Comments on: Bladesmithing: Forging Damascus Steel Knives

By: Purashido

Purashido — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:16:01 +0000

A question, what sublte differences exist between the use of gas as a heat source and the effects of hot metal punctuated in coal?

By: Jamie

Jamie — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:38:40 +0000

The video was excellent, thanks for posting it with your post, its going to help a lot with some forging projects coming up. Thanks!!

By: Ronald

Ronald — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:26:31 +0000

My best friends great great grandpa used to do TONS of forging in Finland (mostly tableware). He made the most incredible “damascus” (not steel) artwork I’ve ever seen. Rather than have the art die they openly share his journal with family friends (if you happen to be lucky enough to read Finnish like me lol). He would forge his working billets from braided copper and aluminum wire (and even a few semi precious metal pieces that were commissioned) he worked into a solid sheet. It has a great sort of damascus effect that really reminds me of storm clouds. He used white vinegar to get his etching effect.

By: Sharon Riggan

Sharon Riggan — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:36:17 +0000

I need to know how to even start putting and edge on a new Damascus Steel knife.

By: Narrative Disorder... in Japan! » Tip! Buying cooking knives in Japan

Narrative Disorder... in Japan! » Tip! Buying cooking knives in Japan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:52:43 +0000

[...] from my web research lol). There is a great post on the forging style on a bladesmith’s blog, here. I can only imagine that either they have found a way to make it more commercially viable or the [...]

By: John P.

John P. — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:20:06 +0000

Charcoal doesn’t burn hot enough for forging. Bladesmiths rely on coal, or gas.

John

By: eric fowler

eric fowler — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:08:31 +0000

is his fuel coal or charcoal

By: Murakoso

Murakoso — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:16:22 +0000

This kinds of steel is all of high carbon type.
But carbon fiber reinforcement will be limited in the field of aero-space vehicles.

By: Murakumo

Murakumo — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:30:02 +0000

Famous Kusanagi sword is also related to Izumo Yasugi steel.
Yasugi steel is made by Hitachi Metals.
Another name is YSS.Sharpness made from this steel is famous worldwide.Razor blade of Gillette ,Schick is also made from this steel.

By: Rusty Priske

Rusty Priske — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:46:18 +0000

The sword works of the earliest sword smith Yasutsuna was located near by Yasugi.I went to this place by my motor cycle in Japan.In this area,I felt somthing that deep history of steel sword making exists still now.

By: Nordick

Nordick — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:31:17 +0000

I remember the book The chrysanthemum and sword written by Ruth Fulton Benedict.She is the most famous cultural anthropologist of Japan under the WWII.Did she know Yasugi? Pherpaps,she didn’t know this place because it was the secret still now.

By: Mick

Mick — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:43:54 +0000

In addition,the appreciation of Japanese sword was developed from strength inspection of non-destruction.It is big defference compared to Damascus sword. And wavy pattern on sword surface is made not only by forging but also by quenching.
And also beautful wave pattern is controlled by raw material”Tamahagane”.So tamahagane is made by ancient steel making “tatara” which high-tech steel maker Hitachi Metals deal with.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:58:36 +0000

I hear that state of remarkable sharp edge is achieved on cutlery made from yasugi(Hitachi) steel.Anyway history of tatara steel making method is remarkably deep.
In the oldest japanese myth litarure “Kojiki”,it was written as a imperial treasure sword that was gotten by the god Susanoo.It is thought that japanese myth is still alive with the last emperor “Tenno” in the world.

By: John P.

John P. — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:49:19 +0000

That is true. This is a very good point. Today we “manufacture” Damascus by using two or more very pure types of steel. We use a precisely temperature controlled forge, we understand the atomic structure and metallurgy of the materials, and everything is controlled for.

In the past, those guys were digging raw materials out of the ground and learning from trial and error. They probably didn’t even think much about the appearance of the steel. In fact, they would have been more impressed by our extremely clean looking steel which has no impurities in it.

John

By: J-Pet

J-Pet — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:06:32 +0000

I think it should be pointed out that pattern-welded steels and Damascus steels are significantly different, and that they are often confused due to appearance. Many older blacksmiths found that Damascus steels had markings like they were pattern-welded, and so called their pattern-welded steels Damascus steel. However, true Damascus steel was not formed via pattern welding but by crystal propagation of iron carbides within the metals caused by very specific impurities.

By: Nics

Nics — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:20:22 +0000

The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
The Best 10 New Products
Nippon Brand Prize Next-Generation Cold-working Die Steel, SLD-MAGICÂ® Jan. 2007

ã€€Iã€€got this steel and made some kinds of blade.It is good machinablity compered to AISI D2.and also higher toughness and hardness than D2.
It is my favorite one now.

By: Aiba

Aiba — Sun, 25 May 2008 00:32:35 +0000

The movie was seen after a long time recentry.
The latter overwhelms this movie “Last Samurai” with the samurai at the beginning of the Meiji era by the fight with military forces of the West type. The modernization of our country and the spirit of Japan are content something being thought.

This time was miraculously the period of the big revolution that the age of of the traditional steel manufacture method “tatara” that supplied the material of arms “Japan Steel” changed places into the modern steel manufacture method with high manufacturing efficiency.

The history of the iron manufacturing company in Japan is first Unpaku steel company in 1899. (Present Hitachi Metals,Ltd Yasugi Works),and second government-owned Yahata steel in 1901(Present Nippon Steel)established.The history of modern steel manufacture of Japan is about more than 100 years if the establishment of the latter is ths start point of modern steel manufacturing.

The operation of Nittoho tatara revived in 1977 was done in the Yokota-cho of Ocizmo in January. It is hear that about ten tons iron sand and same quantity charcoals are burnt three days and night, Ingot iron of 2.5 ton are obtained.And about 30 percent of this is roughly divided into Japanese sword smiths of the whole Japan with Tamahagane as a material of the sword.
In Izumo shimane, the exhibition related to the steel manufacture is in each place. Historical Museum etc. of the iron of of the Japan steel(Wakou) museum in Yasugi-shi,Tatara and swords museum in Oku-Izumo-cho, History of Japan iron Museum, and the route of the inquiry of the history of iron.

As for Izumo, the traditional steel manufacture method has been firmly succeeded with the steel making process in a modern factory though it is an age when people very often pay attention to the new one, and a past thing is deserted.
Because there are material etc. by our company, I will recommend the thing that it is referred, and Izumo of iron and the steel of Japan at the reason hometown is visited by all means.

By: tatara

tatara — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:41:13 +0000

ATS3‚S steel is made by hitachi metals.
Hitachi Metals is also only a maker that makes raw steel of samurai sword.However Hitachi is a high-tech steel maker,the method of making steel is ancient way in the only case of making raw steel of sword.

By: Bilal Ahmed

Bilal Ahmed — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:17:53 +0000

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By: aequitas

aequitas — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:56:46 +0000

hey,
i have a question, and im fairly new in this field so its probably pretty basic. what is the usual method, in terms of grinding, for taking the finished billet and making the knife come out of it. so far we’ve only been using an angle grinder, with either normal grinding discs or the sand papery kind, and that sort of works but its hard to keep the same angle and it also takes away a lot of material frighteningly fast.

I’ve seen them use a type on which you grind material off on a running band of sand paper, but the difference i suppose is that you are holding the knife and not the tool…

aequitas