It’s very cool that Japan managed to keep this tradition alive while the rest of the world moved on to crucible steel. It’s like a window into ancient history. A lot of smiths all over the world used similar techniques and it’s amazing that such effort was required to take impure and inconsistent iron blooms (玉鋼) from a bloomery (鑪) and make steel from them with forging techniques! That’s like a chef having to clean and butcher the meat in addition to cooking it!
Love your videos I have been forging katanas for 30+ years. I still do everything by hand no power tools very good job of showing people and explaining the Hamon
Thank you very much! That encourage us a lot! We are considering making another video about How Japanese sword bend during Yakiire. The result must make you surprised! Stay tune for that!
Your videos are amazing. Most people have no idea how advanced katanas are. Im wondering why we dont make our knives this way. Even mono steel can be made to at least have a similar structure in the steel. It might be as strong, but modern steels are amazing so you never know. Thank you for making this information available!
I use modern steals when I make a katana. I have three different steals in my blade. I have even used four different steals. Reason knives are not made like this is because it’s time-consuming all these big knife companies just have a laser cut out the blades from a sheet of steel If you want a really good knife get it from a blacksmith that forged it modern steel katanas are insanely sharp. I have done many builds using tantalum as my cutting edge not titanium I use tantalum. My kid is trying to convince me to start making videos to show my blades. Tantalum is amazing. I can slice through steel conduit like it’s paper and the blade will still whittle hair and shows no signs of damage under microscope you can run crazy high hardness numbers high 60s even 70 the reason it doesn’t shatter or chip for one tantalum is one of the strongest out there anytime I bring it up people look at me weird or think I’m talking about titanium as long as your hard edge is surrounded by soft material, the frequency caused from the shock is absorbed quickly into the soft material. If there is nothing to soak up the frequency. You will have big problems.
ありがとう。 thanks for the comment! I think it is possible, but you can hardly find one with clean angles, because these unnatural clean pattern is not very popular in Japan.
Incredible content, the ancient knowledge touch makes it even more interesting for a knifemaker. cheers from brazil. Edit: hey, what is the difference in relation to hamon made by stone, you know, a tiny piece of stone, is it a fake hamon just for the aesthetics?
Thank you for the comment! We are very happy with your comments! Please check another videos they must be interesting for you too. You mean the final step of polishing the Japanese swords? The pattern made by using small piece of stone around the Hamon is not actually Hamon. That are for making the Hamon more beautiful.
Samurai tavern is Correct!It is called "Hadori"The togoshi will use a small piece of HaZuya,about as thin as paper laqoured to their finger and trace the real hamon,it makes somw effects of sword stand out,however I like the old "Sashikomi"style, that is the old school method of polishing and shows the True Face of the sword.Hope that helps some!✌️
@@rsxtypesmobbin8661 I’ve been making katanas for 30+ years. Everything old-school no power hammers all by hand and I used the polishing method and you are right it’s just better.
thank you so much! I am very happy to hear that. please subscribe to us and stay tune for more video :) feel free to let us know the topics that you are interested in!
In case of Japanese swords, the material of hamon is Steel, but If you want to make hamon with different materials, it is also possible, such as using stainless steel or other metals which can be hardened by yakiire. Why you can see Hamon on Japanese sword is because the light scatters on the surface. We will make other videos which explain about that in the future!
@@samurai-tavern i found nothing, to have a hamon you need 2 differnt crystal phases to contrast, and for that you need to quench differentially the same steel(to change the cooling rate the only solution is using an insulator(clay) in one of the surface) o quench equally two different steels in the surface of the steel
Please check 裸焼き “Hadaka-yaki”. That’s one of the way of quenching process. You can definitely find interesting facts! You may already know, there are many Japanese swords made with that technique, and one of the most famous one is “山鳥毛(Sanchoumou)”. Also, please check out our new video about the moment of Yakiire, it must be very interesting for you too.
Im Impressed..... Still Thinking How Ancient Japanese Sword Makers Figured Out This Highly Technology Method.... Hats Off For That Ancient Japanese Metal Magicians 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you very much for the comment. Learning the science behind traditional stuffs make us realize how much effort was put when they were made. I think the realization makes our life more enjoyable and happy because we can understand the value of them.
Incredible video overall, you know what you're talking about. If I had one complaint though it'd be the title and message you're trying to send that katanas can cut through iron, you're implying other swords can't when the Indian and European swords of the same time period were of much more pure iron and therefore purer steel (less impurities) so they would face less difficulties in cutting than katanas do. Katana are nice swords but no better than longswords or talwars for cutting iron.
