bluboxer

Handsome blade and kinda scary.As is said within some circles,I would not want to meet this in a dark alley! Love the analogy :lol: .Dirty Harry rocks. Alan

Greetings, I have seen the topic of heat treating come up several times and would like to recommend/suggest visiting this forum http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php ... e3&act=idx and doing a search on heat treating (the hardening and the tempering) of steels. This is a complex subject with many nuances and a precise nomenclature. Also,I do believe that "activity" is a result of the composition and forging of the steel and the smith tailors his heat treatment to bring out these features and for his particular requirements. Respectfully, Alan.

Henry, I think that no 5 would be an excellent combat weapon and that is all.The creation of the striations or visible layers are created through loss of carbon at the surface of the hot steel rather than the spreading out and blending of distinct areas of varying carbon composition.Therefore it would not display activity associated with traditional nihon-to.The fact that no.5 was quenched in oil would also point to a modern high carbon steel with some manganese in it;such a steel is more easily hardened and would have a lesser chance of surviving a water quench. I wholeheartedly agree. Alan

Hello Henry, what you may be referring to is rail steel that was produced in small quantities and was limited to areas of high traffic/heavy loads that would necessitate frequent iron rail replacement.Before the introduction of the Bessemer process of producing steel from wrought iron(before the 1860's) this was time consuming and expensive.It required placing bars of wrought iron inside tightly closed stone boxes with charcoal powder,heated for several days,broken up again,re-packed with charcoal and reheated (cementation process).This produced blister steel that had uneven carbon distribution not unlike tamahagane and was forged under the hammer to consolidate the steel and to promote a more even carbon distribution.This produced a grain pattern very similar to a course hada. When the Bessemer process took over steel production this pattern was lost due to the homogeneous carbon distribution in the steel.The Bessemer process was utilized by all steel producing countries through the early 1900's except for Sweden.The Swedish took their wrought iron from the puddlers and refined it in hearth furnaces with charcoal to produce their higher quality steel and shaped it by hammer forging.Also;the magnetite ores of Sweden are the purest ores that exist in large quantities (they lack sulfur and phosphorus.) So;we have 2 possible sources for railroad rail steel that can display layered patterns.Pre-1860's steel rail from Europe(most likely GB) or Swedish steel rails from before the 1930's. Hope this helps, Alan

Hello Henry,one of the nuts that holds the wheel and tire on your car. Alan

Hello Reinhard,I think you are probably right unless anyone has heard of a mystical sword graveyard where battle worn swords may rest? Seriously tho, after re-forging and the resultant carbon loss it would make good core material if steel supplies were low.But I was not thinking of re-forging the steel but to re-smelt it in a sense.In this way we could adjust carbon content and produce good jacket steel. There has been a resurgence within bladesmithing in the US and abroad of smelting steel in smaller tataras and other furnace designs.This stems from the fact that all modern steels available for purchase contain too much manganese which reduces significantly the appearance of a hamon (and other activity) in clay coated heat treatments.Building a tatara,feeding and tending to it's operation is a huge undertaking.Using re-cycled material such as a broken sword blade in a variation of a "puddle" furnace allows us to have manganese free steel for forging without the costs associated with a tatara. Maybe this should be a new thread but what does everyone think of this? Alan

Good day Stephen,I agree with Mark and yes this tamahagane should be re-cycled as it is a precious commodity.Which begs another question;where do all of the dead swords go? Alan

Thanks John,I should have known better than to make such an all inclusive statement.And after further contemplation agree that the final process of tempering is reduced in severity (removing a blade from the quench tank while it is still way too hot to touch (220C) and letting it cool in air is in itself a very mild temper) or skipped entirely.A smith will know his steel and what works for him. However; I posit that the application will dictate the severity of temper by the smith.If he is making a blade that is to be tested and recorded he will forsake some of the subtle beauty of various surface features and make it tougher with a higher tempering temperature.Conversely;if he were making a gift or wanted to push the envelope of artistic expression he could skip the formal tempering process in order to retain certain features of his steel and handiwork. Back to the original topic:The cutting tests were most likely under very close scrutiny by all involved as there was a lot at stake.More than money was the importance of honor.IMHO; the higher prices that were commanded by highly ranked smith's was a consequence of excellence. Alan

