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Process: Forging a Field Kotanto
This blade was named Sunagawa (砂川, sand river) because the texture of the blade and the flowing edge of the hamon are reminiscent of the bank of a calm river. It was hand forged in a charcoal swordsmith style forge powered by fuigo box bellows and water quenched with clay, an outdoor knife that has […]
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Wrought Iron Yoroidoshi Sculpture
A forging exercise leading to a sculptural tanto form for study and enjoyment, part of the Artist in Residence project at the museum. Forged from a piece of lovely fine-grained salvaged wrought iron railroad plate more than a century old. A little large for opening letters, this piece would function as a collectible, art object, […]
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Making Tanto Kata
A kata is a pattern or form used for study or for reference when creating an utsushi blade. The exercise of accurately making kata based on the work of historical smiths is an excellent way to train the eyes, mind, and body to create proper tanto forms. The most important aspect of making kata is […]
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Precision cut tanto kata
A look at some precision cut steel tanto kata based on historical japanese swords from 1200s-1500s…order a set of kata here: soulsmithing.com/product-category/kata/ A kata is a pattern or form used for appreciation, study, or for reference. The exercise of accurately making kata based on the work of historical smiths is an excellent way to train […]
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Eyes on the Spine: say No to the kink, and Yes to the flow
One of the most common mistakes when attempting to recreate a Japanese classical style tanto is to caricature or over exaggerate certain design elements while entirely missing others. The Japanese aesthetic is subtle and nuanced, millimeter differences can make or break the lines of a blade or koshirae. A subtle curve is almost always more […]
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Arashiage: Filing Order of Operations
Arashiage is the stage of rough shaping following hizukuri (forging) and in preparation for yaki-ire (hardening). Earlier posts have described tanto kata and the geometry of the tang, machi, blade, and kissaki. Familiarity with these geometry points is a prerequisite to success in this stage. This post will illustrate the proper order of operations for […]
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Utsushi Study of a Sunnobi Tanto
Sunnobi tanto (寸延び短刀) are larger than ordinary tanto, with nagasa a sun or two above 1 shaku (sun nobi, “a sun longer”, from nobiru, to stretch or lengthen). Though there is some area of crossover with hira-zukuri ko-wakizashi and they may have sori similar to ko-wakizashi, the simplified difference would be that they are still […]
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An Inside Look at Kobuse Construction
Though the majority of tanto are muku (one-piece construction), after the beginning of the edo period larger swords (katana, wakizashi) are often intentionally constructed of multiple steel components containing differing carbon content. The reason partly stems from the increase in brittleness of steel made from mass-produced tamahagane which began around that time and also from […]
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Arashiage – Hand Filing a Forged Tanto
Hand filing a classical tanto style blade forged from half of a reclaimed horse carriage leaf spring. (4x) Arashiage is the rough shaping stage that comes after hizukuri (fire shaping) and before yaki-ire (hardening). Serious students of the forge can read more and watch the full process version here.
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Classical Tanto Construction: Habaki の Machigane
Habaki is a non-ferrous collar for the blade that strengthens the base of the tang and holds the blade tightly in the scabbard. Often made of copper, it is composed of a large jacket and a small wedge that are forged and filed to shape and then soldered together before polishing and patinating. The topic […]
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Forging the Ashinoho Tanto
This tanto began as a reclaimed carriage spring and was hand forged in a pine charcoal fire, smoothed with files and a sen scraper, differentially hardened using traditional water quench yaki-ire with clay, and polished by hand with natural Japanese water stones. This tanto was forged from an antique horse-drawn carriage spring in early 2014, […]
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Classical Tanto Geometry: Blade & Kissaki
The geometry of a tanto blade is simpler to describe than the tang, though it has more subtleties and nuances. The three main characteristics I want to focus on are tip shape, spine thickness, and bevel geometry. While kata document the profile of a blade, they leave much to be desired in terms of creating […]
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Classical Tanto Geometry: Nakago & Machi
The geometry of the nakago (tang) is very important as the assembly of the knife hinges on the correct form and construction of the tang. Viewed from the spine, the thickest part of the blade is at the machi (notches) and there is a distal taper towards the tip of the blade and towards the […]
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Forging a Tanto from a Carriage Leaf Spring
Full Length Version **The heating time has been edited out and some of the tang work is missing due to battery issues. The blade shape is based on the Aizu Shintogo kata: islandblacksmith.ca/2014/04/aizu-shintogo-kunimitsu-tanto-kata/ Making the most of the fire, hammer, and anvil to prepare the steel to be refined and smoothed…read more about this foundational […]
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Aizu Shintogo Kunimitsu Tanto Kata
A kata is a pattern or form used for study or reference when creating an utsushi blade. The exercise of accurately making kata based on the work of historical smiths is an excellent way to train the eyes, mind, and body to create proper forms. This particular kata is based on a beautiful tanto made […]