JPH Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) Hello: I know Ive been away thanks to a reoccurring hand problem so I am basically on light duty until that is resolved, so in the meantime I am doing a little bit here and there and one of the activities is getting caught up on my polishing. I am currently polishing a Kogarsu Maru Tachi made from steel that I smelted myself using locally available ore from my area, employing direct reduction for the smelt. For the ore itself I used locally available magnetite, which I obtained from the sandy desert that's all around here. During the smelt I added a small amount of graphite to the mix in order to raise the carbon content. The bloom came out really clean and was triple cut and re-welded 5 times in order to refine the grain structure. Worked smoothly and was very "solid" under the hammer. N problems with crumbling or anything. Welded great..one of the smoothest refinings I have done so far. The sword blade was then forged out of this material, shaped, rough ground and shaped, Bo-Hi started and then heat treated. ( Im not going to tell you, yet,, how I got that little arrowhead shaped termination at the Kissaki, as that will be a book IV. I got that idea for that type of termination from several pieces Ive seen what I was doing research for a book IV). The blade was clayed using A P Green with concrete tie wire used to hold the clay in place during yaki ire. The quenching medium was brine ( my own mix of sodium hydroxide and ammonium nitrate, which is basically caustic blue salts) at a temperature of 265°F. The blade came out of hardening with no cracks, warps or bends, and with a graceful amount of sori. I then started the polish after I scraped clean and polished the Bo Hi… While I was polishing I noticed that the Hamon was taking a much smoother finish than the unhardened areas of the blade. Now this is not all that unusual but for some reason the colors were little off than what I usually see, more "darker grey"..... This was becoming more noticeable as I progressed up in the polish into the higher grits. Once I got to 2500 grit, I did a very short etch in ferric chloride for approximately 30 to 45 seconds. Upon the removal of the blade entire surface was black, which for me is more or less normal for the way I work. As I was rubbing out the blade with 2500 grit paper to get off that black crud I noticed that the Hamon was very smooth and silvery white with a cloudy transition line between the hard and soft areas of the blade. The soft area displayed a surface taht had a grain that looked like Wootz. Now I have never seen this happen before and I am stumped, maybe alloy banding but I doubt that.... Now let me backtrack a bit, the area where I obtained the magnetite is downwind from Ti-Met, which is a titanium foundry located here in the Henderson area. Now since titanium is paramagnetic, I feel that some of that material may have piggybacked onto the magnetites surface, as that is the only way it could have been picked up, or my adding the graphite to the smelt may have caused the effect illustrated in the below photographs. Maybe its a little both, I do not know. The resulting finish on the non-hardened areas of the blade is very similar to, at least to my eyes,as I said before, Wootz. Now I was wondering if any of you fine folks have any idea as to what happened and why Im getting this effect and result. Im also wondering if I could of accidentally violated Mr. Daniel Watsons so-called Techno-Wootz patent. Either way I am at a loss as to what happened either during the smelt or the hardening process. So does anyone have any ideas at all? I was thinking as I am continuing to study that the grain looks alot like a wrought iron type of structure, but then,thinking a bit more why wouldn't the grain then be visible in the hardened areas of the blade, instead it os only seen in the un-hardened areas? If any of you are interested I am more than happy to post photographs of the completed piece but right now Im wondering what in the heck I did to this steel to get this effect. This sure has me stumped. The surface was totally "mirror smooth" before the etch, with a nice Hamon showing and when I saw what happened when it came out of the etch I was totally taken back... Any and all ideas are welcome so enjoy the photos. Thank you JPH Edited August 14, 2011 by JPH If you wish to know the price of freedom..Visit a Veteran's Hospital...I am humbled by their sacrifice... Why is it when the Mighty Thor throws his hammer he is dispensing Justice and fighting Evil..BUT..when I throw my hammer I wind up in a mandatory 16 week anger management course??</p> I came into this world naked, screaming and covered in someone else's blood...I have no problem going out the same way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james G. Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I like it , not for shure what I see, But I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Hi: You're not the only one who isn't sure as to what they are seeing...the more I look at this the more it looks like plain wrought iron, which it is but the buggaboo is the fact that the grain is not visible in the hardened areas..There is alot of "stuff" going on in this blade and I may just take the extra 10 to 12 hours and do a bit more rub out starting with the 2500 grit and then proceeding into the rotten stone and XXXF pumice in an oil emulsion...just to see what I can bring out in the structure. This one has be scratching my head.. JPH Edited August 14, 2011 by JPH If you wish to know the price of freedom..Visit a Veteran's Hospital...I am humbled by their sacrifice... Why is it when the Mighty Thor throws his hammer he is dispensing Justice and fighting Evil..BUT..when I throw my hammer I wind up in a mandatory 16 week anger management course??