They have survived to this day and do not lose popularity. Since ancient times, the katana has been made from damask steel - “Anosov” steel, but fighting with such a tool is dangerous, so let’s put the original samurai weapon aside for now, let it decorate the interior.
If you decide to study ancient art samurai, then a bokken, a wooden analogue of a blade, is perfect as a training weapon. “How to make a katana from wood?” - Many people asked themselves this question, but only a small number of samurai mastered the wooden bokken technique.
Features of a wooden katana
Japanese culture is rich in traditions. Training swords have been used in samurai art for hundreds of years. There are many schools of martial arts in the East. Depending on belonging to a particular school, the bokken sword has its own parameters and name. For example, to make a Bokuto bokken, white wood is used. The length of such a blade is 102 cm, and the weight varies between 580-620 grams. As for the Keishi-Ryu bokken, such a weapon is heavier and, with its length of 102 cm, weighs 730 grams.
Bokken - exact copy katanas, made of wood, which have been used since time immemorial to learn the samurai craft. Having learned how to make a katana from wood, you will be surprised, because this process is not labor-intensive.
The shape of the bokken completely duplicates the shape of the katana, but due to the material used to produce the weapon, it weighs less. How to make a katana from wood with your own hands and get a quality product? Choose the right material. The following types of wood are mainly used to make bokken:
- oak: white, red, black, brown;
- hornbeam.
The blade of a wooden bokken, like a real katana, is beveled at an angle of 45° at the end, and the profile of the blade has a flattened oval or round shape. It depends on the type of weapon.
A distinctive feature of samurai bokken is the absence of a guard, a transverse pad that protects the hand from the enemy’s weapon sliding along the blade. A shallow slot is made along the entire length - “hi”, thanks to which the bokken makes a characteristic whistling sound when struck.
How to make a wooden katana
Today you will learn how to make a katana from wood, following simple instructions.
Mastery training takes place specifically with a bokken, which is why the need to make or purchase this instrument is so common.
Step by step guide
- To get started you will need a drawing. You can draw a rough drawing of a katana or download a ready-made template from the Internet.
- Having made the workpiece, begin processing, starting with the handle. Process the area under it using a file and a plane.
- Shape the blade by removing excess wood using a template using tools.
- Round the tip and smooth the corners of the handle.
- Sand the handle and blade using sandpaper.
If desired, you can cut out and attach a guard, but most bokkens are made without this element.
Now you know how to make a katana from wood. It turns out that this is not as difficult as it might seem. Even a beginner in this matter can cope with such a task.
Katana is a long, slightly curved two-handed sword, first invented and made in Japan. It was one of the samurai's weapons. Later in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, the katana began to excite many people. How to do it yourself katana ?
You will need
- An anvil, iron sand (special black sand from the coast of Japan that is used to smelt iron), hammer, smelter, charcoal, forge, sandstone powder, water, clay, rice straw, and grinding and polishing tools to process the resulting steel. If you were able to discover all this, then let’s proceed to making the sword itself.
Instructions
1. Immerse charcoal, light it, place sand in the smelter and at 1500 degrees, smelt approximately four kilograms of steel. Divide the resulting metal into a little - and high-carbon iron. Low-carbon iron is gray-black in color. Place small and large pieces of charcoal at the bottom of the forge, then light it. After this, place high-carbon iron in the forge and also add a little charcoal.
2. After this, spread rice straw ash and pre-crushed charcoal over the bottom of the furnace, place a layer of high-carbon steel and fill it all with charcoal. After this, begin to rapidly pump the bellows until only one piece of iron remains in the forge. Carefully remove the pieces of steel and begin to forge them into flat sheets. Make sure that they are no more than five millimeters thick. Divide iron into high- and low-carbon.
3. Place pieces of high-carbon steel on a steel blank with a handle, wrap it in paper and apply clay. After this, put it all in the forge and fill it with coal. Heat for approximately 30 minutes until white. Take out the resulting block, place it on the anvil and hit it several times with a hammer. After that, put it back into the forge, heat it up perfectly and hit it again with a hammer several times. Repeat this procedure five to six times.
4. You have obtained iron, which is called “kawagane”. Take the low-carbon iron that you have previously set aside, make a bar out of it by forging, and then roll and hammer it another 9-10 times. Now you have received the Shingane iron.
5. The next step is to prepare the blade. Split the block and forge it into a rectangular plate. By stretching the plate perpendicular to the length, you will give the blade the desired shape. File the shank of the blade. Complete the process of making a katana as follows. Make a handle from a couple of blocks of wood, which you first wrap with leather and then with cotton cord.
The aura that surrounds the mythical samurai sword, the katana, has maintained interest and admiration for this type of weapon for hundreds of years. Katana is a strong, light and elastic sword. It becomes this way due to the special materials from which it is forged, the special forging technique and, according to legend, the true heartfelt attitude of the master.
You will need
- Ferrous sand
- Smelter
- Hammer
- Anvil
- Rice straw
- Clay
- Sandstone Powder
- Tools for grinding and polishing steel
Instructions
1. In order to forge the right katana, you need to stock up on special “black sand” from the Japanese coast. These are ferrous sands from which you will have to smelt tamahagane - traditional Japanese iron used for forging samurai swords.
2. Load the ore sand into the smelter - tatara - and smelt about 4 kilograms of steel using charcoal. The temperature in the melting furnace should reach 1,500 degrees Celsius.
3. Sort the iron into low-carbon and high-carbon. High carbon tamahagane is heavier, clear silver in color. Low-carbon - rougher, gray-black in color.
4. Cover the bottom blacksmith's forge crushed charcoal, add huge pieces of coal and set them on fire. Lay down a layer of mild steel and add another layer of charcoal. Wait until the iron sinks to the bottom of the forge.
5. Cover the bottom of the furnace with rice straw ash mixed with powdered charcoal, lay a layer of high-carbon steel in a mound, and cover it with charcoal on top. Start actively pumping the bellows. Wait until only iron remains in the forge.
6. Take your tamahagane pieces and start hammering them into flat sheets half a centimeter thick. Cool the sheets in water and break them into 2-square pieces. square centimeter. Sort the iron into high-carbon and low-carbon.
7. Take selected pieces of high carbon steel and place them on a steel plate with a handle. Wrap in paper and coat with clay. Place in the blacksmith's forge. Pour in charcoal and heat for at least thirty minutes until clear yellow or white.
8. Remove the block from the forge, place it on the anvil and hammer it. Place back into the forge, heat and forge. Repeat this cycle several times.
9. When your block is ready, make a dent in it with a chisel and roll it towards you. Reheat and hammer until the top and bottom halves are fused and the block returns to its original length. Repeat this cycle six times.
10. Before continuing forging, cut the block into four equal parts. Stack them one on top of the other and weld them together by heating and forging. Repeat rolling, heating and forging six more times. You now have kawagane iron.
11. Take the low-carbon iron you have set aside, forge it into a bar, and then roll and hammer it ten more times. You have got “singane” or core iron.
12. Forge a flat plate 40 centimeters long from kawagane, roll it in the shape of the letter U. Place a shingane block inside this plate. Heat the workpiece in the forge until it turns clear yellow and begin to bind. Reach full welding plates between each other.
