A highlight of Blade, a request and a story and Pics you will never see again

i watch this stuff and i can not copy it i can not repeat it. is just amazing.

even he tells me what he is going. the skill level is something i have not saw before. there is about i am guessing 800 steps in each sword\and or knife.
 
continued...

Finally master chen has the steel he is looking for...

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layers of High carbon steel

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from this Master Chen then forms another billet and covers with clay for heat treating..
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and then covered with Grass to add more carbon during the heat treat...from the organic material in the grass.

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back into the fire it goes...

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thats all for now...Bobby if you would not mind jumping in here and explain more about the grass. I found that fascinating. Also I will be punching out for the weekend....Ill post more on Monday..:thumbup:
 
the clay coating will alow the billet to be heated evenly. slowly coming up to temp. that is the reason for the clay.

the reason for the grass mr chen says is to keep the carbon. so adding this grass here keeps the carbon level up to the point he wants it.

if all is right when he finishes he will have 1.6 to 1.8 carbon content. if my numbers are right.

Ren the devils trailboss said:
continued...

Finally master chen has the steel he is looking for...

30.jpg


layers of High carbon steel

31.jpg


from this Master Chen then forms another billet and covers with clay for heat treating..
34.jpg


and then covered with Grass to add more carbon during the heat treat...from the organic material in the grass.

36.jpg


back into the fire it goes...

38.jpg


thats all for now...Bobby if you would not mind jumping in here and explain more about the grass. I found that fascinating. Also I will be punching out for the weekend....Ill post more on Monday..:thumbup:
Click to expand...
 
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Ren is off being Ren and i hope he knocks his glass of adult beverage over in his lap.

Here is more pictures of the process Master Chen goes though to make his steel. If you have any questions i will try to answer them as best i can. I am a newbie to this so ask the easy questions.

i think the first picture is the first time the billet of pieces was heated and hammered.

i think the next picture is the start of the folding process. master chen will fold and fold until he gets to about 1.3 million layers. he will fold in 2's then fold in 3's so he only needs 13 folds to get to a million layers. at each fold will lose carbon content.
 

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this is more pictures of the folding process
 

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1. folded a few times here

2. the cold billet at 1.2kgs

we started with 30 kgs and after smelting it we had 4.2

now hammered and refinded more it is 1.2kgs or so.
 

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this is the dreaded black pieces of the tamahagane. it is low carbon but we will use it.

the high carbon is used for the outer layer of the sword and the low carbon is used for the core.

this is the low carbon. it will be hammered and folded into a long billet to be inserted in the center of the final billet.
 

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The next step.

This is the next step in the steel making process.

1. the steel billet is being prepared for the insertion of the low carbon steel rod.

2. this is the high carbon steel that is wrapped around the low carbon steel rod.

3. here is the picture of the low carbon steel rod hammered inside the high carbon steel.
 

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In this picture you can see more easy the High carbon outer part and the low carbon inner part.
 

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Wow. That's a cool process.

I have to say I prefer wood as a handle material. Not that there's a problem with synthetics, especially when durability is a concern.

I'd like to see the handle more rounded to fit the hand. I don't like handles with flat planes abruptly transitioning into other flat planes. It's not natural. When I'm shaping, I grab the handle firmly and feel for any place that puts more pressure on my hand. I then round it off until there aren't any noticeable pressure points.

Phillip
__________________
Some photos of my work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26671647@N02/


here is a picture of a knife mr chen made.

however it is sold. the man that saw it bought asap. the harmon on the blade was what he liked.
 

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I would think that the knives Master Chen makes should maintain their heritage. He should not make them to look like American knves. He should tailor them for our market but have Aisian wood and an Aisian flair. Maybe modify sword grip patterns to suit a knife and use traditional materials (no synthetic material or stainless pins or fittings). In my opinion this type of knife should not be "dishwasher safe", it should require care (oiling,waxing,etc.).
His steel has the "cool factor", so should the knife. Look at publications with photos of vintage knives and swords and play with incorporating these designs into his.
Thank you both and Master Chen for sharing his process!
Very Cool!
Alden
 
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Alden Sherrodd said:
I would think that the knives Master Chen makes should maintain their heritage. He should not make them to look like American knves. He should tailor them for our market but have Aisian wood and an Aisian flair. Maybe modify sword grip patterns to suit a knife and use traditional materials (no sythetic material or stainless pins or fittings). In my opinion this type of knife should not be "dishwasher safe", it should require care (oiling,waxing,etc.).
His steel has the "cool factor", so should the knife. Look at publications with photos of vintage knives and swords and play with incorporating these designs into his.
Thank you both and Master Chen for sharing his process!
Very Cool!
Alden
Click to expand...

thanks for your reply. i will forward it to mr chen asap.

he does want to enter the usa or western market and if he goes with traditional chinese styles it might not appeal to most people.

i have talked to him and he has some designs in the works. one i am sure will be a nice knife.
 
Bobby,

The knives you and Mr. Chen brought to Atlanta were beautiful and the tape/DVd you had about the process was fasinating as are these pictures. Mr Chen"s knives are certainly exquisite and made to be used but have you given any consideration to a special edition "collector"knife that could come in a traditional Chinese case and could include a DVD or Booklet of images such as in this thread explaining the process and craftmanship that went into the knife? As much as I hate to say it, Ren is right. We may never see this type of craftmanship and process again. (Unless a certain Kyle R that we all know decides to try it!).
 
this thread is SO AWESOME!
:)
 
i am glad you have read the thread and are telling me what you think. i also agree. i think that is a good idea a very good idea.

but we have to crawl before we can run. i want to do it but now we are still trying to get the knives we got now as good as we can get. master chen likes to do the best work he can do.

together we think the knives still need refining. when master chen gets to the point he is happy with what we have now then we can progress to the next level.

just a short note. as of this day this year he has only made 2 swords, wait let me clartify that he has made 2 that meet with his standards. he has made dozens this year. this is july. so anything that does not meet his standards is not sold. there is no way to earn a living making only 2 swords in 7 months.


thanks for you help and feel free to advise us in anyway you can. i like to listen to the buyers and customers. they are the ones that will end up with the knives\swords. so for me it is important to listen and try to speak to as many as i can.

thanks

bob


kdcknives said:
Bobby,

The knives you and Mr. Chen brought to Atlanta were beautiful and the tape/DVd you had about the process was fasinating as are these pictures. Mr Chen"s knives are certainly exquisite and made to be used but have you given any consideration to a special edition "collector"knife that could come in a traditional Chinese case and could include a DVD or Booklet of images such as in this thread explaining the process and craftmanship that went into the knife? As much as I hate to say it, Ren is right. We may never see this type of craftmanship and process again. (Unless a certain Kyle R that we all know decides to try it!).
Click to expand...
 
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