I came to say the same. Katana history always causes misconceptions to most people. People assume more work always equals more quality. But in this case... Japan's steel was so terrible and meant that it was barely as good as the worst Euro steel even after all that work put in. Theres swords from the dark ages or even older that have stayed naturally intact while a katana wears out far faster and are all far younger.
@@SharkByteOfficial Japan didn't have good steel but they could get it up to the quality of at least the mid to high range euro swords, because they knew tricks like folding and could test the bits of steel that come out of the tamahagane.
@@SharkByteOfficial Some parts of Europe had bloomery furnaces the same as Japan, the areas that did have blast furnaces had better steel but that wasn't all of Europe for most of the medieval age.
@@cheesestyx945 its been proven that the arguable best outta Japan would be lower mid tier Euro sword steel, definately wouldnt say any of it got close to the high end euro steels... its not about skill its about geological factors. Folding and other dramatic methods done in Japan was just as mere compensation for the garbage natural quality they had.
@@cheesestyx945 and yeah parts of europe also had garbage steel but they had armorers guilds and heavy trade to combat too much shit quality in just one area like all of Japan was unfortunate to have. This of course is generalizing time periods, locations, etc. but its still an accepted fact that Euro steels were almost always better overall.
It depends, if you are buying it from any random blacksmith or from a japanese blacksmith that is selling you and idelized katana. You offenly dont buy quality, but art.
Basically the japanese steel was lower quality due to the lower temperature reached during the melting of the tamahagane steel. The impurities kept in the steel making it more brittle than chinese or occidental steel. They use a diferential quenching, so as to make the thickest part of the blade not get even more brittle than what it already was. Katanas usually were made from imported chinese steel.
No because physics don't work differently in Europe. They did make the entire blades out of martensite but that's mostly because they could fully liquify iron to remove more impurities and simply had more iron to make into steel.
Today they all use the same chinese or u.s. made steel, so no. In the past yes, japanese steel was obtained from a melting process of a not so high temperature, so they get more impurities in the metal, thus making it more brittle.
@@kilnrargentina3955 The Japanese were capable of using a high temperature furnace capable of liquidating steel, though like all blast furnaces, it had to be carburized to be useful. It's known as the zuku-oshi tatara.
There's one video I can find, of a man cutting into a sheet of extremely thin sheet of low carbon steel. Conclusion: yeah it's just overhyped fantasy. Swords don't do that, regardless of their construction.
Nonsense. As a person who active uses katana. They do not cut through iron. Common sense fact. The tsuba aka hand guard is made of iron. I’ll let that sink in for a second.
In the XIX century british soldiers hit a nihonto against some british saber and surprise, surprise they damaged that supierior tamahagane made sword 😂
while your explanations on the metallurgy are very good, saying a sword blade can cut easily trough iron is just plainly false. A sharp and thin edge will take damage when striking a hard surface, such as iron. That's just how it is, even steel has its limitations. From what i've seen, katanas are somewhat thicker than european swords, and therefore probably tougher at the edge, but in that case it's not the material that changes the outcome of striking iron, it's the geometry. European swords were too made of tempered martensitic steel from medium carbon wich is both hard and extremely tough, some argue probably tougher than tamagahane, but i do not believe steel made from iron sand is lower quality than european steel made from iron oxide ore. I think some videos to demonstrate how awesome katanas are, are fake, or misleading. Show me a video where someone cuts trough an iron/steel pipe with a katana and i'll remove everything i've said. But there's just no way, so i'm not worried. Even the best quality carbon steel will have limited performances against hard materials. I suppose you can cut trough a thin sheet of mild steel, making a small dent or very dull spot in your blade as a tradeoff, or a chip if the blade was of lesser quality (or just left too hard). But if you've seen a video of someone cutting trough an iron pipe "with ease" then it was aluminium, not iron or steel. It's kinda dumb, but if it was possible to cut or punch trough iron plates, nobody would wear armor. You would DESTROY your beautiful katana on someone's armor, and you would just scrape and dent the iron plates.
It’s very cool that Japan managed to keep this tradition alive while the rest of the world moved on to crucible steel. It’s like a window into ancient history. A lot of smiths all over the world used similar techniques and it’s amazing that such effort was required to take impure and inconsistent iron blooms (玉鋼) from a bloomery (鑪) and make steel from them with forging techniques! That’s like a chef having to clean and butcher the meat in addition to cooking it!
