Post by Billybob on Aug 28, 2015 1:20:43 GMT
Introduction
I purchased the Hanwei Kaeru katana because it had more traditional features than my Hanwei Raptor Nanbokucho and because I was able to get a $1000 ($1700 if you order from Hanwei) katana for ~$650 just because the lacquering on the saya was a little wavy. I have loved, studied and collected sharp things my whole life; swords have only been part of that for about a year and only a few months at the time I ordered this sword. I know how far this katana is above my skill level.
Historical overview
I am not that versed in katana blade shapes, lengths or nuances. Someone could probably identify period specific features far more accurately than myself.
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword at the same price asked of everyone else from Kult of Athena. It has a flaw in the saya which took it from $1000 to $650 and this is the only reason I purchased this sword at that time. I have no ties or affiliations to Hanwei or Kult of Athena.
Initial Impressions
I ordered the sword at 2:30 est Friday and it was at my doorstep on Monday. Lickety split thank you Kult of Athena. Their patience with me on this order was above and beyond normal customer service, I was having issues with my bank and had to call in the order several times, they were patient and glad to hear from me all 3 times. It was well packaged. The saya flaw was easy to spot but not gaudy. There were two dents on the back of the habaki and one on the spine of the blade and they are to identify this as a factory second; also easy to spot but not gaudy. The hada and hamon are easy to see and IMO aesthetically pleasing. The blade feels like it should be in motion when I am holding it.
Specifications
Nagasa 27.75"
Tsuka 11.38
POB 4.38"
Thickness. .28" - .2"
Wt. 2lbs 7oz
Chu-Kissaki.
Blade
K120C Swiss (or Swedish, I hear both) powdered steel is a nice blade material. No forging marks or course grinding marks visible. The bo-hi is at a first glance symmetrical, but not perfect, just enough to look skillfully done by hand. Nice curve to the blade, no dramatic changes in the radius. The hamon is erratic and wavy and has a cloudy border.
Time to get nerdy. This is WAY more in depth than I had intended to get, but information that is worth finding is worth sharing. I really came to appreciate this material as a viable alloy for swords after researching this information. I have no direct experience with powdered steel in swords rather some experience with the shortcomings of traditional cast and billet metals as a fabricator and machinist.
K120C is:
Carbon 1%
Silicon 0.2%
Manganese 0.3%
Phosphorus and Sulphur less than 0.03%
Metallurgical properties are more complicated than just adding and subtracting ingredients. The right or wrong molecules can make or break an alloy, balancing out traits can mean the difference between expensive junk and a refined instrument.
Manganese contributes different properties depending on whether it is in the presence of sulfur, and sulfur bonds with the manganese before it will bond with the iron. Manganese is available as manganese sulfide and it's free form. Manganese by itself increases response to heat treating and overall wear resistance. I was using a high manganese alloy steel at work and attempted to cut it in a band saw; it sheared every tooth from the blade without leaving a scratch before I could get to the emergency kill switch, but it was floppy like a long bar of 1018. That was one of the oddest steels I have ever worked with. Manganese sulfide helps to reduce weak spots at the grain borders during forging and heat treating. Physics say that the 60 HRC edge will want to do something different than the 40 HRC spine when presented with shock so this is a nice property for a differentially hardened hand forged blade. Phosphorus adds a little bit of corrosion resistance (although not it's main function) while adding brittleness, especially at the grain borders. The gain in wear resistance is considerable and it also increases the response to heat treatment. Silicon attributes the ever so important 'springiness' and strength, usually associated with spring steels. Carbon content at a very healthy 1% tells me that this blade is capable of lots of cutting before it will need to be sharpened but the cutting edge might be a little brittle at 60+ HRC (which is normally brittle, so nothing new there). All of these elements come together to create an ideal balance in toughness and strength. It is closer to 1095 than anything else I could find, same elements just a small variation in element concentrations.
