TSUBA forging workshop in Germany

[ROKUJURO]

Dear members,

as I regularly hold seminars on forging knives and tools, I thought it might possibly interest some of the esteemed members to try their hands on forging their own TSUBA from historic bloomery iron (ca. 300 years old, quite similar with TAMAHAGANE).

I have prepared a leaflet (funny enough, it is called "flyer" in colloquial German ) with basic information which you will find in the attachment. I would appreciate any feedback, interest and suggestions.    

TSUBA forging workshop 2025.doc

[Brian]

This is a great offer. Those within traveling distance should definitely take up the offer, even as a nice social meetup. Hope you get some interest Jean, wish I were closer.

[uwe]

That’s a great idea 👍…4 hour drive, though. 

[ROKUJURO]

I understand, but you probably won't find a TSUBA forging workshop within walking distance....
I had people come to my seminars driving more than 600 km. As always in life, it is a question of interest and commitment.

[Danny D]

Hello Jean,

 

This is a great offer. I hail from Aachen and would be game.

 

Best wishes,

 

Danny

[ROKUJURO]

On 2/14/2025 at 7:21 AM, Brian said:

.....wish I were closer.

I also wish you were closer! It would then be warmer here! 

[Stephen]

Congrats looks like great fun

[ROKUJURO]

Stephen,

to be honest, It will probably be fun but it will be hard work as well. What looks so easy when a trained smith is at it, might prove to be a much longer and harder challenge for a newbie. But usually, the results warrant the pain! 

[The Forest Ninja]

I'm waiting for the snow to melt to fire up my charcoal forges.   

 

[ROKUJURO]

Forest,

you cannot forge in the open without seeing the colour of the glowing steel properly. You need a shelter to keep daylight, wind and snow away! 

[The Forest Ninja]

Shelter would be nice. But I was knife heat treating in the dark. It's nice seeing steel turn a light 

lemon yellow the 1st time. I got a crucible forge as well that I'm going to use to make custom steel.

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

This is not the right thread for a technical discussion, but what steel do you quench at "....light lemon yellow" ? 

Low alloy carbon steel for knives is quenched at cherry-red temperature (around 800°C)..

[ROKUJURO]

In the meantime, I have fixed a date for my TSUBA FORGING WORKSHOP

Please see below.

TSUBA forging workshop 2025.pdf

[Robert S]

I'll keep an eye on this.  Flying over just for this from the west coast of Canada would probably be a bit much, but it's possible that I will have other workshops in Europe this summer :-)

[ROKUJURO]

15 hours ago, Robert S said:

.....Flying over just for this from the west coast of Canada would probably be a bit much....

Robert,

what do you mean by that ? You don't know the quality of my workshops! The most beautiful women from all over the world are inscribing! 

[ROKUJURO]

Hi dear members,

as time progresses, I would like to remind you of my TSUBA forging workshop. If you would like to participate (max. 3 persons) and need accommodation for this event, please plan ahead as we have tourist season! I can help with finding guestrooms, so please let me know!

TSUBA forging workshop 2025.pdf

[ROKUJURO]

Dear members,

it is already July, so I would like to remind you of my TSUBA Forging Workshop. At this moment, I have still 2 workplaces left so in case you are interested, please sign up.

This workshop is for NMB members only, so it might be a good opportunity to get into contact with others of our board.

TSUBA forging workshop 2025.pdf

[Danny D]

Gentlemen,

 

So we all had a great time at Jean's workshop and tremendously enjoyed the experience of trying our hands on tsuba of our own. Here is a short synopsis of our exploits:

 

TSUBA FORGING WORKSHOP
 

TSUBA forging in Herrstein
On July 26^th/27^th, 2025, we attended the TSUBA forging workshop offered by Jean Collin (ROKUJURO) for NMB members only. It was quite an adventure since none of us had any practical experience in forging or related crafts. The event took place in the small but remarkably well-preserved medieval German village Herrstein, located in the southern Rhineland-Palatinate region. The traditional forge is situated just in the middle of the historic center of Herrsterin. Walls and timber-work of he forge date from the 15th century.

