Hand Forging Process
How a Samurai Sword is Hand forged (in western terms)
The samurai sword is a beautiful weapon that was always considered to be the soul of the samurai. This is why lots of love and care was used in creating these swords, which were flexible enough for use in battle, but hard enough to be considered sharp. Though it is difficult to create ancient weapons, it is possible to do it if you are ready to take the challenge of forging a samurai sword.
Basically, the samurai sword is made using two different types of steel where the inner core is made from soft and low carbon steel called shingane and its outer core, from kawagane which is steel made from a higher carbon allotrope and is stronger in structure.
However when you hand forge your samurai sword, you have to use satetsu, which is a special black sand, as your source of steel. The impurities in the iron found in the sand have to be removed by smelting it, after which charcoal has to be added to the smelting process to turn the carbon to steel.
Repeatedly hammer the brick
The end product here is tamahagane, which is used for making samurai sword blades. You can change the strength of the steel you wish to use for the sword by changing the amount of carbon you use while smelting.
The charcoal has to be burnt in a special furnace, where the heat and airflow in them is increased using a special furnace. The shingane of the samurai sword has to be made first by heating a brick sized piece of tamahagane in the forge till it goes soft.
This brick then has to be hammered till it elongates and then folded over, heated and hammered once again. This process has to be repeated ten times till all its impurities have been removed and then, the shingane has to be set aside.
Creating the outer part of the sword
The next step lies in creating the kawagane, which is the outside of the sword. This has to be done by once again heating a metal brick, pounding it to reach an elongated shape and has to be folded. This process has to be repeated about three thousand to get the kawagane for your forged sword.
The final hammering of the kawagane or outer steel of the sword has to be done such that it is large enough to wrap around the inner core, and still have an excess in the end. This done, you have to define the shape of the sword, and then heat the steel combination till they both melt together.
Check for debris
It is very important that while combining the inner and outer cores, you ensure that there are no bits of debris found in between the two metals. If there is any debris, there is a chance of the creation of air bubbles, and a possible weakening of the blade.
This combination then has to be heated and hammered till the sword reaches the desired length. While hammering the sword, make sure that you get a slight curve to the sword. This done, you have to paint the sword blade with a clay and charcoal mixture.
While painting, make sure its painted heavy on its dull top edge, and lightly on its sharp bottom edge. This done, it has to be heated once more and then thrust into water to bend the sword a bit more.
Make the sword look attractive
Now that the sword has been forged, the next step lies in polishing its blade. This is best done using polishing stones. The blade then has to be fitted with a guard iron and then a carpenter has to be hired to fit a lacquered wooden scabbard to the blade. To make the samurai sword look more attractive, you can decorate the scabbard using leather, gold or precious stones.
You now have a hand forged samurai sword that you can be proud of. When and if you are hand forging a samurai sword, you have to always make it a point to pray for divine guidance if you are making it for a samurai.
The samurai sword is a beautiful weapon that was always considered to be the soul of the samurai. This is why lots of love and care was used in creating these swords, which were flexible enough for use in battle, but hard enough to be considered sharp. Though it is difficult to create ancient weapons, it is possible to do it if you are ready to take the challenge of forging a samurai sword.
Basically, the samurai sword is made using two different types of steel where the inner core is made from soft and low carbon steel called shingane and its outer core, from kawagane which is steel made from a higher carbon allotrope and is stronger in structure.
However when you hand forge your samurai sword, you have to use satetsu, which is a special black sand, as your source of steel. The impurities in the iron found in the sand have to be removed by smelting it, after which charcoal has to be added to the smelting process to turn the carbon to steel.
Repeatedly hammer the brick
The end product here is tamahagane, which is used for making samurai sword blades. You can change the strength of the steel you wish to use for the sword by changing the amount of carbon you use while smelting.
The charcoal has to be burnt in a special furnace, where the heat and airflow in them is increased using a special furnace. The shingane of the samurai sword has to be made first by heating a brick sized piece of tamahagane in the forge till it goes soft.
This brick then has to be hammered till it elongates and then folded over, heated and hammered once again. This process has to be repeated ten times till all its impurities have been removed and then, the shingane has to be set aside.
Creating the outer part of the sword
The next step lies in creating the kawagane, which is the outside of the sword. This has to be done by once again heating a metal brick, pounding it to reach an elongated shape and has to be folded. This process has to be repeated about three thousand to get the kawagane for your forged sword.
The final hammering of the kawagane or outer steel of the sword has to be done such that it is large enough to wrap around the inner core, and still have an excess in the end. This done, you have to define the shape of the sword, and then heat the steel combination till they both melt together.
Check for debris
It is very important that while combining the inner and outer cores, you ensure that there are no bits of debris found in between the two metals. If there is any debris, there is a chance of the creation of air bubbles, and a possible weakening of the blade.
This combination then has to be heated and hammered till the sword reaches the desired length. While hammering the sword, make sure that you get a slight curve to the sword. This done, you have to paint the sword blade with a clay and charcoal mixture.
While painting, make sure its painted heavy on its dull top edge, and lightly on its sharp bottom edge. This done, it has to be heated once more and then thrust into water to bend the sword a bit more.
Make the sword look attractive
Now that the sword has been forged, the next step lies in polishing its blade. This is best done using polishing stones. The blade then has to be fitted with a guard iron and then a carpenter has to be hired to fit a lacquered wooden scabbard to the blade. To make the samurai sword look more attractive, you can decorate the scabbard using leather, gold or precious stones.
You now have a hand forged samurai sword that you can be proud of. When and if you are hand forging a samurai sword, you have to always make it a point to pray for divine guidance if you are making it for a samurai.
