Japanese Sword Forging

What would you like to ask to Pierre ?

Through a couple of friends, I was able to get in touch with Pierre and was very , very excited about that. To keep things very short, Pierre is a “Western guy” who traveled for the first time to Japan in 2002 and was amazed by the fact that there were still real traditional swordsmiths living and working in Japan.

The very idea of working alone, at peace, retired in a workshop set in the countryside, nearby a fire, with steel only for raw material, doing a work that never ceases to bring renewal and wonder, delighted him very much and In December 2005 he decided to chase his dreams and took of to Japan to start his Smith apprenticeship.

Now, anno 2009, he is still living and studying there and his aim is to become a licensed (westerner) swordsmith in Japan.
To quote Pierre :

“I’m at this point where I have touched everything, tried every technique but haven’t mastered anything! It’s very challenging and stimulating at the same time.”

I’m not sure about you but I’m very curious in such a way of living and Pierre is willing to accept questions and doing an interview..so…
Wondering how it is to chase an living your dream, this is your chance !!

Put your questions (regarding Japanese Swords) in the comment box below, or in the box on the right side of  this video and we make sure they got included in the interview. If there’s enough interest, we might plan to do some other things as well

So what would you like to ask to PIERRE ?

Tamahagane, the original steel used by the Japanese swordsmiths

Steel is iron that contains carbon, so the more carbon a steel has , the harder it is. Most of the Japanese sword smiths are working with the traditional steel that is better known as tamahagane. In Japan there’s only 1 official smelter left. This Japanese style smelter is called a tatara. The tatara relies on the propensity of very hot iron to combine with carbon in its vicinity to produce steel.

In the tatara, it is the burning charcoal that supplies the carbon. These typical Japanese smelter is made of clay, about 5 feet wide, 48 inches tall and 15 feet long, where it’s walls are 10 inches thick.

One operating cycle of the tatara takes 5 days. One day to build the walls (clay and sand), 3 day’s to smelt and 1 day to remove the iron out of the tatara. In this 5 days process , they need about 13 tons of charcoal and 8 tons of satetsu (black sand) to produce 2 tons of iron and steel, which is called Kera. Read more

Hardening process of a japanese sword – part 2

When the clay coating process is done, the blade is heated again until it reach it’s critical temperature, which depends on the kind of steel that is used but will have an average of 750 – 800°C.

Once the blade reached the 750-800°C, the structure of steel changes to austenite. Now, when the blade is quickly cooled by quenching (in water), austenite changes to martensite, the hardest type of steel. However, because of the clay application, the blade will cool more slowly where the clay is thick (on the back of the blade), turning not into martensite but instead forming ferrite and pearlite, which are softer and more flexible. Read more

Hardening process of a sword – part 1

Lately I was involved in a discussion about the hardening process of a Japanese sword and I did found it very inspiring to write a small piece about that just to give you a better understanding of that part of the forging process.

The hardening process of the blade is in one of the most important and perhaps the most difficult part of the  sword making process. It is the correct hardening of the Japanese sword that gives the blade its ability to take and retain an amazing sharpness.

After the blade is forged and finished to it’s final (raw) shape, the differential hardening process can begin. Read more