All of these well thought out attributes reaching full potential is dependent on whether the blade was tempered correctly. The guys at Hanwei do this all day every day; I believe that it was. It takes years to develop the skill, technical knowledge and intuition required to heat treat high carbon steels consistently, even with modern equipment.
Now about the "powdered" aspect of the steel. Traditionally powdered steels are not forged, they are pressed in a die/mould or hydraulically in a rubber sack. This offers no strength or bonding between grains of powder, more like a snowball than a block of ice, so next it is purged with argon (this step is as varied as the application, so we'll just say purged with argon for the sake of not writing a novel) and heated into a solid piece by a process called sintering (like welding, but not); this process leaves a porous consistency similar to a casting, but that is fairly controllable (once again, as varied as the application). Forging and folding should work out any porosity as it would be highly undesirable for a sword. Why go through all the trouble of using a powdered steel while all these elements could be mixed in a ladle and poured or extruded into a billet before forging? Here are several explanations. We need to understand that there are two types of powdered steel, elementally powdered steel and alloy powdered steel. Elementally powdered, which is what the kaeru has, is pure powdered elements mixed together as powders and alloy powdered steel is an alloy that has been powdered, uniform in its makeup. Elementally powdered steel allows for precise control of metallurgical content and alloy powdered steels are faced with the same downfall of traditional production steels as far as purity goes. Obviously elementally powdered steels are more costly; made from scratch cookies vs the premixed dough from the supermarket; that is the best analogy I can think of. Since most modern steels are from recycled metal we wind up with some bad-for-a-sword elements in our sword steels like copper, aluminum, titanium and chromium. They get thrown back into the mix at recycling centers. Some elements, like sulfur, are boiled off or react with the flux when added to molten steel and adding as a pure powder in a non molten state allows for even distribution without being lost to the atmosphere or turning into the wrong molecule. We also have to look at consistency. Different elements have different densities and when molten in a ladle they will be found at different concentrations at different areas. The sales pitch is: start pure, end up pure and exceptional consistency throughout. Powdered steels (elementally more than alloy, but this does apply to both) are done at a considerable cost. I don't see anybody trying to turn a profit readily wasting effort in their production practices over a no good gimmick, but it has happened before.
It takes a good salesman to make a product successful, whether he is right or not. One could compare the powder steel process to the traditional selecting, folding and forging of mixed carbon content blooms to create tamahagane; just an alternate method to create uniformity and purity in a piece of steel. Having heat treated tool steel (limited experience, but 8 years of it none the less) I can testify that mass produced extrusions and castings of steel are inconsistent and hard or soft spots are expected and are often the result of improperly mixed alloying elements. It's normal to get a +/- 5 HRC fluctuation in hardness in most mass produced steels, even parts from the same bar treated in the same oven at the same time, right next to each other. With that in mind the folding of blooms and use of elementally powdered steels doesn't seem so nostalgic or over rated, just good old fashioned thorough.
For the record: I am not saying powdered steel is the equivalent to tamahagane. I am not suggesting it's superiority or inferiority. I am pointing out a similarity in the thoroughness of the manufacturing process and that both are, IMHO, superior to all other forms of alloys. Powdered steel is used for industrial applications around the world and has many different alloys and production methods and one of those combinations eventually came to the attention of the sword community. Tamahagane has always been for nihonto; it took many centuries to develop and a lifetime to master.
I do have access to a true old fashioned dent type Rockwell tester, but please forgive me if I do not want to leave dents all over my sword.
Tsuka
Handsome blue ito of Japanese cotton tightly wrapped around a waisted wood core. White ray skin panels, not wrapped. Koi mekuni. My basis for comparison is very limited but this is far more conducive to proper handling and alignment than an ax handle. The ax handle didn't bother me so much until I handled the kaeru. I do not need as much "muscle" in my grip which makes properly aligned cuts much easier. I really love the tsuka. I have never handled a nihonto, or any swords besides a raptor and this sword, but it is night and day for me.
Saya
Nice lacquer. Polished buffalo horn where it is supposed to be. The flaw is in the saya was fully disclosed, so obviously I am overlooking it here. The habaki fits nicely, no worries of the sword falling out.
