A friend needs a Katana made - maker suggestions?

Rick Baum

Rick Baum

Joined
Mar 14, 2000
Messages
509
Hey all,

As the title implies I need some suggestions for a katana maker. My buddie is looking for a Katana made in the traditional way that could possibly be used in cutting competition. By traditional I mean folded/layered steel. I know that the definition of traditional is much deeper than that but for the sake of simplicity I'll leave it at that. From what I can find on the net, there are a few of these makers out there but they are booked up for years. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!
Rick
 
Rick Baum said:
Hey all,

As the title implies I need some suggestions for a katana maker. My buddie is looking for a Katana made in the traditional way that could possibly be used in cutting competition. By traditional I mean folded/layered steel. I know that the definition of traditional is much deeper than that but for the sake of simplicity I'll leave it at that. From what I can find on the net, there are a few of these makers out there but they are booked up for years. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!
Rick
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Howard Clark, Michael Bell, Rick Barrett, Scott Slobodian and I'm sure there are a few more out there that I'm missing. The question you really need to be asking yourself, is if they are NOT booked up for years... why not?
 
The most traditional you can get is from Paul Champagne. He makes his own tamahagane.
 
Triton said:
Howard Clark, Michael Bell, Rick Barrett, Scott Slobodian and I'm sure there are a few more out there that I'm missing. The question you really need to be asking yourself, is if they are NOT booked up for years... why not?
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Could be they aren't booked up because they aren't well known, or they are constricted to weak markets, or maybe they are really very fast at building blades! Banite single edge blades only take a few hours to shape and heat treatment including cryo takes only a few days for a batch. A field grade finish goes on in another couple hours...wait a minute, do big name makers use field grade? Ahhh...
 
wnease said:
Could be they aren't booked up because they aren't well known, or they are constricted to weak markets, or maybe they are really very fast at building blades! Banite single edge blades only take a few hours to shape and heat treatment including cryo takes only a few days for a batch. A field grade finish goes on in another couple hours...wait a minute, do big name makers use field grade? Ahhh...
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I suppose it's possible that some really first rate up and coming talent is a complete unknown and you can get on his list early on and not have a significant wait. Having said that if he's truly a first rate talent then he will not remain an unknown long and his waiting list will lengthen rather quickly. There is a mere handful of artisans capable of producing truly great Japanese style swords and there are thousands of customers. The math after that is pretty much inexorable.
 
Well yes I agree that there are not as many "great" swordmakers as there are great sword wanters...but a great cutting sword is not time consuming or difficult to build.
 
beluga said:
The most traditional you can get is from Paul Champagne. He makes his own tamahagane.
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Paul, while a MOST excellent smith, is NOT the only smith in the US who makes his own tamahagane, there are actually QUITE a few.
 
Sam Salvati said:
Paul, while a MOST excellent smith, is NOT the only smith in the US who makes his own tamahagane, there are actually QUITE a few.
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Paul does smelt from iron bearing sand and does produce large blooms but not in a tatara, hence not tamahagane. It is a specific process with specific methodology and set up.

I'd actually like to see a list of American smiths that are approaching the methodology in a traditional Japanese manner. I don't hang around Anvil Fire, so I don't have the latest but it seems to me it's being done rather infrequently and often by groups at hammer ins when it is being done. Videos I have seen of the Japanese process for making sword material involves more than a few people, hence my wondering how many American smiths are actually undertaking any real tatara smelts on an independant level.

Cheers

GC
 
Sam Salvati said:
HAHAHA Anvilfire? yeah you'll find MOST recent discussions of swordsmiths over there hehe.
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No offense meant Sam but you are skirting the issue and basically ignoring your distribution of incorrect attributions. This doesn't really clarify the situation for those that might be interested and actually compounds the general issue of bad information being circulated.

Do you have a list of those in America even approaching a Japanese tatara methodology for smelting? Off the top of my head it seems a pretty limited effort. Jesus Hernandez comes to mind. Maybe you'd care to share specific reference to explain your previous post.

Paul, while a MOST excellent smith, is NOT the only smith in the US who makes his own tamahagane, there are actually QUITE a few.
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I generally try not to qualify what I am unable to back up.

Cheers

GC
 
For someone who rushes to be so volatile, why bother, you are obviously the authority on the subject so why not enlighten us? No wonder no one ever posts in here.
 
Sam Salvati said:
For someone who rushes to be so volatile, why bother, you are obviously the authority on the subject so why not enlighten us? No wonder no one ever posts in here.
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No Sam, I am no authority but asked for your list of Americans that are producing tamahagane and pointed out that Paul Champagne does not produce it. He does crank out some large blooms from his methodology. Surely if you could point to other information countering that, it would have been in your interest (and of note to me). Asked twice, it would appear you would rather avoid the topic entirely now. If you had some names, it seems they would be quite easily mentioned in addition to one line comentary that adds little (other than misinformation) to many threads you bless.

Cheers

GC
 
Ahh I thought so, here's my list:

Walter Sorrells, Rick Barrett of course, Jesus Hernandez as you said, Dr Mike Blue, Jeff Pringle, Chris Price, Louis Mills, Michael McCarthy also I think has done some tatara style work, not to mention the bunch who are not on the internet, many smiths doing so who care to stay away from the forums and they're drama and are therefore not well known to the public. I'd have more to add, as I only took 10 minutes to look up what I did, or if need be just post on a more frequented sword forum asking the same. It also depends on if you define Tamahagane as anally close to the japanese ritualistic production, or to smelting steel from iron bearing sand, producing sponge iron or letting the steel actually go molten. But Glen, I have to ask why the hostility? And please point out some of the misinfo so I can correct it, as I have often done in the past, as I am by no means an expert on anything, nor do I ever claim to be?
 
I only took 10 minutes to look up what I did
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Wouldn't that make you an armchair expert as well?:p For someone as involved in the trade as you hope to be, I figured you'd have those names off the top of your head. Fwiw, I found the same thread in two minutes.

Cheers

GC
 
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