Alan Longmire 2,474 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 And now for something completely different for and from me: Yep, it's a fairly traditional tanto with hamon from the guy who doesn't do Japanese style stuff! Aldo's 1075, clayed with Rutlands and water quenched. I have a newfound respect for you guys who polish katana, as a togishi I am not, nor do I suspect I want to be... Not having stones, it's a hybrid polish. I don't know all the terminology for these things, so I won't attempt to name the style. I just sort of winged it from stuff I've seen, which I guess makes it what Randal refers to as gaijin-to. I know, there's no counterpolished kissaki, no yokote. That was a bit beyond my present level. It was fun to run into the house Sunday and yell "I just committed yake-ire and it worked!" to my unsuspecting wife... OAL is 10 5/8 inches, width at the machi is a hair shy of 1.25 inches, 1/4" thick on the shinogi at the machi. It picked up what I think was a nice amount of sori, as it was perfectly straight prior to the quench. I've always had a lot of respect for you guys who do these all the time, but I've got a healthy amount more now! No idea about mounts at the moment, but I think I'll attempt a habaki and shirasaya. If you use habaki with shirasaya, I have no idea what I'm doing. Feel free to enlighten me! As always thanks for looking. Link to post Share on other sites
Robert Dark 0 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Well Alan, since I no speak-ee dat language, I can't tell you much about the goobergashi, or the thingy-ushi. I can tell you that "I like it". Can't wait to see it finished. I may just have to try one sometimes (after I learn the proper terminology), Robert Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Green 17 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Very nice!! It's 14 now my friend. Edited January 10, 2014 by Mark Green Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 2,474 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks guys, and Mark: D'oh! Title edited to reflect the actual year. Yikes! Link to post Share on other sites
Gary LT 66 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Hi Alan, I am glad you showed this as I am due to something in similar vein as well. Considering the dimensions, it will be interesting how you decide to finish. I would think a handle which flows in line with the blade edges at the guard area will be balanced with some flair at the end. You may have to take off some with of the tang. Has this been etched and with what, how long? GT Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Kelso 55 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Way to go Alan. Jesus has a great habaki tutorial here: http://jhbladesmith.com/craft/habaki-making/ Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Toneguzzo 629 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Looks great Alan Link to post Share on other sites
ZebDeming 4 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Very nice Alan! As simple as a Japanese blade looks, there sure is alot going on there. Zeb Link to post Share on other sites
Tyler Miller 0 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Very nice Alan! As simple as a Japanese blade looks, there sure is alot going on there. Zeb Well said. Link to post Share on other sites
GEzell 136 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Nice, it has a good honest look to it and fits my own idea of what a tanto should look like... I spent a year or two chasing the Japanese aesthetic before I went in other directions, this has me thinking about revisiting it. Link to post Share on other sites
Kip Kaiser 2 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Well done Alan, I look forward to the finished product!!! Kip Link to post Share on other sites
Miles Hebbard 2 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Neat job there Alan! If you hadn't edited the title I was gonna rib you about taking your time! looking forward to the end result! Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 2,474 Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Nice, it has a good honest look to it and fits my own idea of what a tanto should look like... I spent a year or two chasing the Japanese aesthetic before I went in other directions, this has me thinking about revisiting it. I'm still not happy with the tip, and I need to do more homework on these things so I do know what I'm doing. They still don't float my boat the way Euro weaponry does, but I feel it's something I need to learn, particularly the hamon and polishing aspect. Plus it was part of the deal when Jesus Hernandez made his entrance into the world of the seax: If he made a correct pattern-welded brokenback seax, I'd make a correct wakizashi. As we know, he did just that, so I need to get my chops in working order so I can execute a bloom steel wakizashi. Luckily for me he's enough of a gentleman that there is no time limit... Link to post Share on other sites
WES 4 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I like it too! I just took my first order for a Japanese katana, 26inch to 29inch blade. The customer wants a more modern two handed handle though. All new territory for me, and I just ordered the forging and heat treating video's from Walter Sorrells site for as much in site as I can get. I will probably be ordering up some W2. Wes Link to post Share on other sites
C.Anderson 13 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I never thought I'd see the day Alan...but I'm glad I did! Very well done my friend! On the Japanese aesthetic/clay/water quench thing...I think its a bug that either bites, or doesn't lol. I've never, ever made anything that wasn't clay hardened, and while double edged thingies are very interesting to me, a hamon just makes them that much more so =p. Again though...very nice!! Link to post Share on other sites
Richard van Dijk 184 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Good one Alan, but I am glad to hear that I am not the only one, the Japanese stuff does not float my boat either,however I really do appreciate the skills involved. Richard Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Colwell 143 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Alan, good move, man. Nice to push it some. I can give you some ideas about hybrid polishing if you want. Just some stuff that works for me, there are other ways and better ways. I like it. I love that steel for these applications. cool. kc Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 2,474 Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks again, gentlemen. Kevin, I will take you up on that offer for the next one. This hamon just doesn't have enough activity to do much more with it. My own fault, I didn't do ashi or anything fancy. Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Mulkey 1,256 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Very nice, Alan. What was your H/T temp and quench media? I'm certainly no expert at hamons but have found that usually a lower temp and faster quench add to the activity of the hamon. (I don't have the courage to do a water quench but use Park's 50.) Gary Link to post Share on other sites
Jesus Hernandez 28 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 How did I miss this one! Shame on me. Very nice first step, Alan. I will consider it as a down payment on the wakizashi and I will glad to talk you through doing the fittings any time. Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 2,474 Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 No worries, Jesus. I was sort of staying under the radar on this one anyway. Your work is firmly in that "inspiring or depressing" range of my abilities Jim was talking about down in "the Way" at this point. Gary, I used Rutlands furnace cement for clay (next one will be Satanite, I think the foaming of the Rutlands contributed to the lackluster character of the hamon) and did the HT in the muffle pipe from this thread: http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=28363 In fact, the blade shown in the picture is this one. I have no temperature controls besides my eye, so I just watched for the edge to fully transform at as low a heat as I could accomplish to make the transformation, I'd guesstimate around 1425 - 1450. I did have anti-scale compound on the unclayed edge. Quenched horizontally in hot (around 130 degrees) water, in for three long seconds, out for two, in until cool. I was waiting for the dreaded ping of death, but it survived somehow. Oh, and it was normalized about five times at descending heats after forging, none after the rough grind. Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Mulkey 1,256 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Gutsy quench. Nice job. Did the hamon follow the edge of the Rutlands closely or was it closer to the edge? I've not fooled with 1075 but with the low manganese content it should work well for differential H/T. I've never normalized more than three times. I know that the results are diminishing each time. Can you tell/see any difference with the extra normalizing? Gary Edited January 15, 2014 by Gary Mulkey Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 2,474 Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks. It followed the Rutlands almost exactly. Link to post Share on other sites
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