13. Make a blank for the blade by heating a block in a forge and forging it into a rectangular blank. Shape the blade by stretching the blank perpendicular to its length. Form the cutting edge, tip, side ribs and butt.
14. With the support of a scraper knife, process the surface of the sword. Use a file to file the butt and cutting edge. Using a carborundum stone, pre-grind each blade.
15. Prepare a sticky clay mixture from clay, crushed charcoal and sandstone powder in equal proportions. Dilute with water and apply to the cutting edge with a spatula. A thick layer along the butt and on the side surfaces and a very thin layer along the very edge. Wait until the clay hardens. Heat the blade in a forge to 700 degrees Celsius and cool it in a container of water.
16. Adjust the curve of the blade and polish it.
17. Use a file to file the shank of the blade.
18. Finish the production of the katana by making a handle from 2 halves of wood, first wrapped in leather and then with cotton cord.
Video on the topic
Helpful advice
You can learn the art of making a regular katana in person from a genuine master. There are a lot of subtleties and secrets that are passed on only from teacher to student.
A real katana, being a samurai weapon, is made from certain types of iron, forged in several layers. But modern katanas, as usual, are forged from spring steel. Consequently, sharpening Japanese remake swords has its own characteristics.
You will need
- – katana;
- – stones for sharpening;
- – electric emery;
- – marker;
- - protective glasses.
Instructions
1. Take the sword in your hands and mentally divide the blade into three parts. The upper part will require particularly sharp sharpening (it will cut), the middle one will require sharpening at a huge angle (it will be subject to load upon impact) and, finally, the lower part, which is closest to the guard, will be sharpened minimally (no load will actually be applied to it) . Mark these parts with a marker.
2. First, sharpen the blade minimally. To do this, turn on the electric sander, put on safety glasses, wait about one minute until it spins completely, and bring the tip of the sword perpendicular to it. With a light movement, without pressing the blade tightly against the emery disk, move the sword from right to left, then turn it over and draw it from left to right. Repeat the procedure until you can clearly feel a sharp angle on the cutting edge with your finger. The same result can be achieved by running a sharpening stone along the blade, but this will take much more time and effort.
3. Now sharpen the top of the blade. Bring it up again katana to the sandpaper, place the blade flat on the disc. Angle it so that the cutting edge lightly touches the rotating disk. Using movements from left to right and right to left, move the blade from the tip to the mark of its middle part. This will reduce the sharpening angle.
4. Sharpen the middle part of the blade. The sharpening angle should be 40-45°. Move the blade along the sandpaper, pressing it tightly against it - from the middle part mark to the bottom mark using the method described above, until you achieve the desired sharpening angle. Do the same with the bottom of the blade. Here the sharpness of the sharpening is not so significant, therefore an angle of 50° will be enough (but no one is stopping you from making it smaller). Sharpening the lower part should end 2-3 cm from the guard (it will be difficult to sharpen further, but the guard can be easily peeled off).
5. Now bring the sword to the required sharpness sharpening stones. First, run them evenly along each length of the blade in order to remove any permissible irregularities. After this, purposefully sharpen each part individually with short, sharp movements, starting from the bottom.
Note!
The smaller the sharpening angle, the lower the strength of the blade. Cutting hard materials requires huge cutting angles, but cutting soft materials requires much smaller cutting angles.
Helpful advice
After chopping swords, jagged edges will inevitably remain on your blade (to preserve it, it is better to repel enemy weapons with the flat side of the blade), so repeat the sharpening procedure with whetstones after the entire battle or once a week.
A katana is a long, two-handed, curved sword with one sharp edge. Along with the short wakizashi sword and the auxiliary tanto dagger, it was part of the core set of weapons of the Japanese samurai. The katana was the soul of a warrior, a jewel, a family heirloom and even a philosophy. Nowadays, Japanese culture and martial arts are extremely famous in Russia, and therefore samurai swords are in great demand. Knowing to positively prefer a katana is also an art that needs to be learned.
Instructions
1. Decide for what purpose you want to purchase katana. The size of the sword, equipment and even material will depend on this.
2. If you need a sword for training, buy a bokken - a wooden model of a katana. The bokken must withstand powerful blows; therefore, it is made from hard wood (beech, oak, hornbeam) and impregnated with varnish or resin to increase density. With intense training, the sword will last 1-2 years. In Japan, bokken are treated with about the same respect as real katanas.
3. If you choose to train with a real sword, pay primary attention when choosing a katana not to decoration, but to size and shape. Take the sword in your hands: holding it should be comfortable and glorious. The length of the katana varies from 95 to 120 cm. In order to positively select the length of the sword for yourself, stand straight and grab it by the base of the blade near the round guard (tsuba). The tip of the blade should actually touch the floor. The length of the katana (tsuka) handle should be approximately three of your fists (about 30 cm on average).
4. When purchasing weapons as a gift, as an interior decoration, give preference to a set of 2 swords (katana and wakizashi) or 3 (katana, wakizashi and tanto). It will look more significant and rich. Unlike European sabers, dirks and swords, Japanese katanas do not hang on the wall, so you will certainly purchase a special stand.
5. In order for the katana to take its rightful place in the interior, take care of the accessories. A distinctive feature of samurai swords is the possibility of disassembling them into combined parts. Due to the fact that the handle was usually made of wood and covered with leather or fabric, it quickly wore out and needed to be replaced. Choosing katana, purchase an additional set for her frame (soroi-mono). It includes the tsuba (guard), menuki (handle decorations), kashira and futi (handle head and sleeve).
6. Remember that a samurai sword, like any other weapon, must be properly cared for. Be sure to purchase a special katana care kit. It includes natural stone powder for polishing, rice paper for cleaning, oil for lubricating the blade, and a mekugitsuchi, an extraction tool. wooden nails(mekugi) with which the handle is attached.
Video on the topic
Note!
If you want to buy a katana as a gift, not as a piece of furniture, but for martial arts practice, be sure to come to the store together with the future owner. Of course, there will be no surprise, but only the warrior himself will be able to determine whether the sword has a positive length and whether it will be convenient to work with it.
The Japanese katana sword is created over several months. The process is so difficult because the weapon must be sharp, strong and not brittle at the same time. To achieve this, craftsmen combine several types of metal in one blade. If you decide to draw katana and if you want the drawing to be believable, consider the design features of this weapon.
You will need
- - pencil;
- - paper;
- – eraser;
- – paints/colored pencils.
Instructions
1. Draw a straight line. It will serve as the basis for the essay. If there are other objects or people in the picture besides the katana, determine their proportional relationship. Consider the length of the weapon - about 70-100 cm.
2. Divide the line into three equal parts. The upper segment indicates the length of the handle. Since the sword should be curved, slightly bend the drawn segment. The most “convex” point is located in the middle of the segment.
3. Mark the width of the katana. The width of the blade is approximately 30 times less than the overall length of the weapon. Make the handle a little wider than the blade. The tip of the blade should be beveled - “cut” the end of the sword at an angle of 45°.