Love your videos I have been forging katanas for 30+ years. I still do everything by hand no power tools very good job of showing people and explaining the Hamon
More sword making videos please. This format is very informative and educational. ありがとうございました
Thank you very much! That encourage us a lot!
We are considering making another video about How Japanese sword bend during Yakiire. The result must make you surprised! Stay tune for that!
This is very informative brother. Thanks a lot
amazing video, very informative and clearly explained, thank you!
I like this content
Keep going
I have already watched a documentary about forging a katana and you fill the missing part - the atomic level
コメントありがとう。
We are very happy with your comment!
This video also includes the history of “Sushi” in the last part! Enjoy!
Can’t wait for the next video. This is great.
Your videos are amazing. Most people have no idea how advanced katanas are. Im wondering why we dont make our knives this way. Even mono steel can be made to at least have a similar structure in the steel. It might be as strong, but modern steels are amazing so you never know. Thank you for making this information available!
I use modern steals when I make a katana. I have three different steals in my blade. I have even used four different steals. Reason knives are not made like this is because it’s time-consuming all these big knife companies just have a laser cut out the blades from a sheet of steel If you want a really good knife get it from a blacksmith that forged it modern steel katanas are insanely sharp. I have done many builds using tantalum as my cutting edge not titanium I use tantalum. My kid is trying to convince me to start making videos to show my blades. Tantalum is amazing. I can slice through steel conduit like it’s paper and the blade will still whittle hair and shows no signs of damage under microscope you can run crazy high hardness numbers high 60s even 70 the reason it doesn’t shatter or chip for one tantalum is one of the strongest out there anytime I bring it up people look at me weird or think I’m talking about titanium as long as your hard edge is surrounded by soft material, the frequency caused from the shock is absorbed quickly into the soft material. If there is nothing to soak up the frequency. You will have big problems.
Wow this is so informative!
ありがとう！
at 11.45 you inverted the picture so you have to revert the red arrows too! cheers nice content!
ありがとうございます。
Could a geometrical hamon pattern with clean angles be possible? Just wondering
some sanbon sugi hamon designs look rather triangular. Hako, or box shaped hamon, can also be geometrical looking
ありがとう。
thanks for the comment!
I think it is possible, but you can hardly find one with clean angles, because these unnatural clean pattern is not very popular in Japan.
Very details. Thanks a lot.
Thank you for the comment!
If you have questions or what you want to learn more, please let us know!!
Very well done video👍👍
Incredible content, the ancient knowledge touch makes it even more interesting for a knifemaker. cheers from brazil. Edit: hey, what is the difference in relation to hamon made by stone, you know, a tiny piece of stone, is it a fake hamon just for the aesthetics?
Thank you for the comment!
We are very happy with your comments! Please check another videos they must be interesting for you too.
You mean the final step of polishing the Japanese swords?
The pattern made by using small piece of stone around the Hamon is not actually Hamon. That are for making the Hamon more beautiful.
Samurai tavern is Correct!It is called "Hadori"The togoshi will use a small piece of HaZuya,about as thin as paper laqoured to their finger and trace the real hamon,it makes somw effects of sword stand out,however I like the old "Sashikomi"style, that is the old school method of polishing and shows the True Face of the sword.Hope that helps some!✌️
@@rsxtypesmobbin8661 I’ve been making katanas for 30+ years. Everything old-school no power hammers all by hand and I used the polishing method and you are right it’s just better.
Such a Great video!!Arigatogozaimas
Thank you so much :) i am glad that you enjoyed our video
This was great!
Thank you very much!
We will make more videos to introduce more interesting facts!
Please keep supporting us!
There actually is a traditional hamon that is more wild looking similar to the one Zoro has in the photo you showed.
Bravo pour cette superbe vidéo !!
この素晴らしいビデオおめでとうございます！フランスのファン
Looking forward for more of your content with as much (or more) scientific aspect !!
Thank you for your support! It will take some times but we are preparing for our next video! please stay tune!!
Very good video many thanks for sharing this,
thank you so much! I am very happy to hear that. please subscribe to us and stay tune for more video :) feel free to let us know the topics that you are interested in!
Can you tell me please. What is martial to make hamon?.
In case of Japanese swords, the material of hamon is Steel, but If you want to make hamon with different materials, it is also possible, such as using stainless steel or other metals which can be hardened by yakiire.
