About the Course
This course is intended for experienced students who either taken our Basic Forging Course already, or otherwise have had equivalent first-hand blade-smithing experience.
For the 2023 session of this class, we will be forging the sword blades from the tamahagane-type steel made the weekend before the class during our Oroshigane (Steel-making) Seminar from electrolytic-sponge-iron (dekai-tetsu in Japanese).
Students will then hand forge a blade of a least tanto length from the folded steel. The blade will then be shaped with grinders and files, and prepared for heat-treatment. Hopefully, after a successful yaki-ire (heat-treatment), we will continue to refine and sharpen the blades, as time allows.
Tanto, having the greatest variety of different styles of blade shape will be the focus of the class. Students will forge a blade of shobu-zukuri, hira-zukuri, osuraku-zukuri, moroha-zukuri, or of another shape and are encouraged to explore a geometry besides the typical shinogi-zukuri.
All tools, fuel, and material included.
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