Spring Steel, T10 Steel And Tamahagane, What is Your Choice?
Jan 7, 2024 5:07:20 GMT
Post by treeslicer on Jan 7, 2024 5:07:20 GMT
Jan 6, 2024 5:05:25 GMT admin said:
Personally I like T10 tool steel for a blade with hamon and monotempered spring steel for a solid beater (though monotempered 1045 and 1060 can also be surprisingly springy and resilient). No real opinion on T10 or 1095 if monotemepered - but I am not a big fan of differentially hardened spring steel blades as it brings no benefit (Ryujin tried one, which looked nice enough, but had no practical advantages).As most of you already know, Tamahagane translates as 'precious steel' and I think could be compared to French Champagne/ in that calling it Tamahagane when it is made outside of Japan isn't quite right, just like a production Katana (no matter how good it may be) cannot be called a 'Nihonto'. As such, forgoing the amazing quality of modern steel to make a sword from pig iron and charging a premium for the privilege seems a little odd.. It's fair enough if the blade is made in Japan by a Japanese swordsmith as the attention to detail and personal investment of the smith in the sword is in a league of its own and has deep spiritual overtones that aren't relevant to the processes done in Longquan. But it seems a lot of collectors out there get caught up in the hype and somehow believe that a blade made from 'Tamahagane' is superior to a blade using humdrum modern steels, when the reality is more often than not you end up paying a high price for a blade that that may have many hidden flaws and weak points..
Laminated blades are a pain to make as it is a rare smith who can make a good one on their first try. Typically it takes several aborted attempts for each laminated blade that hits the shelves, which directly impacts the price and production time (our Muramasa is a bit famous for this and can end up taking longer than quoted as the smiths we use are quite pedantic about QC, as well they should be, and so lead time may vary by a few extra weeks).
Swordier seems like an interesting company, they have access to some decently made swords from what I can see so far (especially their medieval blades, which appear to be well made and very well tempered). But I think for the ticket price of nearly $4K for their Tamahagane blade, it would be possible to pick up a halfway decent Nihonto antique and doesn't represent very good value for money (especially as it could end up snapping or breaking on a bad cut due to impurities in the steel).