Why you can see Hamon on Japanese sword is because the light scatters on the surface. We will make other videos which explain about that in the future!
Thank you mr.
I once made clay but failed. because I don't know the ingredients to make clay.
What is martial to make clay mr?.
I see,
the most common composition of the clay is;
clay:charcoal powder: whetstone powder =1:1:1
good luck with your metal work!!
Carbon from the charcoal powder make a tiny hole on the surface, I think it is important for fast cooling of the blade edge during Yakiire.
@@samurai-tavern thanks you about your informatin😊
Hamon doesnt appear if you dont use clay over the sword to make a differential quenching.
There are technique called Hadakayaki please check these!
The technique never use clay to make hamon. That’s interesting. Very majestic hamon appears!
@@samurai-tavern i found nothing, to have a hamon you need 2 differnt crystal phases to contrast, and for that you need to quench differentially the same steel(to change the cooling rate the only solution is using an insulator(clay) in one of the surface) o quench equally two different steels in the surface of the steel
Please check 裸焼き “Hadaka-yaki”.
That’s one of the way of quenching process. You can definitely find interesting facts!
You may already know, there are many Japanese swords made with that technique, and one of the most famous one is “山鳥毛(Sanchoumou)”.
Also, please check out our new video about the moment of Yakiire, it must be very interesting for you too.
Wow that is really cool!
Thank you so much for the comment!!
Im Impressed.....
Still Thinking How Ancient Japanese Sword Makers Figured Out This Highly Technology Method....
Hats Off For That Ancient Japanese Metal Magicians
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you very much for the comment.
Learning the science behind traditional stuffs make us realize how much effort was put when they were made.
I think the realization makes our life more enjoyable and happy because we can understand the value of them.
How to make homon clay, ingredients and composition.
Thanks for dropping by! There are a lot if recipe. Generally clay is made of clay, carbon and the powder of wet stone in the ratio of 1:1:1. 😊
This is really good
ありがとうございます。
We are very happy about the comments!
Please continue to support us!
thank you very much!
Katana both nihonto and shinsakuto can be bend and can break.
There is batton caled Jite whoch is sword catcher and breaker.
every sword can
It depends on the thermal treatments that you did apply to the metal. A fast quenching, brittle, or a slow annealing and aging, ductil.
Thanks for the comment.
Of course every swords do if they are not used properly. Please don’t break the swords with the wrong way of use.
wow now i understand ,good video .
Thank you for the comment!
We are pleasure to give you a new information about Japanese swords.
Incredible video overall, you know what you're talking about. If I had one complaint though it'd be the title and message you're trying to send that katanas can cut through iron, you're implying other swords can't when the Indian and European swords of the same time period were of much more pure iron and therefore purer steel (less impurities) so they would face less difficulties in cutting than katanas do. Katana are nice swords but no better than longswords or talwars for cutting iron.
I came to say the same. Katana history always causes misconceptions to most people. People assume more work always equals more quality. But in this case... Japan's steel was so terrible and meant that it was barely as good as the worst Euro steel even after all that work put in. Theres swords from the dark ages or even older that have stayed naturally intact while a katana wears out far faster and are all far younger.
@@SharkByteOfficial Japan didn't have good steel but they could get it up to the quality of at least the mid to high range euro swords, because they knew tricks like folding and could test the bits of steel that come out of the tamahagane.
@@SharkByteOfficial Some parts of Europe had bloomery furnaces the same as Japan, the areas that did have blast furnaces had better steel but that wasn't all of Europe for most of the medieval age.
@@cheesestyx945 its been proven that the arguable best outta Japan would be lower mid tier Euro sword steel, definately wouldnt say any of it got close to the high end euro steels... its not about skill its about geological factors. Folding and other dramatic methods done in Japan was just as mere compensation for the garbage natural quality they had.
@@cheesestyx945 and yeah parts of europe also had garbage steel but they had armorers guilds and heavy trade to combat too much shit quality in just one area like all of Japan was unfortunate to have. This of course is generalizing time periods, locations, etc. but its still an accepted fact that Euro steels were almost always better overall.
I was after this atomic explaination, thanks
Thank you very much for the comment.
Please let us know if you have any questions and something that you want to know!
How much does a wakizashi with real hamon cost
Hi, it is difficult to say exactly how much it is, but Wakizashi with Koshirae is usually about 1000 ~10000 USD.
