Description

This is an unusual listing, but one that is requested from time to time. The blade has been forged and rough profiled but no work has been done on the bevels and **the blade has not been hardened or tempered yet**. This is a blade in the size and pattern of the Forest Kotanto and may be custom finished as part of the Tools for Satoyama project.

This is a more serious diy project because, after filing the bevels, the blade will need to be hardened and tempered by the new owner, or sent back for traditional water and clay hardening before the final edge honing and handle mounting. Return hardening service for this blade would be an additional $85 plus all extra shipping costs.

For use as a fusion style outdoor blade, it could be hardened before shipping and would simply need bevels honed in by the new owner, according to the intended use and preference. Pre-shipment hardening service for this blade would be an additional $85.

As a final alternative, having the blade finished, hardened, and sharpened before shipping would be an additional $125.

This kotanto was hand forged in a charcoal fire and still bears the hammer marks, fire scale, and original harrow tooth threads on the surface. The graceful blade has a distal taper and a low iori mune (peaked spine) that drops slightly (clay-tempering will pull it up some, though). The forged edge varies between 2mm and 3mm thick.

The tang is constructed in a similar manner to a Japanese tanto requiring only a single bamboo peg to hold the knife assembly together. In addition to the sense of beautiful simplicity, this design allows the knife to be taken apart for cleaning, polishing, detailed cutting tasks, or major resharpening work.

The double tapered tang is designed to be mounted in the takedown style of nihonto, with a single removable bamboo peg, but has not been drilled yet and can be shaped or drilled to meet the final configuration. The blade is just over 5.5″ long and the overall length to the tip of the tang is just under 8.75″, but because it has not been hardened the tang could be lengthened and the blade shortened by filing the machi (blade notches) farther up. The spine at the munemachi is about 6mm thick.

Information on creating classical tanto geometry: Classical Tanto Geometry

Specifications

Nagasa (blade length): 142 mm, uchizori (**currently unhardened**)
Motokasane (blade thickness): 6 mm, shallow iori mune
Motohaba (blade width): 23 mm, hira-zukuri
Nakago (tang): 71mm, shallow kurijiri
Mei (signature): hot stamped crossed heart

Materials: reclaimed harrow tooth steel

**Traditional clay hardening and tempering are inherently risky and therefore payable in advance, non-refundable, and come with no guarantee against warping or breakage during the process…sorry, now you know what most of my days are like!