Fittings
Frogs, ponds and lilly pads. Black iron fittings. Gold and silver accents done tastefully. Koi mekuni. Brass habaki and seppa. Iron tsuba. Please forgive me, my nomenclature isn't up to sbg forum spec.
Handling
This blade feels like it should be in motion when I am holding it. The blade moves naturally and with fluidity, even in the hands of an amateur such as myself. The feedback from the tsuka is impressive. The blade tells me about my cuts. When I executed my cuts with correct form it passed through my target as if it is not there. It is balanced more for speed that brute force. The tip doesn't feel heavy, the blade stops as soon as I tell it to, and it has enough umph to pass through my targets very easily. Still haven't cut mats, but soaked rolled up newspaper is as "heavy" as I have cut and it, along with proper alignment, flies through no problem. I am hoping that I can catch up to the skill that this sword can channel.
Conclusion
The frog theme is understated in contrast to dragons, samurais and tigers; what it lacks in flashy business it makes up with subtle elegance. I like the gold and silver accents, tastefully done. The hada is very nice and the hamon is visible and attractive. I like the metallurgical makeup of this blade, the more I researched K120C the more I liked it. If I understand it correctly this sword might not be the thing to cut aged bamboo with or to hand a newbie but it should fly through soft targets like they are not there for a long time before its' edge will need touching up.
Pro's
Metallurgically pleasing
Nice hada and hamon
Nimble is the word that comes to mind
Pretty, don't forget pretty. Very pretty.
Cons
I won't cut very much with it yet. It's too nice for a newb to be playing with.
Frogs may not be your thing, I doubt they are anybody's thing.
End of the day
Nice sword. I felt like I got a lot of sword for my buck. I am sure that most of the people who trade/sell swords regularly see blades of similar or higher quality at this price or lower. I do not know enough to trade swords and come out ahead. This was the best option to get a good deal on a nice sword. The imperfection of the saya was well worth the $350 it saved me.
Pics to follow.
I purchased the Hanwei Kaeru katana because it had more traditional features than my Hanwei Raptor Nanbokucho and because I was able to get a $1000 ($1700 if you order from Hanwei) katana for ~$650 just because the lacquering on the saya was a little wavy. I have loved, studied and collected sharp things my whole life; swords have only been part of that for about a year and only a few months at the time I ordered this sword. I know how far this katana is above my skill level.
Historical overview
I am not that versed in katana blade shapes, lengths or nuances. Someone could probably identify period specific features far more accurately than myself.
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword at the same price asked of everyone else from Kult of Athena. It has a flaw in the saya which took it from $1000 to $650 and this is the only reason I purchased this sword at that time. I have no ties or affiliations to Hanwei or Kult of Athena.
Initial Impressions
I ordered the sword at 2:30 est Friday and it was at my doorstep on Monday. Lickety split thank you Kult of Athena. Their patience with me on this order was above and beyond normal customer service, I was having issues with my bank and had to call in the order several times, they were patient and glad to hear from me all 3 times. It was well packaged. The saya flaw was easy to spot but not gaudy. There were two dents on the back of the habaki and one on the spine of the blade and they are to identify this as a factory second; also easy to spot but not gaudy. The hada and hamon are easy to see and IMO aesthetically pleasing. The blade feels like it should be in motion when I am holding it.
Specifications
Nagasa 27.75"
Tsuka 11.38
POB 4.38"
Thickness. .28" - .2"
Wt. 2lbs 7oz
Chu-Kissaki.
Blade
K120C Swiss (or Swedish, I hear both) powdered steel is a nice blade material. No forging marks or course grinding marks visible. The bo-hi is at a first glance symmetrical, but not perfect, just enough to look skillfully done by hand. Nice curve to the blade, no dramatic changes in the radius. The hamon is erratic and wavy and has a cloudy border.
