All right! I can't take it anymore!

Phillip Patton

Phillip Patton

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Messages
5,344
Is it spelled "hamon", "hammond", "harmon", or "hammon"? I've seen it spelled all those ways, and maybe a few more. They can't all be right. Which is it?
(forgive me if this is very petty and stupid)
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Well, first thing to remember is that it's a japanese word, spelled with kanji characters, and not our roman alphabet.

That said, I'm pretty sure "hammond" happens when someone hears the word out loud, and tries to spell it without ever having seen it in print.

"Hamon" and "Hammon" COULD be two equally correct ways to translate a japanese word into english, but I have a hunch that the second is not nearly as correct as the first.

"Harmon" I don't think I've ever seen :confused:

Pretty sure "hamon" is at least the best way, and probably the only correct way.

Mike
 
Yep, it's HAMON. HAH-MOAN is the way I'd phonetically write it (without having the little line to make the hard 'O' on my keyboard).
-Mark
 
Thanks guys, I've always thought it was "hamon".
The first time I heard it pronounced was Jerry Fisk at a cutting competition. He pronounced it "hahmone". I figure he knows what he's talking about, so that's how I pronounce it too.

Mike, believe it or not, I really have seen it written "harmon". :eek: :)


Edited to add, ha-moan is better than hahmone.
 
indian george said:
You live in this country????? :o :o Sorry!!!!!:D I meant on this plant.;)
We call it Hamon'.:D
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Read my last statment please

But most use the hamon line word. But its according to what part of the country you live in on how it is used. And remember IG I am from THE USA.

Barkes
 
Well, there's a kanji for it.

The 'correct' (alright, 'agreed upon') spelling is: 'hamon.'

As others have no doubt said...

(My martial arts maniac daughter has dragged me to a number of interesting people and places.)
 
Just ask Brian Goode, he'll tell you it's hammond. ;)

I'm still feeling the jury is out on this one, because most everyone I know in the US says it "hah-moan" But I asked Hiroko Kapp, author of, The Craft of the Japanese Sword, and she told me I was correct in saying "ha-mun." :confused:

I don't care what part of the country you're from, "temper line" is a misnomer. That line has nothing to do with the tempering and everything to do with the hardening process. :)

Call it a hardening line and most people will understand without looking at you like you're retarded. ;)
 
Since we are being grammatically correct, I'm not sure you would use a kanji for "hamon". Hamon is already a Japanese word, so it is unlikely that they would need to use the Chinese ideo/phonetic symbol. Kanji is most often used to express words and ideas that are not in the Japanese language or are foreign words/names/etc. Kanji are actually Chinese .Below are my mark "BLADESMITH"; then "HAND"; and last, "FORGED".
 
NickWheeler said:
Just ask Brian Goode, he'll tell you it's hammond. ;)

I'm still feeling the jury is out on this one, because most everyone I know in the US says it "hah-moan" But I asked Hiroko Kapp, author of, The Craft of the Japanese Sword, and she told me I was correct in saying "ha-mun." :confused:

I don't care what part of the country you're from, "temper line" is a misnomer. That line has nothing to do with the tempering and everything to do with the hardening process. :)

Call it a hardening line and most people will understand without looking at you like you're retarded. ;)
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Couldn't agree more about "temper line". I don't know why, but of all the inaccuracies and misinformation in this business, "temper line" seems to irk me the most. :confused: I even found it on Kevin Cashens site. :eek::D

I guess I'll stick with "hamoan" until someone corrects me. :)
 
Phillip Patton said:
Couldn't agree more about "temper line". I don't know why, but of all the inaccuracies and misinformation in this business, "temper line" seems to irk me the most. :confused: I even found it on Kevin Cashens site. :eek::DI...
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You did? Let it not be said that I cannot take constructive criticism, I also couldn't agree with Darren more. I will have to have a look and see where it is at and change it!
 
This is confusing and many people often misuse the term kanji. I lived in japan for four years and found it difficult to understand most kanji. However, the basic symbols were easy for me to learn.

Katakana and Hiragana - are the basic building blocks of their written system. Similar to our alphabet, each symbol represents a single sound, such as "ka". Katakana, however, is used solely to write words of foreign origin such as "baseball".

Kanji - is the complicated system that has over 5000 characters. It's quite confusing. Each character can mean up to three things and each word can have different kanji, which is like having three ways to spell book, all of which mean the same thing. (I quickly became lost when studying.)

Romanji - This is what everyone is refering to in regards of how to say HAMON. Romanji is the phonetic spelling of a japanese word, or how a japanese person would say a word with their accent. It is very subjective and is hardly ever set in stone.

Alternatively, though, I don't think "hammond" would be a correct romanji spelling of the original japanese word. There are no sounds (hiragana) in Japanese that end in a consonent. N being the only exception I can recall, and it's nasal. It would have to be something like, "ha-mo-n-do, or ha-mo-n-di, etc.", in order to be phonetically correct.

I feel that HA-MO-N, pronounced (ha-moe-n), is a correct romaji spelling. (hamun, would also be phonetically correct)

Kyo Sukete Kudasai,
BJ
 
I've heard it pronounced more like "hay-men" around here.

Still, I have to say, some of the verbal contortions that go into pronouncing this word sometimes lead me to think folks don't want to be mistaken for saying "hymen" or something.
 
Kevin R. Cashen said:
You did? Let it not be said that I cannot take constructive criticism, I also couldn't agree with Darren more. I will have to have a look and see where it is at and change it!
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I just looked over your site (not everywhere though), and couldn't find it.
Kinda seems like it was on the Steel Selection page, under W2.
Did you fix it, or was I wrong? If it was all in my head, I apologize. :o
I wasn't trying to put you on the spot.
 
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