Japanese Workshop page 2

The fire was prepared for hardening the clay coated bladed. The Japanese use graded and sized pine charcoal for their forging and welding operations, but this was unavailable and consequently the entire demo was done with hardwood charcoal. It was obvious that this was not adequate. The hardwood charcoal seemed to produce too much ash and clinker, requiring constant attention throughout the demonstration. This was not much of a problem for the heat treating however.

The blade was heated first at the tang end and then drawn back and forth until visible heat was present over the entire length of the blade. The hot spot in the fire was only about five inches in diameter and even though there was a good bed of coals, the smith had to move the blade back and forth through the hot spot to bring the blade up to heat. Howard Clark and I were perched on top of the gas forges and looked directly down on the fire as he worked. We had a great view of the blade as it went through the fires. I was surprised at how hot the point was allowed to become during the heating. My guess was that at times the point was well above 1800F. This lead us to speculate that the blade was quite low in carbon content, Howard's guess was .5C.

I did not get any good photos of the actual hardening, but have been promised photos from others and will scan and post them when they arrive. The quench tank was an after thought and a leaky box was thrown together. Because it leaked, it needed to be replenished by running water so the temperature was not adjusted. Mr. Sadahito did test the water temp with his hand and didn't object.

It took quite some time for the whole blade to come up to temperature, but when that moment arrived, it was quickly taken from the fire and immediately plunged into the water. The blade was held submerged until it had completely cooled. When it was withdrawn, it was checked visually for cracks and then held up for the audience to see. The blade went into the quench straight and came out with a very pronounced curve, I would say radically curved. There was some minor warping, but it appeared to be sound. No further work was done to the blade so the resulting temperline was not exposed. The blade was not tempered at all. I suspect because of the cost of the materials, tahamagane is expensive in Japan and quite limited in availability, that Mr. Sadahito will take the blade home with him, reforge and reharden the sword, for demonstration purposes however it was adequate.

Howard Clark and Thomas McGuane brought blades to the workshop and received a constructive and positive critique from Mr. Sadahito. He was impressed by the quality of the work and offered helpful advice and encouragement.

One of the unexpected treats at the workshop was the opportunity to examine some fine swords and fittings brought to the event by collector Marc Porpora. Marc was very generous in sharing his pieces with the participants. He is a knowledgeable collector of Japanese work and provided insight into that point of view. As a maker, I have appreciated quality of the work involved in the Japanese sword. The beauty and function of these swords represent the pinnacle of the bladesmith's craft and reveal an aesthetic that I seek to find in my own work. I am also fascinated by the awesome functionality of these weapons. This workshop and subsequent discussions has confirmed a belief that American reproductions of traditional Japanese work, no matter the quality, will never be accepted collectors of traditional work. This is not to say that we should abandon the sword, but rather we need to discover within us the essense of the human spirit that the Japanese captured so perfectly in their work. It is my objective to pursue the modern American sword, borrowing from historical examples and combining that with current tools and technologies to produce the evolution of the sword, one that reflects our own times and development. It is a daunting challenge, but one that is attracting more interest as we mature as craftsmen. Our audience is the serious martial artist who has spent as much time pursuing his art as we have ours and who deserves a real sword.

I apologize for the quality of the digital photos and for the obvious gaps in the coverage. Blade magazine was present at the event and you should see an article coming up that will have much better images. I attended the workshop for my own education and web coverage was an after thought.