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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2010 20:13:02 GMT
This is an excellent thread. Thanks Sam, Osborne and all of you. Might I ask something: Did the japanese smiths of old Japan sticked to DH due to the impurity on their source of steel (that´s what I´ve been reading as the sole reason) or had them any sort of intent to creat an unique "identity" to the samurai swords (that´s me guessing a litlle...)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2010 14:50:15 GMT
Great thread, very enlightening.
Being a n00b with few preconceptions, I look to a properly made TH blade with as much joy as a DH blade.
You ppl rawk. Carry on.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2010 16:03:06 GMT
FWIW, if this thread is being stickied to educate us noobs, then I'd suggest editing the title of the thread to "Through Hardened vs. Differentially Hardened Blades". I truly had no clue what those abbreviations meant until half-way thru the 2nd page when thepepperskull used the terms in his post. EDIT: On behalf of all us noobs, thanks for the rename!
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2010 5:58:10 GMT
Forgive me for bringing this back up, but I don't feel like this particular question was directly addressed: In terms of modern blademsithing, is there any advantage in having a differentially-hardened blade? Asthetics aside.
I vaguely remember reading an article or post from one of the experts, about 11 years ago at swordforum.com (before it was sword forum international), that suggested there was a point to differential hardening.
The impression I came away with when I read that bit was that the harder edge holds a sharper edge for longer while the softer backing acts as a shock absorber. An entire blade made as hard as the edge of a katana would crack or shatter in use. The softer steel on the back of a katana's blade keeps the edge from shattering in use.
So, did I misunderstand the article, has understanding of this concept changed since then, or is it something else I'm missing?
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Post by Dan Davis on May 11, 2010 14:35:21 GMT
It is not so much that there is or is not an advantage to differential hardening as opposed to through-hardening as it is that the answer varies depending upon the geometry of the blade, the performance aspects most critical to the design, and the intended purpose.
I tend to shy away from generalizations such as the one you quoted, as generalizations are GENERALLY true but almost always SPECIFICALLY wrong.
This is not something that lends itself to a discussion thread either; it takes years of training and research.
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