The Forest Ninja

I'm a new person here and already want to put somebody's bazillion new Tamahagane threads into one. Brian, I hope You get a new MOD in every continent so there's basically somebody around all the time. I still need to learn the parts of a Katana before I can upgrade. Cheers

I've had the same issue purchasing some Japanese Whetstones. Contact them and tell the books are not banned. 90% of the time I contacted them They unblocked the sale. Also, do check the Mercari section of Buyee. I've got a few books from that store.

I'm not sure how many of You know this, but the Tatara is broken up and metal sorted. The pieces with low carbon can be reused to add more carbon in a reducing environment. The pieces with too much carbon (aka cast iron) can be reused in an oxidizing environment to reduce its carbon content. The pieces that are good from the intial run are used as is.

Btw: Electrolytic iron is not a new invention. So You can forget about getting a patent on it. Read more about it here. Electrolytic iron

I don't know of 1 blade that was ever created by using electricity alone? Do You have a link for this Mustafa? I do have pure Electrolytic iron and pure iron powder which can be used after it's carburized to make a blade including a Katana. But that's totally different than what You're thinking about I suspect. Note: I think it would better to have all Your steel threads put into 1 thread so it's easier to answer and keep everything together.

Never heard of Manu. I think You meant Maru. Kobuse is more commonly used these days in either a Katana or Wakizashi. A Tanto can be Maru cause they are not exposed to the same stress as a sword. From here: Japanese swordsmithing

I got mine from here. But they're sold out now. TAKEFU SHIROGAMI #1

It wasn't cheap and I only used a bit to make a knife. Still got 2 feet left sealed and oiled away for a later project.

I have purchased a bar of Shirogami #1 (1000mm long X 40mm wide and 6mm thick).

It twould better to create only 1 thread regarding steel so that all the information ends up together.

Doubt You find that entire book translated. I do have that razor shaving pdf file though.

I got a Japanese book called "How to View the Blade" by Kosuke Iwasaki" that I need to get translated. Here's the book description after it was translated. Will take way more time to translate the book though. Kousuke Iwasaki (b. 1903, d. 1967) was more than just a maker of razors; he held a PhD in metallurgy from Tokyo University, he was apprenticed to swordsmiths and barbers, and his book "Regarding Blades," ｢刃物の見方｣ is still considered one of the leading works on Japanese smithing, metallurgy and Tamahagane ever written. He was born into a family of blademakers, but his father’s business was destroyed by the enormous influx of cheap, mass-produced yet still highquality German cutlery after the first world war, and he swore to establish Japanese blades as the best in the world as revenge for his father’s losses. This mission led him to studying the ancient secrets of the Japanese bladesmiths, as well as his lifelong research into Tamahagane and swordsmithing. He eventually transferred his focus to razor making, both of the traditional Japanese Kamisori as well as western-style straight razors. Sanjo's blacksmith has a microscope. Based on the conviction that knife making should be backed by science, the author, who has mastered swordsmithing and sword sharpening, teaches the actual relationship between tamahagane and other knife materials, blades and sharpening, and whetstones. A wide range of topics linking technology and metallurgical theory are explained in detail. Fantastic masterpiece reprint. Release date: May 2012 Author/Editor: Kosuke Iwasaki Publisher: Keiyusha Form of issue: Paperback Number of pages: 177p

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.

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

Not sure who polished that blade. But normally, the Kissaki is polished perpendicular to the blade.

Alcohol and junk food are probably responsible for more deaths than blades. When They banning that?

What about using clear nail polish if You don't have a 2 part clear epoxy?

That scratch pattern is way too coarse to be an Uchigumori. It's not a consistent pattern either. So unless the person was bouncing the whetstone on the blade I'm guessing it's a belt sander.

I suspect water quenching has been going on from the early days. Oil quenching is probably a new phenomena to reduce cracking. Many knifemakers these days use fast oils like Parks 50. I got 2 gallons for knife making. Most Japanese swordsmiths will use water though for quenching. The nicest hamons come from water quenching at a risk of cracking though. Hamon styles are variable among swordsmiths a well. So not sure if You can determine the Era of a blade by it's hamon unless You have more details like a signature

Saw a YouTube video where a person put a target on top of a post. Took a swing and hit the post instead. I had to stop watching.

I can't wait till Spring so I can try my hand at forging using my little charcoal forge.

I got some Mikawa Nagura (Asano stamped) with the symbol 別 and translated it means Betsu.

The one thing You'll learn quickly is that a folded Tamagahane blade isn't like a monosteel blade when polished. I only got experience on monosteel and it's still a journey.

I know it's an older Polisher who is probably long gone. It was the mention of Tsushima Nagura being used to darken the Ji during the Sashikomi nugui finishing step that caught my eye. I will agree that quality JNat stones for traditional polishing are getting much harder to find these days. Even in Japan, some polishers resort to synthetic stones early in the polishing process. But it is sad to think the part of the polishing teniques could be lost someday. Thanks 4 the replies people.

But, I'm looking for the polisher that Kunitaro mentioned in that post and not some random polisher.