4. Draw a guard at the border of the handle and blade. This is a metal attachment that protects the warrior's hand. Its diameter is on average 8 cm, and its thickness is 5 mm. You can choose the shape of the guard as you wish - it can be round, oval, quadrangular, polygonal, divided into parts. On the surface of this part of the katana it is possible to depict carvings or edging with non-ferrous metals. The guard is secured at the top and bottom with washers - draw them in the form of thin stripes.
5. Draw a stripe under and above the guard, make the top one tighter. These are couplings made of brass or bronze.
6. Remove the auxiliary construction lines and draw in detail the surface of all parts of the katana. You can make a watercolor background in advance and add pencil strokes to the dried paint.
7. The handle of the katana should be covered with leather. It is wrapped with ribbon on top. Invent a winding pattern or copy it from a photograph of an authentic weapon. You can add voluminous decorative elements between the turns of braid. Closer to the guard, draw a small pin that attaches the handle to the blade.
8. The blade of a katana can be made of one or more metals. The best specimens are made from strong metal along the edges and more soft - in the center of the blade. Draw the boundaries of these “layers”. While angling the blade, determine where the light source is and mark the highlights and shadows on the blade.
9. Draw the katana sheath in the form of a curved rectangle. In its upper part there should be a cord threaded into a loop.
Japanese weapons have long ago become famous all over the world. The long katana sword was even included in the Russian weapons state standards of edged weapons, where it was called a two-handed saber. A well-made katana appears monolithic, but in fact it can be disassembled. For example, it is recommended to disassemble it during transportation. There may also be a need to replace the handle. In addition, collectors are often allowed to see individual parts of this sword.
You will need
- – small hammer;
- – brass tongue:
- - gloves.
Instructions
1. The sheath is an inseparable part of the katana. In Japan, they were most often made from stingray skin. Now this material It is used mainly in expensive models, and for the rest, the sheath is made from any kind of leather, including unnatural leather. Katana the sheath is traditionally placed in the obi belt. This fashion arose in the 17th century and has survived to this day. Before removing the hilt, remove the sword from its sheath.
2. The tsuka (handle) of a classy katana is attached with the help of one or several pins - mekugi (in another transliteration - mekugi). The pins were usually made of bamboo and were not glued in place. Now mekugi are made from other materials, and inexpensive models the handle parts are repeatedly placed on glue. Therefore, when buying a katana, you need to ask the seller to disassemble it. Wear gloves before you begin removing the handle. You can get by with one - on the hand with which you will hold the blade.
3. Place the katana on a horizontal surface. If you are not very sure that the pins will come out easily, you can carefully fix the sword in a vice. But usually this is not done. Place the point of the brass tongue against the pin. Carefully hit the head of the brass piece with a hammer to knock it out. That's right, knock out the rest of the mekugi in the same way. It’s rare that there are more than 3 pins; traditionally, one or two are enough. Set the mekugi aside or in a small box so they don’t get lost. Tsuka was traditionally made from magnolia wood. Nowadays different plastics are often used.
4. With a gloved hand, grasp the sword by the blade next to the guard. Pull the handle firmly. It must be removed from the shank, the one called nakago, with some effort. Remove the footy coupling located between the handle and the guard.
5. The next part that needs to be removed from the knife is the seppa, an original washer that makes the connection stronger and prevents the handle from splitting. It’s true that the same seppa is on the other side of the guard.
6. Remove the guard, which is called a tsuba on a katana. After this, it remains to remove one more washer and another coupling, which is called habaki. Occasionally you can disassemble the handle by removing some decorative elements from it. But on modern working swords these decorations are traditionally not removed.
Helpful advice
A short Japanese sword can be disassembled in a similar way and with the help of the same simple devices. The hammer does not have to be very huge. They don’t need to knock powerfully, brass is enough soft material, and the tongue may become deformed. Katana care items can be purchased in the same store as the sword itself.
Charcoal is one of the products of wood combustion. A black porous substance that consists of carbon and hydrogen with a small number of mineral impurities in the form of carbonates and oxides of various metals.
You will need
- – wood for transformation into coal
- – wood for the fire
- – steel container
- – scoop
Instructions
1. Charcoal is obtained by the thermal decomposition of wood without air flow. This process is called pyrolysis. Depending on the combustion conditions, a product with different properties is formed. The main parameter affecting the quality of coal is the pyrolysis temperature.
2. When wood is charred, moisture and oxygen are removed from it, leaving only flammable substances - carbon and hydrogen. The pyrometric parameters of the resulting product increase in comparison with the initial material. To purchase coal, wood must be heated slowly, and the temperature of the process should be about 400°C. Rapid heating to high temperatures will lead to the formation of tar and volatile combustion products.
3. You can also make charcoal at home by building an analogue of a charcoal stove. A steel barrel with a sealed lid is suitable for this. Prepare a place and wood for the fire, as well as wood prepared for transformation into coal. Place the barrel on a stand, say, on stones or bricks. Fill your makeshift charcoal kiln with wood, pre-cut into small pieces. Close the lid tightly. Provide small openings for flammable gases to escape. Light a fire under the barrel.
4. After a few hours, when gases stop coming out of the holes, heating can be stopped. But the barrel should not be opened until the resulting coal has completely cooled without access to air. Otherwise, the combustion process in air may resume and the coal will burn out completely.
5. You can easily burn wood in a stove or fire until red coals form. After this, scoop the coals into an iron container, close it tightly and leave without air flow until it cools completely.
Note!
Attention! When working, take precautions! Wear gloves and good lighting.
Helpful advice
Do not start making a katana until you have all the necessary components ready.
The katana is a long, two-handed, slightly curved sword invented in Japan. In this article we will tell you how to make a katana with your own hands. In this case, we will talk about a real katana made of hardened steel, and not just about paper and wooden crafts.
Tools and materials
The first stage of making a katana begins with collecting the necessary materials and tools. We will need a hammer, anvil, smelter, forge and various polishing and grinding tools to finish the product. From materials you need to stock up on ferrous sand (it is advisable to find good black sand, if not from Japan itself, then at least of decent quality), as well as charcoal, sandstone powder, clay, water and rice straw. If you have everything you need, you can start making a katana.
Steelmaking
First, we light charcoal and immerse black sand in the smelter. The melting point of sand must be at least 1500 degrees. We need to smelt about 4 kilograms of steel. Now we divide the steel into high-carbon steel and low-carbon steel (gray-black). We place large and small pieces of charcoal at the bottom of the forge and set it on fire, and then place high-carbon steel there. Next, grind the charcoal and place it evenly along the bottom of the forge along with rice straw. After that, we put high-carbon steel on top (one layer) and fill it with charcoal on top. We quickly pump the bellows until clean steel remains in the forge.
Forging and hardening of the product
Now we take out the steel and begin to forge flat sheets from the pieces. The thickness of the sheets should not exceed 5 mm. We place pieces of high-carbon steel on a steel blank with a handle, wrap it in paper and apply clay. Next, we put the steel in the forge, cover it with charcoal and heat it until it turns white (about 30-40 minutes). Then we do this: we take out the resulting piece of steel, hit it with a hammer several times and heat it again. This procedure must be repeated at least 5 times. After this, we take the low-carbon steel that was set aside in advance, forge a bar from it, roll it up and forge it again - we do this about 10 times.