Learning the Way of the Tsuba (forge)

The workshop aimed at creating a basic TSUBA blank out of historical iron in the style of ealy Japanese sword-guards. After a short introduction into the forge, its tools and the safety measures, we learned some facts about the special iron which is quite different from industrial iron produced today. After individually choosing a fitting hammer and tongs, the charcoal forge was lit and the workshop quickly got underway. We heated up our pieces of iron to bright red heat and shaped the outline to the individual form we had in mind while flattening it at the same time with the hammer on the anvil. Continuous guidance was provided by Jean who found a good balance between encouraging experimentation and solid support. The opportunity to use Japanese tools was a unique and enriching experience.


Shaping the Tsuba

This step was quite different from our expectations. While the shape was mainly created with the hammer and not cut out of sheet metal, other techniques like drilling, sawing, filing, and sanding by hand had to be executed. Some templates and a number of authentic TSUBA were at hand for comparison. We noticed the evolution of the metal and the subtle textures that emerged on the iron surface. Although we were all doing the “same” process, our final pieces each had their own distinctive pattern and shape. Shaping the initial metal piece into the TSUBA form took the entire first day. On the second day, we continued refining the TSUBA, using the techniques described above. We all recognized the challenge of sawing through several millimeters of iron while trying to keep the very fine saw blade intact.
 

The Forging Experience

Over the course of two days, we learned to forge simple iron TSUBA the traditional way. Basic design elements like UDENUKI-ANA or UCHIKAESHI-MIMI were tried, and we found out that with some proper training, the progress of he work could be much faster! While the first material – carbon-free bloomery iron from about 1880 – was described as „soft“, it provided some serious resistance after cooling down. The process of forging was accompanied by carefully watching and following the permanently changing shape of the iron, changing properties (= hardness and ductility) depending on the heat, and the traces of our hammer-work on the surface. Later, we tried our hands on 300 year old raw iron which still had some impurities in it. That material would have required forging at very high temperature, and we observed the effects of too little heat: The iron cracked and split under our hammer blows!

 

Jean’s teaching style was methodical, patient, humorous, and encouraging — a style that suited us well. He also shared the Japanese approach to forging: slow, deliberate, and focused. He demonstrated different techniques with the hammer, pointing out the importance of closely watching the work develop. In the end, it was some hard work, but a very satisfying experience which led to a better understanduing of what iron TSUBA are made of, and how they are made. We created some quite pleasing TSUBA with slightly differing shapes. After finishing, they will be fully functional, and after some patination, they will look quite close to genuine Japanese ones made hundreds of years ago!

Jean, Björn, Mark and Danny

 

We had a blast - and I look forward to our next meeting at the forge

 

As photos tell more than written text, allow me to present a few impressions

[Danny D]

 

 

 

[Danny D]

[Danny D]

I am sorry about the turned photos, but somehow the program successfully resists my attempts to get them here the right way up. 

[Brian]

Thanks for the write up, looks like an amazing day. Well done to all. I'll turn the pics a bit later. The key is to edit them on phone or pc even minutely and save. That locks the orientation.
 

[BjornLundin]

A big thank you to Jean for organizing and teaching the session on tsuba forging. I learned a great deal, as one always does when working hands on. Herrstein was a charming little medieval town, with a cozy cafe serving rustic food. I wish I had more time to explore, but the forge kept calling me in. It was also a pleasant surprise to meet colleagues from a similar scientific field. My tsuba still needs some filing and a bit more hammering of the rim before it is finished. The experience was great!

[Infinite_Wisdumb]

Amazing workshop!

[Danny D]

7 hours ago, Brian said:

Thanks for the write up, looks like an amazing day. Well done to all. I'll turn the pics a bit later. The key is to edit them on phone or pc even minutely and save. That locks the orientation.
 

Thank you very much for your help, Brian!

[Lareon]

Very Nice, Let us know if there are any others. I'm in the area often. couldn't of made this one but would be keen

[ROKUJURO]

I am willing to have another workshop probably in spring next year. Minimum 2, maximum 3 participants.