</p> I came into this world naked, screaming and covered in someone else's blood...I have no problem going out the same way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Sexstone Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Jim , That looks really cool. you are way beyond me but I do have a wrought iron tire that had lines in it similar to what I see in your photos.. I was accused of not sanding enough to get out all the scratches..... It didn't matter how it was forged either .. the cross hatching lines were always present... I don't have a clue why but thought you could use that info in some way... I also just had a discussion with someone about a iron ore mine in which there was a vane of titanium ore running very close to the iron ore vane and he said that the titanium ore would cause the smelters fits cause it would sometimes contaminate their iron.. I guess what one sees as contamination another sees as beauty... If that's what is going on in your blade It sure looks cool to me... Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin carnecchia Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Hi Jim, very interesting stuff. My first thought is they are scratches, but given who made the blade I know that isn't the case. Honestly I don't know enough about metallurgy to comment on the banding but I would love to see some pics of the whole blade. Also you say the bloom was triple cut and welded five times(did you edit that I thought it said three times yesterday?) I guess I am not clear on what you mean by triple cut. If you started with three layers and folded five times that would give around 96 layers but the blade appears to be much higher maybe a thousand or more layers. Just curious. Oh by the way, what I can see of the blade looks fantastic as always. Love the arrow head thing at the double edged tip. Please post more pics. -Justin Edited August 14, 2011 by justin carnecchia Visit wrencoforge.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Ysselstein Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Hello: I am currently polishing a Kogarsu Maru Tachi made from steel that I smelted myself using locally available ore from my area, employing direct reduction for the smelt. For the ore itself I used locally available magnetite, which I obtained from the sandy desert that's all around here. During the smelt I added a small amount of graphite to the mix in order to raise the carbon content. The bloom came out really clean and was triple cut and re-welded 5 times in order to refine the grain structure. Worked smoothly and was very "solid" under the hammer. N problems with crumbling or anything. Welded great..one of the smoothest refinings I have done so far. JPH Jim, You have created some interesting material which is very nice to look at and I am sure we will be seeing it again soon. I am not sure what you mean by "direct reduction method" ...to some it means doing it in a crucible and to others ( like myself ) it means reducing the iron ore at low temperature in the solid state and not allowing it to pick up lots of carbon. The addition of graphite makes me think this was probably a crucible smelt. You may be folding a wootz bar or you are getting "wootzbarred", ( I will create a definition for that term later). Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 direct reduction = bloom furnace. Antoine http://antoinemarcal.wordpress.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Richard: I know what you mean about the cross hatching lines..there are some on this as well...and I can not figure out as to what is going on with this..I have a little chunk left I may hit up my buddy at Sandia Labs and have him run it through...He owes me a favour anyways.... I am going to polish this a bit more in the next week or so...after I get some stuff out the door..I'll see what that reveals..Will post pics in a bit of the entire sword...once the light gets better JPH Edited August 14, 2011 by JPH If you wish to know the price of freedom..Visit a Veteran's Hospital...I am humbled by their sacrifice... Why is it when the Mighty Thor throws his hammer he is dispensing Justice and fighting Evil..BUT..when I throw my hammer I wind up in a mandatory 16 week anger management course??</p> I came into this world naked, screaming and covered in someone else's blood...I have no problem going out the same way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Ysselstein Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 direct reduction = bloom furnace. Antoine Antoine, That is usually the case, but as it is with so many a process ..."the devil is in the details". Some blooms are decarburized steel or even decarburized cast iron...some are direct reduced iron and never go into a molten state . Decarburization may be caused by the oxidizing slag or exposure to atmosphere at high temperature ( sometimes as droplets of steel exposed to the blast ).I have examples saved of these ( I hope) and would be glad to share them if you wish. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Of course I would be happy to see these examples Jan, but perhaps in another thread; unless it's ok with JPH... Thank's! Antoine http://antoinemarcal.wordpress.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Ysselstein Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Of course I would be happy to see these examples Jan, but perhaps in another thread; unless it's ok with JPH... Thank's! Antoine Antoine, We will post them in a thread without enigmas. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter johnsson Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Beautiful! I have not the faintest idea what it is I am seeing, but it is fascinating. It looks like a nice pencil drawing of a sword was somehow turned into the real thing: an unreal aspect that I really like. Thank you for showing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Burrell Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Beautiful! I have not the faintest idea what it is I am seeing, but it is fascinating. It looks like a nice pencil drawing of a sword was somehow turned into the real thing: an unreal aspect that I really like. Thank you for showing! It does! thats exactly what it looks like. I try not to answer questions that i dont have answers for, but this is beatiful but no i dont know what is going on. just really wanted to say its wonderful to see you working again. Josh Onen Hag Ol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 (edited) Helo: As promised here are some pics of the sword in question: Nagasa: 32"... Bo-Hi..1 full length (down the shinogi-gi) and the other a naginata-Hi..running along the "back edge"..."Diamond Point" terminus of the full length Bo-Hi..which as I said I WILL explain in book IV...wha-whah -wha ha....heh heh heh.... Blade type: Kograsu-Maru> AKA "Liuttle Crow".... Tsuka length 14", black samegawa under black and gold chevron silk tsuka-ito. Kashirae theme- Temple Lions/Chi-Chi Lions/Fu Dogs..... Siya: Ho-wood (magnolia) wrapped with split rattan for the first 1/3 of the siya length...Amber Horn siya fitings and the whole finished in red gold leaf under black cracked lac. OAL: 47 3/8"...The Tsuka-Ito is black base wih gold chevron woven in silk... Even though the Hada is "funky" for whatever reason(s) it may be at this time...this sword cuts like a dream..and thanks to that "back edge" of this particular design...it allows of a whole "new" avenue of attacks and parries... JPH Edited August 18, 2011 by JPH If you wish to know the price of freedom..Visit a Veteran's Hospital...I am humbled by their sacrifice... Why is it when the Mighty Thor throws his hammer he is dispensing Justice and fighting Evil..BUT..when I throw my hammer I wind up in a mandatory 16 week anger management course??</p> I came into this world naked, screaming and covered in someone else's blood...I have no problem going out the same way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil gagnon Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 very cool Jim. I really like the overall shape of the sword, especially the handle. Always wanted to try one like that. Thank you for posting. "One who is samurai must before all things" Keep constantly in mind, by day and by night. the fact that he has to die... -Dai Doji Yuzon- 16th Century http://sites.google.com/site/canadianliveblade/home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sheffield Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 My life is like shaving with a razor sharp machete. It's a bit awkward and I feel a sting every now and then, but in the end I'm happy with the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) Hello: Methinks I have this figured out after consulting a few other metalheads I know....One who is up at UNR.... What appears to have happened is when I added the graphite I set up more C (which is WHY I added it) into the smelt...and by my repeated normalization after the last weld/drawing course and working at a sub critical temp I got some banding going on... Applying the clay and carefully and slowly bringing it up to temp...the parts of the blade that were not covered with the refractory never got above crit...those areas exposed did and this is one theory why I got the grain that I got... Now I am not 100% behind this one, but I did work a bit coooler on this cause it moved so nice at a lower temp..why risk it being red short??? But I feel that I should send this puppy out to a pro polisher and see what he can do to bring the hamon and shibuchi out a bit more and enhance the structures in the blade... Maybe I accidentaly violated that Techno-Wootz patent on this one... I sent a cut off to a friend at Sandia and he's going to spark it for me....should hear back from him in the next weekish...that should tell me a bit more...I am still scratching me head on this one.... JPH Edited August 31, 2011 by JPH If you wish to know the price of freedom..Visit a Veteran's Hospital...I am humbled by their sacrifice... Why is it when the Mighty Thor throws his hammer he is dispensing Justice and fighting Evil..BUT..when I throw my hammer I wind up in a mandatory 16 week anger management course??</p> I came into this world naked, screaming and covered in someone else's blood...I have no problem going out the same way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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