An extremely complicated blade pattern

RSWORD · 26th May 2015, 06:04 PM

The blade has an inserted edge between cheeks of twistcore steel. If you look at my bottom picture and then to the left side of the blade, which is the cutting edge, you will see regular undulations. Below those undulations there is no pattern. This is the area I am referring to as the hamon. While my pictures may not highlight it particularly well there is definitely a clear delineation. Look to the right side of the screen and you can see the twistcore pattern goes to the spine. That regular up and down undulation is referred to as horse tooth by the Chinese because of the regularity. Horse tooth hamon are fairly rare on their own but to accomplish this between cheeks of twistcore steel is a particularly fine forging.

I tend to use hamon in both a Japanese and non Japanese context. The high art polish of a Japanese sword is what really gives it that milky white coloration. Take a Japanese sword for just a foundation polish and you will clearly see the "hamon" but it will not be milky. Many cultures have blades made from inserts steel between cheeks of soft steel and if polished you will see that delineation between the two zones. You see it in Moro, in Chinese, in Indian and occasionally in Southeast Asia. You also see changes in coloration from heat treatment along the cutting edges. Some dha, for example, have their edges flamed hardened and this creates a dark zone along the edge. You see this on wootz steel sometimes. There will be a clear color differentiation between the hardened area and the rest of the blade. You even see it in Nepalese kukri and American Bowie knives. You can learn a lot about how the blade was forged, quenched and hardened from a professional polish and etch. I even one time had an early Kilij blade that had an inserted edge of high carbon steel between cheeks of wootz steel!

26th May 2015, 06:04 PM	#7
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,087	The blade has an inserted edge between cheeks of twistcore steel. If you look at my bottom picture and then to the left side of the blade, which is the cutting edge, you will see regular undulations. Below those undulations there is no pattern. This is the area I am referring to as the hamon. While my pictures may not highlight it particularly well there is definitely a clear delineation. Look to the right side of the screen and you can see the twistcore pattern goes to the spine. That regular up and down undulation is referred to as horse tooth by the Chinese because of the regularity. Horse tooth hamon are fairly rare on their own but to accomplish this between cheeks of twistcore steel is a particularly fine forging. I tend to use hamon in both a Japanese and non Japanese context. The high art polish of a Japanese sword is what really gives it that milky white coloration. Take a Japanese sword for just a foundation polish and you will clearly see the "hamon" but it will not be milky. Many cultures have blades made from inserts steel between cheeks of soft steel and if polished you will see that delineation between the two zones. You see it in Moro, in Chinese, in Indian and occasionally in Southeast Asia. You also see changes in coloration from heat treatment along the cutting edges. Some dha, for example, have their edges flamed hardened and this creates a dark zone along the edge. You see this on wootz steel sometimes. There will be a clear color differentiation between the hardened area and the rest of the blade. You even see it in Nepalese kukri and American Bowie knives. You can learn a lot about how the blade was forged, quenched and hardened from a professional polish and etch. I even one time had an early Kilij blade that had an inserted edge of high carbon steel between cheeks of wootz steel!