hamon question ?

can some one point me to were to see & read how to bring out a hamon how to polish make it visible

Hey Grave, Search on the word "Wallace" and you will find two very long and informative threads on Hamons.

Wallace

Hamons don't like heat. Hamon's don't like to be buffed, Hamons like steel to be polished to at least 800 grit. Hamon's like "short" dips in feric Chloride followed by polishing with Flitz or Simachrome. Hamons can be made using several different materials. W2 and 1095 are two of the best hamon producing steels. These two blades are W2 steel done using PBC anti scale compound from Brownell's.

wmhammond
the word "Wallace" am i looking for a post a google post

Here is one method: http://ryanwknives.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-personal-hamon-process.html I like to ue vinegar myself, and sometimes lemon juice as opposed to Ferric Chloride. Also like Fred said, Flitz works very well.

Also, "loose abrasives" work great to really help bring out the subtleties, like the "ashi" for example in a hamon. Just as Ryan does, I also use 1500 grit silicon carbide powder mixed in with some 3 in 1 oil. You can buy it off of ebay for not that much money, and you get a good size bag that can last a lifetime.. unless of course you are polishing a hamon every single day Others also work well, you'll just have ta do some more researching if you are interested, but iron oxide powder works great too.


Make sure to post some pics! :biggrin:

Here is a how-to with pictures and descriptions. A follow along so to speak. Hope it helps you out.

http://imageevent.com/paleoaleo/hamonbladetutorial

DeMo

Grave search on this site "Wallace". They are both my threads and I wore everybody out asking questions on Hamons.

Wallace

The best way to bring out Hamon is use small fingerstones that are very alkaline . They actually etch the blade steel, without removing too much material . A hamon or part of hardened edge is merely a surface feature that can be
sanded out . The less the steel is alloyed the better the hamon. The previous poster is correct Hamon does not like heat . Too much much heat will destroy hamon . As little as 300 F will make it toast.

The Japanese who pretty much invented it , don't use long tempers , it is all done by flash temper . bring blade up to 300 f and that's it! Pic of hamon that was flash tempered once .Counter polish is another way to bring out Hamon.

Bubba-san , I was wondering If you could elaborate a little more on flash tempering. I love hamon's and am always looking to improve on my out come.