Aiming for an old sword
Japanese swords are broadly divided into old swords (before the Edo period), new swords (early to late Edo period), new swords (late Edo period), and modern swords.
The appearance of the Jitetsu and the function of the hamon differ greatly in each era.
Among them, those from the Koto period, especially the Kamakura period, are highly valued, and modern swordsmiths aim to make them.
The materials used to make Japanese swords are tatara iron, but there are no records of the materials or methods of making swords from the Koto period.
With modern materials and sword-making methods, it is still difficult to recreate the old sword period.
Therefore, rather than using modern methods, we will consider theoretically and practice methods that would have been used before the Edo period.
Half-burnt charcoal is suitable for making tatara iron, rather than ordinary black charcoal.
Iron found in nature is iron oxide, and carbon monoxide is required to make reduction iron. There is no one who makes such charcoal, so I build my own charcoal oven and burn the charcoal.
Tamahagane is produced in a form that is closer to the tatara iron manufacturing that was practiced during the Koto period. Swordsmiths across the country use tamahagane made at Nichibo Tatara, but at the Yusuke Sword Forging School, we manufacture iron that takes advantage of the characteristics of iron sand from each region, aiming for the smooth texture of the old sword period. Masu.
There are only about a dozen people in Japan who make tamahagane using tatara steel.
A hammer made from tatara iron is forged to a pry bar, then boiled and pounded to knock out impurities. Make a slit on top of it, fold it over, and bring it to a boil. If you repeat this process about 15 times, the sword will become about 1/10th of its original size.