Finally, we start preparing the blade. To do this, we split the block and forge a rectangular plate. Now we stretch the plate perpendicular to the length, giving the blade the required shape. We process the edges of the blade with a file until the desired quality is obtained. All that remains is to make a handle for our katana. To do this, you can use a couple of bars, which can then be wrapped with leather and cotton cord. That's all - our katana is ready.
Katanas made of wood and paper
A few words about how to make a katana out of wood. There is nothing complicated here. For a wooden katana we need wooden blank, which just needs to be processed with the appropriate tools: jigsaw, chisel, hammer and files. Cut out the desired shape and then sand it down. Of course, such work requires perseverance and patience, but making a katana from wood will require much less effort than making a combat katana. Before cutting out the workpiece, it is advisable to mark it with special marking tools so that you get exactly the shape you want. And finally, how to make a katana out of paper? Making a katana from thick paper is quite simple: you need to mark its contours and then simply cut out along them.
Let's briefly define the well-known facts regarding Japanese sword manufacturing technology. The Japanese katana sword is the world's most famous type of full-size edged weapon from the Far East. This is a two-handed, slightly curved, single-edged sword in a wooden scabbard, varnished, with a blade length of about 70-80 cm, equipped with a flat removable guard and a cord-braided handle.
The technique of making katana, as we know it, has existed in Japan for about a thousand years. The five main schools of Japanese gunsmiths (still existing today) determined the canonical proportions, internal structures, features of the metal structure of blades, as well as methods of their zone hardening. All this has been tested by practical fencing for many centuries, which ultimately turned this sword into one of the most advanced types of bladed weapons in the world.
Here it is necessary to note the fact that in Japan the polished blade itself is called a sword rather than the entire sword assembly. This, at first glance, strange attitude may be due to the fact that the technology for assembling a katana provides for the quick replacement of not only the handle assembly, but also its individual parts. But the main factor that determined the indisputable priority of the blade, without a doubt, is the amazing complexity and precision of the art of its manufacture.
Sword decoration details koshirae"koshirae" (guard - tsuba, handle elements - fushi, kashira, menuki) exist as collectibles, almost independently of the blade. These are completely independent works applied arts, which can decorate almost any sword (assembly technology allows you to fit almost any koshirae part to any blade).
Exploring technological features making a katana, delving into the contemplation of this beauty, it is necessary to immediately outline the level of quality of swords, starting from which one could talk about the katana as a true work of weapon art. It is no secret that today in any Moscow souvenir store you will be offered for US$100-300 the “real” katana made in knife factories in Spain or China. The seller will knowledgeably explain that the blade is made of beautiful stainless steel, and the dangling sheath, plastic handle and stamped frame are created in full accordance with classical Japanese techniques and belong to such and such a century, such and such a style... Well, I think, “ Spanish Japan” there is no need to comment. However, the market for hack work does not end there. Many, if I may say so, “katan” are produced by prisoners (specialized Russian enterprises) and gunsmiths who do not adhere to any traditional Japanese technologies and rules at all. Roughly crafted stainless steel blades, with a painted or etched hardening line, threaded or epoxy glued handles, saber sheaths with rings for hanging. All this greatly disorients the public and often repels novice collectors of modern designer weapons from the topic of the Japanese sword.
A real sword of “high quality”, first of all, does not tolerate influence high technology. There should be no innovations, no inventions, a minimum of deviations from the canon. A real sword is made by a master not only at the level of knowledge of technology. It is very important to maintain the atmosphere, the spirit of the process itself, and the internal mood. A katana is not a souvenir or a ceremonial decoration, it is a formidable weapon of a true warrior of the spirit. All masters working on the creation of a high-quality sword put their soul, experience and a piece of their own destiny, or, in Eastern terms, karma, into it. Let us note that a real katana is created by several by professional craftsmen(independently of each other), each of which lays down its future level.
There are no minor details in a real sword. It is important from what, how, by whom, for what and for whom it was made, what features are included in its design and decoration. Set distinctive features The quality of such a sword depends on the level of the craftsmen and the level of technology they used.
Mandatory attributes of a high-quality, real katana are, of course,:
* “patterned” (composite) steel of the blade, obtained by hand forging (with a possible structured design of cross-sectional elements: the butt, lining and blade can be made of composite steels of different chemical composition and structure);
* zone water hardening of the blade, obtained by coating part of the blade with a special composition based on clay, sand and charcoal with many visual effects in the transition zones between hard and soft areas);
* ultra-thin hand polishing blade on stones, without the formation of an edge (chamfer) of the blade and without the effect of rounding the edges of the edges (in addition, such polishing should provide a high degree of sharpness of the blade, as well as show the macrostructure of the composite steel and the hardening line jamon"hamon" on a completely mirror surface);
* original design and sword assembly technology (O-ring habaki"habaki", guard tsuba"tsuba" and handle Tsuka"tsuka" are put on the blade through the shank and fastened “pull-in” with one pin mekugi"mekugi");
* artistically decorated koshirae finishing device and scabbard made according to classical rules, in full accordance traditional technology assemblies must carry a deep philosophical idea and the special charm of the aesthetics of Shinto and Zen.
Dear readers, one can talk about this topic, without exaggeration, forever. I will only note that hardening a katana is, of course, the most important, risky and complex operation performed in the manufacture of a sword, which lays down not only half of all the physical and mechanical properties of the blade, but also, in fact, determines its aesthetics. Nothing attracts attention in a katana blade like jamon"hamon".
Polishing a katana blade
Polishing Japanese swords is a separate and highly respected profession. For several centuries now, this generally utilitarian operation has existed in Japan as a high art. The goal of the polisher is to achieve absolutely correct shapes of the blade, a mirror-like, clean surface of the steel with a visible “pattern” (hada) and a hardening line (hamon), as well as the extreme sharpness of the blade.
All operations are performed on special stones in six to seven main phases (from more rough stones to thinner ones). During the polishing process, stones are constantly washed with water, and abrasive pastes are formed on their surface from friction with the metal.
Latest detection operations hada"hada" and jamon"hamon" (hazui, jizui) are made with small, thin stones held on the surface to be polished with the thumb. For a more vivid manifestation of the metal structure, the polisher can perform the operation at his discretion hadori"hadori" (weak) chemical exposure on the metal of the blade), which emphasizes the beauty of the metal and the hardening line, but does not lead to the loss of the effect of a deep, translucent mirror.
On average, it takes a professional ten to fifteen business days to polish a new katana blade. After completing his work, specialists and connoisseurs can see all his strengths and weak sides. Hidden defects will manifest themselves in the same way as deep subtle virtues. Before final polishing, it is almost impossible to truly evaluate the sword.
A high-quality katana blade, after a good professional polishing, carries a lot of information into ce6ie. Hada and hamon are definitely visible on it. Moreover, it is impossible to fake such effects with acid etching. A picture of the “freezing” or, in other words, “stopping” of the blade will open before your eyes, full of drama and mystery. The hamon line is not a static picture. This is a kind of photograph of the rapid breathing of metal.
