Three types of steel are chosen for the blade a very low carbon steel called hocho-tetsu is used for the core of the blade ( shingane). The steel bloom, or kera, that is produced in the tatara contains steel that varies greatly in carbon content, ranging from wrought iron to pig iron. Blacksmith scene, print from an Edo period book, Museum of Ethnography of Neuchâtel. Often, there were sheath, hilt, and handguard specialists as well.įorging Forge scenes, print from a book from the Edo period (1603–1867), Museum of Ethnography of Neuchâtel. There was a smith to forge the rough shape, often a second smith (apprentice) to fold the metal, a specialist polisher, and even a specialist for the edge. As with many complex endeavors, several artists were involved. The forging of a Japanese blade typically took many days or weeks and was considered a sacred art, traditionally accompanied by a large panoply of Shinto religious rituals. Tamahagane Construction The different steps. Ĭurrently, tamahagane is only made three or four times a year by The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords and Hitachi Metals during winter in a wood building and is only sold to master swordsmiths. With the introduction of Western steelmaking technology in the Meiji period, tatara steelmaking declined and stopped for a while in the Taisho period, but in 1977 The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords restored tatara steelmaking in the Shōwa era and new tamahagane refined by tatara steelmaking became available for making Japanese swords. From the Middle Ages, as the size of furnaces became larger and the underground structure became more complicated, it became possible to produce a large amount of steel of higher quality, and in the Edo period, the underground structure, the blowing method, and the building were further improved to complete tatara steelmaking process using the same method as modern tatara steelmaking. Japanese tatara steelmaking process using ironsand started in Kibi Province in the sixth century and spread throughout Japan, using a unique Japanese low box-shaped furnace different from the Chinese and Korean styles. A single kera can typically be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, making it many times more expensive than modern steels. At the end of the process the tatara will have consumed about 10 short tons (9.1 t) of satetsu and 12 short tons (11 t) of charcoal leaving about 2.5 short tons (2.3 t) of kera, from which less than a ton of tamahagane can be produced. When complete, the tatara is broken to remove the steel bloom, known as a kera. Because the charcoal cannot exceed the melting point of iron, the steel is not able to become fully molten, and this allows both high and low carbon material to be created and separated once cooled. It takes about a week to build the tatara and complete the iron conversion to steel. Four or five people are needed to constantly work on this process. This will be layered in with more charcoal and more iron sand over the next 72 hours. At that point he will direct the addition of iron sand known as satetsu. Then the smelter will wait for the fire to reach the correct temperature. A charcoal fire is started from soft pine charcoal. After the clay tub has set, it is fired until dry. A clay vessel about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall, 3 m (10 ft) long, and 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) wide is constructed. The smelting process used is different from the modern mass production of steel. Tamahagane is produced from iron sand, a source of iron ore, and mainly used to make samurai swords, such as the katana, and some tools. The steel used in sword production is known as tamahagane ( 玉鋼:たまはがね), or "jewel steel" ( tama – ball or jewel, hagane – steel). Wakizashi and tantō were not simply scaled-down katana but were often forged without a ridge ( hira-zukuri) or other such forms which were very rare on katana. Japanese sword blades were often forged with different profiles, different blade thicknesses, and varying amounts of grind. Japanese swordsmithing is the labour-intensive bladesmithing process developed in Japan beginning in the sixth century for forging traditionally made bladed weapons ( nihonto) including katana, wakizashi, tantō, yari, naginata, nagamaki, tachi, nodachi, ōdachi, kodachi, and ya (arrow). JSTOR ( March 2011) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Japanese swordsmithing" – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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