Ok, I have a couple questions for those of you in the know. I am looking to purchase a Katana from Ebay, and I was just wondering how one would know if it is actually made using the folding process? Is there a certain date that they stopped doing this, or is it noticable by some other feature? Thanks for your help.
[OT] Katanas (In R/L)
- Thread starter Mercury
- Start date
Here's a little history on why new swords aren't folded. Back in feudal Japan, the iron/steel available was fairly low quality metal, and high in impurities. When it was repeatedly folded/hammered, the crystallized impurities were basically forced out and broken down. While it did give some benefits in terms of durability and whatnot, it was very labor intensive for little comparative gain. Fast-forward to current times, and steel is easily purified and precise carbon content can be chosen. Basically, the folding process is obsolete.
That said, there are still damascus (this is the word for the folding process) blades made for collectors, but they are very rare and expensive. While you can get a high quality katana online for a couple hundred bucks, an authentic damascus weapon will probably cost you in the thousands of dollars. An actual antique will be in the tens of thousands. Not to discourage you, but that's a lot of money for a metal stick *grin*.
-nameless
That said, there are still damascus (this is the word for the folding process) blades made for collectors, but they are very rare and expensive. While you can get a high quality katana online for a couple hundred bucks, an authentic damascus weapon will probably cost you in the thousands of dollars. An actual antique will be in the tens of thousands. Not to discourage you, but that's a lot of money for a metal stick *grin*.
-nameless
Shadowdancer
First Post
Actually, you can get a damascus katana for $500 or less, if you know the right places on the Internet to shop.
Kamard
First Post
nameless said:
That said, you also get a stranger, more "alloyed" blade by folding than you would with straight carbon steel. If you use more than one composite for the folding, you get some awfully wonky strata that can make a folded blade a lot more interesting properties wise than a straight carbon blade.
Kamard said:
Okay, I'll concede that point. The different strata can be neat when you use different materials. Supposedly the japanese used small amounts of titanium powder in the middle of some blades too, who knows. The damascus pattern is very attractive though, and just knowing the craftsmanship that goes into a damascus blade is so involved gives it a "coolness" factor.
-nameless
Actually damascus steel is a generic term these days for just about any layered steel, by any method. Many custom knife and blade makers make their own demascus patterns for their blades. I saw one knife that had little raindeer patterns in it.
As for a true old style katana, they can be found, but are very expensive. There is a set in museum Replicas that sold for something like $650 each.
The Hammon line ( that wavy line that runs the length of the blade) is NOT a way to tell as it is very easily faked. It comes from the heating/ forging process anyway, and not from the folding process.
Hope that helps.
As for a true old style katana, they can be found, but are very expensive. There is a set in museum Replicas that sold for something like $650 each.
The Hammon line ( that wavy line that runs the length of the blade) is NOT a way to tell as it is very easily faked. It comes from the heating/ forging process anyway, and not from the folding process.
Hope that helps.
Marius Delphus
Adventurer
Ds Da Man said:
The "rediscovered" process of making the classic "patterned" Damascus steel has been making the rounds in metallurgy circles for a while now. Not being a metallurgist myself, some of the jargon is a bit obscure to me, but nevertheless:
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9809/Verhoeven-9809.html
http://www.howstuffworks.com/sword-making.htm (see "Making the Grade")
About katanas:
http://swordforum.com/forge/js-basicforging.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm
http://www.thehaca.com/essays/hype.htm
http://www.siriusweb.com/Fremlin/forum/messages/2788.html
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