It is completely impossible to see the fine, moiré “pattern” on hada steel in all its mesmerizing glory without a professional polisher. Neither acid etching nor electrolysis will allow you to see this hologram of the Universe in the mirror. Describing the beauty of hada on a katana is pointless. It is also almost impossible to photograph this fleeting, elusive effect. That is why it is still customary in Japan not only to photograph blades for registration and evaluation, but also to sketch them on paper. The human eye sees incommensurably more in the mirror of the blade than the most accurate photographic equipment in the world.
Assembling a katana
Assembling a katana can be divided into three large stages:
1. Manufacturing unique details, which are made for one strictly defined blade:
* habaki sealing ring serves to ensure that the blade fits tightly into the sheath and is fixed in it due to friction (forged from copper, silver or gold directly on the blade to ensure maximum fit of the ring to the blade, after knocking out the ring is sawed off and soldered; habaki ( habaki) can be decorated with engraving, inlay and appliqué with precious metals);
* wooden scabbard saya"saya" (glued together from two halves, each of which is adjusted to the blade and to the habaki in profile and thickness with virtually no backlash, in subsequent operations they are varnished and equipped various elements and details);
* wooden handle base Tsuka"tsuka", the manufacturing technology of which is similar to the manufacturing technology of the scabbard, only in this case the sword's shank is cut between two planks (in subsequent operations it is covered with the skin of a stingray or shark and tied with a special cord tsukaito"tsukaito" made of cotton, silk or leather);
* metal rings that tightly fix the guard between the habaki and the handle seppa(seppa) and eliminating backlash, can be made of copper, bronze, silver or gold.
* guard (tsuba) - the most significant and complex element of the sword device, can be decorated with engravings, inlays, tauching, varnishes, enamels, patination and many other techniques (the material for tsuba can be forged iron or steel, cast bronze, shakudo (bronze with addition of silver and gold), silver, copper and combinations of these materials);
* ring adjacent to the guard footy"fushi", pommel cashier"kashira" and paired elements woven under the braided cord (menuki) are made according to the same principles as tsuba, complementing and expanding its figurative range.
3. Assembly, adjustment and varnishing of the scabbard:
* the operation of assembling the handle includes the following actions: gluing the skin of a stingray or shark (same), adjusting and installing koshirae, tsuba and sepa elements, tying knots tsukamaki"tsukamak"i cord with fixation on the handle menuki"menuki" and kasira;
* installation of reinforcing and functional elements on the sheath (can be made of various metals, black horn or hard wood);
* making special grooves in the sheath and installing a miniature knife in them ( kozuka kozuka, for cutting and straightening armor cords) and hair clips ( Kogai"kogai", for tying and untying tight knots on armor);
* varnishing of the scabbard (the varnish can include a wide variety of fillers, such as plant seeds, metal dust, powders from eggshells, colored stones, etc., in addition, between the layers of varnish, skin can be used as an element of application stingray, inserts of valuable wood, pieces of fabric and leather).
Manufacturing of katana handle rim elements
As already mentioned, elements of a katana frame can exist as independent works of art. They are, as a rule, made separately from blades, by individual craftsmen belonging to their own schools and creative workshops.
There are many techniques for making koshirae. In ancient times, frame parts, especially tsuba, were often made of wrought iron. Such details were decorated very sparsely, mainly with perforations, but the symbols and compositions themselves on these old finishing details are striking in their laconicism and originality.
At a later time, approximately from the end of the 16th century, the method of bronze casting with subsequent complex refinement by methods of engraving, tauching, and appliqué became very widespread. various metals and alloys, etching and varnishing.
There are many ancient finishing devices made by casting silver, soldering elements of precious metals onto steel, and applying polished stingray skin. And also with all kinds of combined techniques, using not only metals, but also bone, leather, wood, enamel...
But we will not dwell on the technique of performing koshirae in more detail. The fact is that even the most superficial coverage of this topic will take, without exaggeration, 200-300 pages of printed text (excluding illustrations).
For those who want to seriously study this topic (and in general all topics related to the katana), I strongly recommend reading the books by A.G. Bazhenov “History of the Japanese Sword” and “Examination of the Japanese Sword”, as well as the sixth issue of the “Chevron” series called “Japanese Sword” (author K.S. Nosov).
Metallurgy of the Japanese sword
After a brief introduction to the manufacturing technology and design of the katana, allow me, dear readers, to bring to your attention some of my assumptions regarding the metallurgy of the Japanese sword.
My colleagues and I from the workshop "TeG-zide" ("Iron Fang", Japanese sword workshop of Sergei Lunev) tried to understand the reason for the appearance of the peculiar fine moire "pattern" hada on classical blades of antiquity.
Research: "Moiré of Japanese steel"
Studying samples of ancient Japanese katanas (XIV - XVI centuries) over the past five years, I had to pay attention to the special fibrous-moiré structure of the steel of their blades. On the surface of the blades, at 4.5-10x magnification, the finest traces of forge welding are clearly visible. It would seem that everything is clear: we are dealing with the classical technology of the so-called “Damascus steel”.
However, it is impossible to obtain such a hada pattern by layer-by-layer welding of dissimilar steel. A completely different nature of the structure.
A more detailed study of ancient Japanese swords (from private collections) in metallographic laboratories revealed that the structure of their blades is fragmentary fibrous, i.e. formed by joining together by forge welding many fragments that originally had a fibrous structure.
These fibers consist of differently carburized and differently alloyed steel fragments. Traces of welding seams are periodically visible between the fibers themselves. The density of the fibers is amazing: in separate areas blade (at the edge of the blade), apparently, it can reach from 100 to 300 fibers per square millimeter of cut (i.e., up to 500,000 fibers per blade cut)! Unfortunately, no one allowed us to cut the blade and accurately count the fibers, however, museum workers and collectors can be understood. Further research revealed the following:
* the fibers themselves have an intermittent structure, with a change in color when etched with nitric acid from light gray to almost black (i.e. the fibers are heterogeneous in chemical composition);
The fibers are grouped into groups of two levels, i.e. on the one hand, small fibers are collected into something like bundles or bundles (1st level), on the other hand, these bundles form highly deformed (flattened) groups, arranged in layers (2nd level);
It was found that the boundaries between fibers at the microscopic level have two main types: forge welding, with remnants of non-metallic inclusions (type 1), and diffusion welding at the molecular level without visible traces of non-metallic inclusions (type 2);
Each fiber is heterogeneous in chemical composition, and can repeatedly change color when etched from light to dark along its entire length.
Get more detailed information information about the structure and chemical composition of the studied fibrous steel will become possible only by using methods of studying the material that allow mechanical and electrical erosion destruction of samples (blades).
So, after some time it became clear to us that moire pattern- This is a fiber built in layers. Naturally, questions immediately arose. Are blades like this made in Japan today? What kind of technology or method makes it possible to obtain such a macro- and microstructure of steel? How does such a structure affect the quality characteristics of the blade?
Let's start in order
In Japan, the best modern master blacksmiths still achieve the same effect today. This is confirmed by many detailed photographs of modern swords forged by such greats as, for example, Yoshindo Yoshihara. Not on all, but on many of his swords it is clearly visible fibrous-moire structure of the metal. So the first question can be safely answered in the affirmative. I repeat once again, such blades can only be found among the best Japanese masters of our time. This is an important point that will help us understand the “mystery” of moire fiber more thoroughly.