Time to get nerdy. This is WAY more in depth than I had intended to get, but information that is worth finding is worth sharing. I really came to appreciate this material as a viable alloy for swords after researching this information. I have no direct experience with powdered steel in swords rather some experience with the shortcomings of traditional cast and billet metals as a fabricator and machinist.
K120C is:
Carbon 1%
Silicon 0.2%
Manganese 0.3%
Phosphorus and Sulphur less than 0.03%
Metallurgical properties are more complicated than just adding and subtracting ingredients. The right or wrong molecules can make or break an alloy, balancing out traits can mean the difference between expensive junk and a refined instrument.
Manganese contributes different properties depending on whether it is in the presence of sulfur, and sulfur bonds with the manganese before it will bond with the iron. Manganese is available as manganese sulfide and it's free form. Manganese by itself increases response to heat treating and overall wear resistance. I was using a high manganese alloy steel at work and attempted to cut it in a band saw; it sheared every tooth from the blade without leaving a scratch before I could get to the emergency kill switch, but it was floppy like a long bar of 1018. That was one of the oddest steels I have ever worked with. Manganese sulfide helps to reduce weak spots at the grain borders during forging and heat treating. Physics say that the 60 HRC edge will want to do something different than the 40 HRC spine when presented with shock so this is a nice property for a differentially hardened hand forged blade. Phosphorus adds a little bit of corrosion resistance (although not it's main function) while adding brittleness, especially at the grain borders. The gain in wear resistance is considerable and it also increases the response to heat treatment. Silicon attributes the ever so important 'springiness' and strength, usually associated with spring steels. Carbon content at a very healthy 1% tells me that this blade is capable of lots of cutting before it will need to be sharpened but the cutting edge might be a little brittle at 60+ HRC (which is normally brittle, so nothing new there). All of these elements come together to create an ideal balance in toughness and strength. It is closer to 1095 than anything else I could find, same elements just a small variation in element concentrations.
All of these well thought out attributes reaching full potential is dependent on whether the blade was tempered correctly. The guys at Hanwei do this all day every day; I believe that it was. It takes years to develop the skill, technical knowledge and intuition required to heat treat high carbon steels consistently, even with modern equipment.
Now about the "powdered" aspect of the steel. Traditionally powdered steels are not forged, they are pressed in a die/mould or hydraulically in a rubber sack. This offers no strength or bonding between grains of powder, more like a snowball than a block of ice, so next it is purged with argon (this step is as varied as the application, so we'll just say purged with argon for the sake of not writing a novel) and heated into a solid piece by a process called sintering (like welding, but not); this process leaves a porous consistency similar to a casting, but that is fairly controllable (once again, as varied as the application). Forging and folding should work out any porosity as it would be highly undesirable for a sword. Why go through all the trouble of using a powdered steel while all these elements could be mixed in a ladle and poured or extruded into a billet before forging? Here are several explanations. We need to understand that there are two types of powdered steel, elementally powdered steel and alloy powdered steel. Elementally powdered, which is what the kaeru has, is pure powdered elements mixed together as powders and alloy powdered steel is an alloy that has been powdered, uniform in its makeup. Elementally powdered steel allows for precise control of metallurgical content and alloy powdered steels are faced with the same downfall of traditional production steels as far as purity goes. Obviously elementally powdered steels are more costly; made from scratch cookies vs the premixed dough from the supermarket; that is the best analogy I can think of. Since most modern steels are from recycled metal we wind up with some bad-for-a-sword elements in our sword steels like copper, aluminum, titanium and chromium. They get thrown back into the mix at recycling centers. Some elements, like sulfur, are boiled off or react with the flux when added to molten steel and adding as a pure powder in a non molten state allows for even distribution without being lost to the atmosphere or turning into the wrong molecule. We also have to look at consistency. Different elements have different densities and when molten in a ladle they will be found at different concentrations at different areas. The sales pitch is: start pure, end up pure and exceptional consistency throughout. Powdered steels (elementally more than alloy, but this does apply to both) are done at a considerable cost. I don't see anybody trying to turn a profit readily wasting effort in their production practices over a no good gimmick, but it has happened before.
