand iron is good because it de oxidizes very efficiently, producing good quality iron.

It is not for making swords in the Bizen style tradition, but, it is good for making swords in the Soshu and Yamashiro traditions.
The different sand irons used results in subtle differences in the surface steel ( Jigane) of the completed sword. "