Now about the Japanese method of producing fiber steel. The goal is to obtain not just a fibrous, but an ultra-thin structure with alternating (non-uniform) fibers, built in two levels (longitudinal and layer-by-layer), connected together by both forge and diffusion welding.
The creation of fibrous structures in steel has been solved (and very successfully) for many centuries, by many masters in many countries. The most famous method today is the so-called mosaic Damascus method. The essence of this technology is that a package assembled from steel strips (square in cross-section) is forged, welded and pulled back into a square cross-section. Then the timber is chopped or cut into equal sections, from which a square-section package is again assembled (2 by 2 or 3 by 3 or more). After which these operations are repeated cyclically. Typing this way required quantity fibers, the blacksmith twists the bag and cuts it crosswise into grooves of 3-8 mm. Further forging into strips and grinding “raises” to the surface a mosaic pattern of steel formed by transverse sections of fibers.
A cross section of a mosaic Damascus block represents a fiber arranged in a certain way. Eight welds of a 2 by 2 stack using this method will produce a block containing approximately 65,000 fibers. A 10 splices - already more than 1 million fibers!
Based on this method, we created several katana blades, in which famous blacksmiths and gunsmiths from Moscow and Tula took part.
A significant difference from the Japanese version can be considered the absence of the effect of an intermittent fiber structure. The pattern came out small, clear, very beautiful and dense, but without the famous Japanese moire. The blades turned out to be quite strong and impact-resistant, however, classical zone hardening revealed hamon without a clearly defined transition zone nioi, and moreover, the hardened zone showed the contrast hada, which is undesirable from an aesthetic point of view. In short, it turned out very well, but not quite what we were looking for.
There are many methods for producing fibrous steel. Just for fun, I can suggest another, very irrational method that just came to mind. When welding a Damascus package (after a set of 100 layers), cut grooves on it along the broach before each subsequent welding. Longitudinal cuts will “raise” to the surface transverse sections of layers, which, with cyclic repetition of these operations, form fiber. The loss of metal with this method will be enormous, and the fiber will turn out to be of “different calibers” and, of course, completely homogeneous. But why not a method? It’s a pity that things are not going well in Russia intellectual property, otherwise it could be patented. However, jokes aside.
And yet, how is classic moire fiber made in Japanese? Let's turn to the primary sources: books about the art of making Japanese swords, published in Japan and the USA. The whole process is described in many books from beginning to end. For us, the most interesting, without a doubt, will be the materials from the book of the most authoritative blacksmith and gunsmith of modern Japan, Mr. Yoshindo Yoshihara, “Craft of the Japanese Sword”.
It must be said that Japanese masters very skillfully hide the most important technological nuances in an abundance of very spectacular and colorful, but still secondary or well-known facts. Many important points are absent at all. This is understandable; the secrets of mastery exist to protect them. I won’t lie, I also wouldn’t want to reveal absolutely everything that I managed to understand and what I was able to learn, but, in my opinion, the technology of Japanese moiré deserves to slightly lift this veil of mystery. I think that many lovers of Japanese swords and collectors will be more respectful of the katana if they learn more about such “secrets of antiquity.”
So, the most interesting thing was “hidden” literally in the most visible place. Let's start with forging (forge welding) the steel of the blade.
Describing the process of folding the package, master Eshindo in his book provides a diagram where, however, without much comment, one very interesting and significant technique is shown, with the help of which the longitudinal-fiber structure of steel is obtained. This is a rotation of the package by 90° around the broaching axis, and further welding and folding in a perpendicular plane. Rotate the package, collecting at least 200-500 layers in the primary plane. After turning and further adding layers, the package begins to crush according to the chessboard principle and collects fibers formed at the intersections of the primary and secondary layers.
It must be said that, like all technologies of antiquity, this method of obtaining fiber turned out to be much more effective and simpler than the later inventions of blacksmiths. Unfortunately, I was also forced to first, so to speak, “reinvent the wheel,” i.e. “rediscover” this method, before I realized that it had long been published in many books on the Japanese sword, and all this time it was literally looming before my eyes. This is how we once again have to make sure that the most important (and simple) secrets are kept in the most visible place, but are not revealed to us until we ourselves understand their meaning.
However, the technique described above alone is not enough to obtain Japanese moire. Remember? We agreed that we would find a way to produce interspersed (not uniform) fiber. Now we come to the most interesting, and, at the same time, the most controversial. In order not to bother you with a description of my numerous experiments and experiences, I will only outline the essence of those methods, the results of which turned out to be very similar to the “Japanese moire” of the Koto period.
Method one (traditional, described in detail by Japanese masters)
Having received raw steel, we break it into a flat, porous pancake. Let's harden it with water, and then break the brittle, overheated steel into small fragments (from half to a third matchbox). Let's assemble a package from these pieces (let's call it the primary package), built on a low-carbon blade. To do this, lay out flat fragments in 5-7 layers. After forging, welding and drawing, we obtain a strip of square section with a side of 15-20 mm.
Having cut rods 50 - 60 mm long from this strip, we will lay out a secondary package from them in order to then weld it into fiber (according to the method outlined above). The whole “secret” in this method is that the bars must be placed across the line of the package. For what? Then, during further welding and drawing into the fiber, the welding seams of the primary package, formed by welded pores and welding fragments together, will greatly stretch across (and introduce chaos in the welding seam throughout the entire length of each of the fibers!), thus making our fiber very heterogeneous.
If you use steel melted in a charcoal forge (U7, U8, steel 45 and 65G), the result will satisfy most collectors and fencing masters. However, until the best examples of the XIV-XVI centuries. This method obviously won't reach you. Apparently, the authors of numerous books on the manufacture of Japanese swords have “declassified” for us the technology for producing steel for ordinary, albeit very high-quality traditional blades.
Method two (more modern and less traditional)
Let's weld a primary package of 9 plates of standard rolled steel (U 10 and steel 45). Let's forge weld 54 layers (9x2x3) and stretch it into a strip of square section. Then everything follows the first method (bars, secondary package, fiber). The “secret” of this method is that the bars (aligned across the package) must be oriented so that their planes with welding seams are turned perpendicular (toward) to the plane of the hammer strikes. The result will be almost the same as in the first method, except that due to the clearer contrast of the metal, the number of fibers in the secondary package must be larger. In addition, the steel turns out to be more capricious when hardening and welding, but using this method, the blacksmith can make do with ordinary grade steels without performing the operation orishigane"orishigane" (melting steel in a forge).
Method three (an attempt to reveal the next layer of the mystery of Japanese moire)
For the next method of obtaining Japanese moire, we will need.” damask steel! A few words about what damask steel has to do with it and what the next layers of mystery are. The fact is that traditional Japanese tamahagane steel, welded in a large (not home) tatara furnace, contains a significant portion of dendritic crystals due to the long cooling of a large mass of melt. As a matter of fact, the dendritic structure is the main factor determining damask steel. Therefore, we can safely assume that in the core of the ingot tamahagane"tamahagane", called kera"kera", contains a significant volume of cast damask steel. Many Japanese and American books about the technology of making Japanese swords show photographs of kera. Large dendrites are clearly visible in these photographs. So this “secret” is also one of the public.
