forged japanese blade

[bubba-san]

This is a small blade I forged from 1200 layer 1095 and mild steel , I guess its about 1075 approx. right now . blade is not quite 6 in but , its still nice shape . This one gets the works japanese style , habaki , shirasaya . Since its so small figured I would do something traditional . seems to have nice hada . quite a bit of polish left . will post as I complete . Bubba

[stabber]

Lookin good Bubbasan

[bubba-san]

I just etched this with some lemon juice and cleaned it up some . Its now ready for habaki . should have it started soon . will post some more pics. As I mentioned before its made from folded 1095 and mild steel , works out to about 1075 . About the same as sword steel ! about 1200 layers. the pattern looks a lot like tamehagane , (jewel steel ) . If viewed closely it resembles japanese sword steel , less the hamon. When hardened the pattern will be more visable . steel has a slanted wood grain pattern . I added some oil to make it stand out more .

[JAWilliams]

Jim that looks great. Like it!

[Shaughnessy]

Bubba that grain is really sweet looking. Kyle said you were making that for me? You shouldnt have......:p Im looking forward to seeing this one all the way to the end. Larry

[bubba-san]

Hey no problem Larry I will add that to my "to do" list :D Actually I hurt my chicken wing polishing the sword , wont be doin too much for a week or so .:(

[Denny Eller]

Looking good, James, hope to see the finished products.

[The Tourist]

This is one set of knives I truly wish to see. I love folded Japanese steel.

Keep us informed!

[Shaughnessy]

\ I hurt my chicken wing polishing the sword , wont be doin too much for a week or so .:(

Still laughing about this one :D

[bubba-san]

I would be laughing too, except my shoulder and back are messin with me . Stone polish is hard work , I keep saying I will get someone else to do it for me but, its so expensive and no machine can duplicate it . I wish I had a good apprentice . Its tough finding some young man to to learn sword polishing ! There is plenty of money in it if ,you get good at it . I guess I will be sitting around for a while . This is one hot chicken wing I wish I didnt have.

[bubba-san]

This is a blade I started some time ago . The blade is made from 500 layer damascus .The style is very old , was used as spear point on Japanese palace guards weapons. I added the handle of my design . Blade will have wrapped handle , blade also has double edge sharpened point (Kissaki) Bubba

[The Tourist]

I wish I had a good apprentice...There is plenty of money in it if ,you get good at it.

This wouldn't be a problem if you moved to Madison. Wisconsin has two companies that make full suits of armor, and my city has a real-deal polisher.

If you can stomach old 1960s liberal but graying hippies, this is the place to be...

[bubba-san]

My probem is I live in a very small community about 500 or so . Not too much need for togishi . Of course if a guy gets some polishing experience they will come to you . !!!