I am sorry to carry this off topic but;John could you please explain to me what happened to the blade after it was removed from the quench tank? Alan

Greetings, I must disagree with this statement as all blades are tempered (yaki-modoshi) immediately following the quench (yaki-ire) or hardening.Many are tempered several times to thoroughly stabilize the steels micro-structure.If this is not done the blade will crack and/or break on it's own or as soon as shock is applied (i.e.it will fail in combat). How well a blade cuts is dependent upon edge geometry,mass and technique.Two of these variables are controlled by the smith whilst the third is the cutter.Many tests by the same cutter would have more relevance than if everyone were to conduct his own tests,therefore a somewhat regulated method of test cutting by specialists. I would have much more faith with a ranked smith than one who's blades have failed a test cut and would also pay more for it. There is an axe in my shed that can also go through an arm like butter but it's mass is so great that I would not want to face an opponent with a lightening fast katana,I would be sliced into ribbons. Alan

Interesting how the smith's needed human blood to mix with the steel during forging and they (the smith's) were able to collect every last drop. Alan

Greetings,these can be had new from Satchos at the same price(440). Alan

Greetings Ken,found an interesting article about some artifacts found in a Polish museum that indicated an absence of Ni in the sample. http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//ful ... 6.000.html Also;techniques used to make isotopic determinations may be utilized to reduce the Ni content. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985LPSC...15..677S Also;elemental compositions from numerous meteoritic deposits from around the world. http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cg ... sid=6006l3 Seems to me that the only difference between terrestrial iron and "space" iron are the alloying elements and the lack of oxides.The unique features of steel made with meteoritic iron can most likely be replicated. Good luck, Alan

Hello Austin,here is the discription from the Mosle catalog. Alan

Greetings Milt,is the seppa dai made from a separate piece of metal?If so;perhaps the punch marks were meant to expand the insert into the tsuba.Just an idea. Alan

Thanks Brian, sounds like a weekend destination,only a 10 hour ride.I will email them to get better pixs and decide if they are worth the trip. Alan

Greetings Joakim, Sai-ha consists of much more than just tempering.Tempering is but an element of a process. Annealing – yaki-namashi (焼éˆã—) Normalizing – yaki-narashi (焼準ã—) Quenching – yaki-ire (焼入れ) Tempering – yaki-modoshi (焼戻ã—) (Thanks to Moriyama san for the terminology) Alan

Hello Joakim, I have been reading these posts and although I am nowhere near as experienced as most other members concerning swords I do think that you should take Brian's advice and give it just a little more time.Something will come up and you will either have the cash on hand for it or you will be looking at this blade and saying to yourself"why did I not wait longer?" Alan

It seems another Masamune has surfaced on ebay with gold inlayed appraisal.Comments? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=007 Alan

Hello Dan,so post a picture of the blade and start showing off already! Alan

Thanks Jacques, after more searching I am seeing distinct differences in the mei especially the tsuna kanji.A previous thread from Darcy also explained the fairly precise mekugi-ana placement for both generations of Tadatsuna.This one isn't even close. http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... fee782a29d Alan

Greetings all,I am considering bidding on a couple of nihonto. http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBa ... 20053&rd=1 The first is described as a tanto however;the shape is suggestive of a kikuchi yari that has been modified and I could see no descernible hamon or hada.As I was able to see this blade first hand I am including this image of the mei which I believe may be false.Seller says "Izumi no kami Kanehisa".Hawley's does not have much on this smith. The second blade is a wak (no saya) signed "Awataguchi Omi No Kami Tadatsuna Horido Saku".Perhaps this is the 3rd generation.Again there is variance from what Hawley's has for this smith. http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBa ... 53054&rd=1 NOTE:the attachements are reversed,the one with 2 mekugi ana is the tanto. Your opinions are greatly appreciated. Also,I just got to see these today and have not been able to translate the mei for myself,I only relayed the sellers interpretation. Alan

Hello Ken,pm me if you want a copy via e-mail attachment.It's only 1MB. Alan

Perhaps he is intimating that it will not be returned? Alan

Greetings all,it is my understanding that a smith may repeat the hardening process as many as four times before the grain size becomes too large and makes a more fragile blade.Large aggregates are called nie with nioi being very fine(small) crystals?Perhaps a clever smith has told a customer "see how beautiful are the large crystals"! Alan