Sakite

[chrisf]

Sakite-1,2,3 or none?I have wondered for a long time if the desire among modern swordsmiths to recreate the jihada of top quality koto blades could have anything to do with the use or more specifically the non-use of sakite.

By that I mean did the masters of koto swordsmithing use sakite as we are used to seeing in photographs and woodblock prints or were they working and forging on their own?

I know that there are many representations of swordsmiths at work but I would be interested to know when the earliest verified images of sakite in action can be dated to,I know that Yoshihara Yoshindo has used a power hammer for forging but is there any record of swordsmiths forging blades on their own without sakite?

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

did the masters of koto swordsmithing use sakite... omissis... or were they working and forging on their own?

 

Sakite is a two-ways job. Fadigue exchanged with knowledge. I think that using Sakite a master can concentrate better on the billet and temperature.

[cabowen]

It is nearly a physical impossibility for one man to forge by hand a katana. Therefore, smiths have always had help. When the power hammer came along, it allowed smiths to work alone. The last group of smiths to work without power hammers and with sakite are those that worked at the Yasukuni Tanrenjo in the 1930'-1940's....

[chrisf]

Thank you Chris,but why is that?Is it because a solo hammer cannot produce enough pressure to weld the steel in the billet and do smiths always use sakite for wakizashi and tanto or can they forge those on their own?

[cabowen]

Thank you Chris,but why is that?Is it because a solo hammer cannot produce enough pressure to weld the steel in the billet and do smiths always use sakite for wakizashi and tanto or can they forge those on their own?

 

Very difficult to hold one end and forge out 3' of steel uniformly. It can probably be done but not sure how well....

 

Sakite are usually used to forge weld the billets, regardless of what length of blade they will end up producing....

[chrisf]

OK but I was under the impression that the sakite helped with forging the billet and then the smith drew out the blade from the billet himself and continued the shaping process alone or do the sakite assist in that process?

[Danocon]

OK but I was under the impression that the sakite helped with forging the billet and then the smith drew out the blade from the billet himself and continued the shaping process alone or do the sakite assist in that process?

 

 

As Chris said-It boils down it how much force one man can produce using one hand and a hammer. It is possible to forge weld a small tanto size billet and draw it out alone but just barely. The are some smiths that boast of using an 8lb hammer and moving big pieces of steel. Okay, but why subject your joints and tendons to such punishment?Moving up to larger tanto and above you really need some kind of help. Even after the billet is welded a power hammer or sakite are necessary to draw the blade into the sunobe or sword preform. Once this is done the smith forms the bevels and the final shape alone. Up to this point he has acted as the conductor of a grand symphony saving himself for his virtuoso solo performance.

[chrisf]

That's a very clear and elegantly written explanation,many thanks.