Apparently, Japan should be considered the only country that traditionally produces damask steel without using a crucible. The role of the crucible here is the mass of peripheral metal mixed with coal and slag. It's very Japanese: practical, effective and deceptively simple.
With this method we will be able to perform another point in the technology of the ancient blacksmiths: diffusion welding between separate groups fibers Damask fibers formed by deformation (drawing) of dendritic crystals do not have forge welding seams among themselves. This is exactly the picture we observed when studying the metal of ancient Japanese blades.
So, let's take porous ingots of cast damask steel with a carbon content of 0.8-1.3% without any special alloying additives (unless some catalyst would help: molybdenum, vanadium, tantalum, etc. no more than 0.5% ). We weld them into coarse fiber (12 by 4) and... we will be amazed at the result! The nature of the pattern, color, contrast, and when hardened and hamon - it will turn out very similar to Japanese moire, but still somewhat large. Picking up more fibers will cause a loss of moire and turn our steel into a nice, dense and unfortunately too uniform fiber.
One thing is certain: the presence of dendritic structures in the original package has brought us closer to the solution. In many respects (oxidative processes during heating, cleanliness of the welding seam, welding temperature and much more), it was damask steel that showed what the legendary blacksmiths of Japan wrote about in their treatises and books.
An important point for understanding the significance of the damask component in tamahagane is the fact that after completion of smelting in Tatar"tatara" (there is only one such kiln in operation in Japan today), representatives of the five main Japanese schools of blacksmiths carefully select and distribute pieces from kera among themselves. This process is surrounded by a veil of secrecy and occurs without the presence of outsiders. What are the patriarchs looking for in this pile of metal? I dare to suggest, and my opinion on this issue is only strengthened by our many years of practice and scientific research, that they are looking for damask steel, individual fragments of which are hidden in tons of porous steel.
Need I say that best metal goes only to the best masters of schools, including the aforementioned Yoshindo Yoshihara (Bizen school).
Method four (key to understanding or unfinished experiment)
The reason for the disappearance of the moiré effect with an increase in the number of fibers using the third method appears to be that the dendrites stretch along the package and become thinner (become invisible to the eye), while relatively bright and thick welding seams come to the fore. In the first two methods described above, we aimed to stretch the welds across the bag. Let's do the same with damask steel crystals.
Let's get started: we upset the damask ingot vertically and stretch it in a perpendicular plane so that its bottom and top become the left and right sides of the strip. We stretch a strip of square section, cut it into bars and put them into a primary package. After boiling the primary package, we add up to 20 layers, and after turning by 90, another 16-32 layers.
So what have we got?
* layer-by-layer fiber;
* diffusion and forge welding in one package;
* intermittent fibers.
Externally, the metal turned out to be even more similar to Japanese moire; it heats up perfectly, allowing you to achieve a variety of vintage effects on hamon, holds a blow perfectly and is generally very good and very close to the classics, but still something about it betrays a remake. It is necessary to conduct experiments to select the chemical composition of the initial steel (damask steel). Apparently, we will have to add all kinds of metallurgical “garbage”, play with alloy, flux, etc., but this experiment is not completed yet.
At the beginning of the conversation about the study of Japanese moire, we asked ourselves a question: how does the fibrous structure of steel affect the quality of the katana blade? Based on the experience of practical operation of the workshop’s fiber blades, Tetsuge laido in Russian clubs ( japanese art swordsmanship), we can say with confidence that the fiber provides significantly greater strength and reliability of the blade compared to layered and homogeneous steels. The cutting characteristics of heterogeneous fiber are generally unrivaled. In this example, one can once again admire the Japanese ability to combine beauty and practice.
The practice and beauty of damask steel in katana (continuation of the search in pure damask steel)
I have been researching damask steel for about fifteen years now. True, over the years of working in this field, one thought increasingly comes to me: the more I learn about damask steel, the less I know about it. Well, it all started for the sake of the process. I think that any results will always remain intermediate phases of some endless experiment. Bulat has long become for me not a goal, not an idea or a dream, but rather a special atmosphere in which I am used to working and thinking.
Japan is my old love, which arose in my soul much earlier than other attachments. Many precious days of youth were devoted to this first love in the dozo (martial arts hall), the library and in the forest during the Japanese simple and youthfully categorical “contemplation” of nature. My fascination with Japan “infected” me with the aesthetics and practice of Zen, and later with Indian philosophy and the culture of India, having fallen in love with which, I adopted European philosophy, Hermeticism and alchemy.... But no matter how life develops in the future, Japan will probably forever remain for my favorite fairy tale that calls to me.
Sooner or later these two paths had to intersect. This is how katanas blades appeared, forged from cast damask steel, on the shanks of which the hieroglyphs Tetsu (iron, iron) Ge (in combinations - fang) are carefully displayed.
I came up with this name by analogy with my favorite cartoon “Mowgli” as a child. Do you remember with what admiration and awe Mowgli picks up an ancient dagger? How reverently do you pronounce his name: “Iron Tooth”? The calligraphic writing of these hieroglyphs, which became our signature, belongs to the brush of our comrade and my colleague at the Institute of Hard Alloys (VNIITS) Boris Anatolyevich Ustyuzhanin, who knows perfectly Chinese, and in general, is an extraordinary and knowledgeable person. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him again.
Over the years, my attitude towards damask steel, swords and Japan has not changed. Just like the hero of my favorite cartoon, I am sensitive to the blade. I hope this feeling never goes away. In this regard, I would really not like to become a “cynical professional”; it is better to always remain a sincere amateur.
Three or four years before the formation of the Tetsuge workshop, I made repeated attempts to create a katana blade from damask steel. Learning along the way the intricacies of hardening and encouraging my father to study Japanese polishing, I well understood that a katana needed a special damask steel, specially welded for it.
Water hardening became a real obstacle on this path. Classic damask steel of the Iranian type with 1.5-2% carbon did not withstand such a harsh operation. Too much martensite was falling out too quickly. When hardening, the blades were bent almost like a wheel, and they broke into almost thousands of pieces. Hardening in oil, firstly, did not meet my internal needs (not in Japanese, that is, not really), and secondly, the hamon line turned out to be devoid of the beauty that so seduces connoisseurs all over the world.
On the way to “Japanese damask steel” I tried many tricky tricks and methods, including such fundamental ones as thermodynamic shock in steel (quenching with abruptly changing cooling rates). The results were very beautiful and high-quality things in their own way, but you can’t fool yourself, this was not what you dreamed of.
So, in 2001, due to the resumption of work on alloying damask steel with molybdenum while simultaneously reducing the carbon content to 0.6-0.8%, it was possible to re-produce damask steel, which received the “proprietary” designation M-05 or, at home, “Emka” . Why did you have to reopen it? The fact is that at one time, due to a generally stupid mistake at the stage of polishing and acid etching, a similar alloy was “written off” by us as a waste.