Are you looking for wakizashi?
Are you looking for traditional or modern factory made in China they are good quality either but don't have higher edge retention
It depends, if you are buying it from any random blacksmith or from a japanese blacksmith that is selling you and idelized katana. You offenly dont buy quality, but art.
Basically the japanese steel was lower quality due to the lower temperature reached during the melting of the tamahagane steel. The impurities kept in the steel making it more brittle than chinese or occidental steel. They use a diferential quenching, so as to make the thickest part of the blade not get even more brittle than what it already was. Katanas usually were made from imported chinese steel.
Good information =)
ありがとうございます。
Good stuff
とても勉強になります！
どうも、ありがとうございます。😊
Thanks bro
Thank you for the comment!
We will continue to upload our videos. Please continue to support us!
ist western sword chemistry much more different than for katana?
No because physics don't work differently in Europe. They did make the entire blades out of martensite but that's mostly because they could fully liquify iron to remove more impurities and simply had more iron to make into steel.
Today they all use the same chinese or u.s. made steel, so no. In the past yes, japanese steel was obtained from a melting process of a not so high temperature, so they get more impurities in the metal, thus making it more brittle.
Thanks for the comment!
As others answered already, the chemistry is not different.
@@kilnrargentina3955 The Japanese were capable of using a high temperature furnace capable of liquidating steel, though like all blast furnaces, it had to be carburized to be useful. It's known as the zuku-oshi tatara.
Have you seen the video on UA-cam saying that etching solution can make a real hamon! That is a joke! Thank you for sharing the truth!
コメントありがとうございます。
Hitatsura.....😉
where are videos showing katana cutting through iron or it's just claims?
There's one video I can find, of a man cutting into a sheet of extremely thin sheet of low carbon steel.
Conclusion: yeah it's just overhyped fantasy. Swords don't do that, regardless of their construction.
@@someguy3861 Well they do it's just that Katana aren't especially suited to the task and you always run the risk of damaging your sword.
Nonsense. As a person who active uses katana. They do not cut through iron. Common sense fact. The tsuba aka hand guard is made of iron. I’ll let that sink in for a second.
Well I would say they could cut through thin enough iron but so can any other steel sword.
اناشد كل مسلمين اليابان أن يتبرعو لي بقيمة سيف ساموراي فأنا احلم به منذ طفولتي وانا لم استطيع الحصول عليه
コメントありがとう！
That's some strong i'run
is that a jojo reference
👍
Thank you for watching!
hamon from jojo
Hey mate! I watch jojo too 🤣 please drop by my channel: Samurai Tavern for more video! :)
Jojo reference pog
Thank you so much!! please stay tune for our next video!
In the XIX century british soldiers hit a nihonto against some british saber and surprise, surprise they damaged that supierior tamahagane made sword 😂
You'll need to cite your source to make that claim
And I don't recall him ever calling it superior?
while your explanations on the metallurgy are very good, saying a sword blade can cut easily trough iron is just plainly false. A sharp and thin edge will take damage when striking a hard surface, such as iron. That's just how it is, even steel has its limitations. From what i've seen, katanas are somewhat thicker than european swords, and therefore probably tougher at the edge, but in that case it's not the material that changes the outcome of striking iron, it's the geometry. European swords were too made of tempered martensitic steel from medium carbon wich is both hard and extremely tough, some argue probably tougher than tamagahane, but i do not believe steel made from iron sand is lower quality than european steel made from iron oxide ore.
I think some videos to demonstrate how awesome katanas are, are fake, or misleading. Show me a video where someone cuts trough an iron/steel pipe with a katana and i'll remove everything i've said. But there's just no way, so i'm not worried. Even the best quality carbon steel will have limited performances against hard materials. I suppose you can cut trough a thin sheet of mild steel, making a small dent or very dull spot in your blade as a tradeoff, or a chip if the blade was of lesser quality (or just left too hard). But if you've seen a video of someone cutting trough an iron pipe "with ease" then it was aluminium, not iron or steel. It's kinda dumb, but if it was possible to cut or punch trough iron plates, nobody would wear armor. You would DESTROY your beautiful katana on someone's armor, and you would just scrape and dent the iron plates.
Zoro emma
コメントありがとう。
Yes, you are right!
T 10 Steel 😇😈
Hrmm still need some more knowledge before I try forging a real katana not a crap copy
Thanks for the comment!
I hope the challenge will goes well!!