It takes a good salesman to make a product successful, whether he is right or not. One could compare the powder steel process to the traditional selecting, folding and forging of mixed carbon content blooms to create tamahagane; just an alternate method to create uniformity and purity in a piece of steel. Having heat treated tool steel (limited experience, but 8 years of it none the less) I can testify that mass produced extrusions and castings of steel are inconsistent and hard or soft spots are expected and are often the result of improperly mixed alloying elements. It's normal to get a +/- 5 HRC fluctuation in hardness in most mass produced steels, even parts from the same bar treated in the same oven at the same time, right next to each other. With that in mind the folding of blooms and use of elementally powdered steels doesn't seem so nostalgic or over rated, just good old fashioned thorough.
For the record: I am not saying powdered steel is the equivalent to tamahagane. I am not suggesting it's superiority or inferiority. I am pointing out a similarity in the thoroughness of the manufacturing process and that both are, IMHO, superior to all other forms of alloys. Powdered steel is used for industrial applications around the world and has many different alloys and production methods and one of those combinations eventually came to the attention of the sword community. Tamahagane has always been for nihonto; it took many centuries to develop and a lifetime to master.
I do have access to a true old fashioned dent type Rockwell tester, but please forgive me if I do not want to leave dents all over my sword.
Tsuka
Handsome blue ito of Japanese cotton tightly wrapped around a waisted wood core. White ray skin panels, not wrapped. Koi mekuni. My basis for comparison is very limited but this is far more conducive to proper handling and alignment than an ax handle. The ax handle didn't bother me so much until I handled the kaeru. I do not need as much "muscle" in my grip which makes properly aligned cuts much easier. I really love the tsuka. I have never handled a nihonto, or any swords besides a raptor and this sword, but it is night and day for me.
Saya
Nice lacquer. Polished buffalo horn where it is supposed to be. The flaw is in the saya was fully disclosed, so obviously I am overlooking it here. The habaki fits nicely, no worries of the sword falling out.
Fittings
Frogs, ponds and lilly pads. Black iron fittings. Gold and silver accents done tastefully. Koi mekuni. Brass habaki and seppa. Iron tsuba. Please forgive me, my nomenclature isn't up to sbg forum spec.
Handling
This blade feels like it should be in motion when I am holding it. The blade moves naturally and with fluidity, even in the hands of an amateur such as myself. The feedback from the tsuka is impressive. The blade tells me about my cuts. When I executed my cuts with correct form it passed through my target as if it is not there. It is balanced more for speed that brute force. The tip doesn't feel heavy, the blade stops as soon as I tell it to, and it has enough umph to pass through my targets very easily. Still haven't cut mats, but soaked rolled up newspaper is as "heavy" as I have cut and it, along with proper alignment, flies through no problem. I am hoping that I can catch up to the skill that this sword can channel.
Conclusion
The frog theme is understated in contrast to dragons, samurais and tigers; what it lacks in flashy business it makes up with subtle elegance. I like the gold and silver accents, tastefully done. The hada is very nice and the hamon is visible and attractive. I like the metallurgical makeup of this blade, the more I researched K120C the more I liked it. If I understand it correctly this sword might not be the thing to cut aged bamboo with or to hand a newbie but it should fly through soft targets like they are not there for a long time before its' edge will need touching up.
Pro's
Metallurgically pleasing
Nice hada and hamon
Nimble is the word that comes to mind
Pretty, don't forget pretty. Very pretty.
Cons
I won't cut very much with it yet. It's too nice for a newb to be playing with.
Frogs may not be your thing, I doubt they are anybody's thing.
End of the day
Nice sword. I felt like I got a lot of sword for my buck. I am sure that most of the people who trade/sell swords regularly see blades of similar or higher quality at this price or lower. I do not know enough to trade swords and come out ahead. This was the best option to get a good deal on a nice sword. The imperfection of the saya was well worth the $350 it saved me.
Pics to follow.