The significant difference between “Emka” and everything that I have done before can be considered its three important properties:
* the ability to withstand quenching with the first water phase, then oil (in the first phase all the famous hamon effects are formed, while the second, oil phase will protect the blade from excessive mechanical loads);
* ability for forge welding (and weldability occurs at quite a low temperatures 900-1100°C);
* preservation of the damask “pattern” even with repeated heating to welding temperatures and higher (up to 1200°C).
The material was obtained from which, in fact, “our Japan” from Tetsuge began. "Emka" can perform in different roles: as a tamahagane (if the smelting was carried out with a large amount of flux and slags specially added to the crucible); as a layer between layers of raw steel; and, finally, most importantly - as a natural, natural fiber from which the blade is forged.
A one-piece katana blade made from damask steel M-05, with the use of some cunning (may the readers forgive me, secret) forging techniques, allowing us to obtain the semblance of welding seams throughout the entire depth of the strip, is certainly the best, to date, that we have managed to achieve in the “Japanese theme” "
The main reason why the experiment, previously described as the “fourth method,” was suspended was a breakthrough in the forging of the M-05, which opened up much more tempting prospects than all the methods listed above.
The strength of a damask blade has always amazed the imagination, however, if this blade is a zone-hardened katana, some miracles begin! Having received the first successful samples of solid damask “Japanese” blades, my colleagues and I quickly became convinced that traditional methods of strength testing were no longer suitable, we needed to invent something tougher.
Using this technology, new to us, several swords were made, which at one time made up an entire collection and were shown to the general public in November 2004 at the Central House of Artists at the exhibition “Blade - Traditions and Modernity”. Now some of them are being tested by experienced laido and Kendo craftsmen. So far we have only received positive feedback from them.
One of the blades has already begun to give rise to legends (we presented it to the Japanese fencing master Fyodor Alekseevsky in 2004). During its short life, it has already been in the hands of kidnappers, and at evaluations by Japanese professionals, and at receptions at embassies... And recently, some not-too-delicate visitor to an exhibition in Voronezh went ahead and cut a duralumin profile with it (without asking) in half display cases together with glass, without causing any damage to the blade. So, it seems that in the case of the katana, damask steel strives to take a leading, if not dominant, position. Legends accumulate and tests continue.
The latest samples of blades suggest that in the near future we may be able to “submit” to water (without an oil phase) hardening of cast damask steel. Who would have imagined this even five years ago! The structure of hada steel, with each experiment, approaches the famous “Japanese moiré”. However, despite all these, perhaps very conditional, successes, I am sure that this result will not be the last. As has already been said, the process for us is still more important than any results, and the mysteries along this long path only become more numerous. Well, the more interesting it is.
Instead of a conclusion
In the research, or reporting, part of this article, we got acquainted with only one, very narrow (albeit important) aspect of the katana blade manufacturing technology. Fiber steel is far from the only “mystery” of top-level Japanese blades.
Think how many topics there are for a true collector to study! The rigid canon, polished by time, not only did not turn the katana into a dead art, but rather, on the contrary, opened the way through it to the knowledge of the infinite depths of perfection.
Frankly speaking, we are now more occupied with other topics. While working on katanas, we rather simply rest our souls from exhausting searches and experiments. But then one day, quite recently, friends and associates from the “Guild of Gunsmiths” called and asked me to write about Japanese swords. Alluring, beautiful and incomprehensible, Japan again reminded us of itself. Was it possible to refuse her?
In any case, I tried to show the inexhaustibility of this wise, ancient, but at the same time eternally young and modern beauty. As Zen teaches us, we tried to look closely at a grain of sand on the shore, so that through this fleeting contemplation we could mentally look into the depths of the ocean.
I would like that, against the background of this abyss, my not always successful, modest experiments would inspire novice gunsmiths to independent creative search. A search based not only on curiosity and pride, but also on a reverent, respectful attitude towards ancient cultures and their knowledge.
Katana is inexhaustible. This amazing sword combines so many features and wisdom! We completely omitted the topic of blade design, which according to the classics should consist of dissimilar parts (blade, butt, side plates), and did not consider the hardening process. We passed over the secrets of preparing protective fluxes, preparing the hardening medium and methods for straightening the blade, as well as tempering and polishing it. The topic of making a katana frame, the art of varnish painting of a scabbard, the symbolism and mysticism of the Japanese sword, the internal philosophy of the koshirae imagery and much more requires a separate detailed discussion.
Maybe next time...
. Born in 1968. In 1989-1991. studied the structures of cast damask steel at the Department of Metallurgy at MATI. In 1991 -1995 - private research into the technology for producing cast damask steel of the “Iranian” type. In 1995-2001 - practical experiments and production of cast damask steel on industrial equipment of hard alloy industry enterprises. 8 2001-2004 in the rank of Deputy Director of VNIITS (All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Hard Alloys and Refractory Metals) he studied the physical, mechanical, chemical and electromagnetic properties of cast damask steel.
Participation in exhibitions:
- “Our names” in the State Historical Museum in Moscow, 1998;
- “Blades of Russia-2000” in the Armory Chamber of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Moscow Kremlin”;
- “Masterpieces and rarities of bladed weapons” at the Naval Museum in St. Petersburg, 2004;
This knowledge is necessary for the customer when ordering a katana, for the master when making a katana, and for anyone who delves into the topic of the perfect Japanese edged weapon - katanas.
Here we will look at one of the elements of this weapon, namely katana handle device.
Common name of handle: tsuka.
And so let's get started:
Tsuka- katana handle.
Kasira– pommel. Rather, it’s even a lid that has a decorative and practical purpose. Kasira– the handle ends with a metal cover and has a hole for passing the tape, which is used to braid the handle.
Same– stingray leather, a traditional covering material for the wooden handle of a katana. Expensive material.
Ho- wooden katana handles.
– decorative element, used to finish the handle of a katana.
- a hole and pin used to hold the handle of a katana.
- This is the base of the blade on which the handle elements are mounted.
– a fastening and decorative clutch of the handle, together with the cashier, holds the wooden linings of the handle assembled.
- metal washers have both a decorative and practical function. Only two pieces are installed on both sides of the tsuba.
Unlike the European sword, the Japanese sword had the function of protecting the hand when struck with a tsuba, which was the last thing.
– fastening coupling, the main task is to create a tight connection between the blade and the sheath.
Not marked in the image. But it is equally important to indicate an element such as:
Tsuka-ito– tape used to wrap the handle.
Now, we know the terminology. And we understand what the handle of a Japanese katana consists of. Now, using this knowledge, we can figure out what the stylization of the handle of the katana made by the Zbroevy Falvarak workshop consists of.
For example, let's take one of the previously made katanas:
Katana handle from the Zbroevy Falvarak workshop
As you can see we do non-collapsible handle, but at the same time, we retain a significant amount of characteristic elements of the original katana handle .
Menuki, fuchi, sepa are brass casting.
Tsuka-ito – leather tape, which is no less typical for a katana.
Same- normal skin.
Absent: mekugi and habuki.
Here is a photo of a standard set for a katana hilt, from the Zbroevy Falvarak workshop (the menuki is missing, but it is also included in the set)
Standard set for katana hilt, Zbroevy Falvarak workshop
Generally, this is a high level of stylization. However, we strive for more.
But by default our handle looks like this .