Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Workshop

[transmaster]

This forge makes its own Tamahagane.

 

[Taz]

Cool! I have a katana from Norikuni Minamoto from February, 1978, and him and his son make their own tamahagane as well! Kinda neat to see the smaller production of the tamahagane versus the larger log from the NBTHK smelts! It is interesting to hear them talk about the different properties of the sands from different regions and the different charcoal, too.

Many smiths use a straw broom type thing they hold at the end of the work stick to protect themselves from the sparks that fly off!

Some of the chunks of tamahagane I have collected over the years!

 

[jfk1110]

Cool! I have a katana from Norikuni Minamoto from February, 1978, and him and his son make their own tamahagane as well! Kinda neat to see the smaller production of the tamahagane versus the larger log from the NBTHK smelts! It is interesting to hear them talk about the different properties of the sands from different regions and the different charcoal, too.

Many smiths use a straw broom type thing they hold at the end of the work stick to protect themselves from the sparks that fly off!

Some of the chunks of tamahagane I have collected over the years!
View attachment 3151749View attachment 3151750View attachment 3151751View attachment 3151752View attachment 3151753View attachment 3151754View attachment 3151755View attachment 3151756View attachment 3151757

Pretty neat..... Those are all the cast.off bits with too much impurities????
It is a.Pretty thing when they crack the bloom open and show.the inside...

 

[Taz]

I don't know how's it's graded?

 

[transmaster]

I don't know how's it's graded?

I asked Grok about this. A bunch of great info. Here is part of the info

 

[Taz]

Yeah, I saw similar pieces that were bright silver with the colors in them and they were A1 grade on Ebay. I just don't know what my stuff would be considered grade wise. I've seen other pictures of pieces that were darker black color that were supposedly lower quality tamahagane. I am guessing the stuff I have is good quality, but no idea how to tell. I did ask about the colors on a Japanese sword forum before and if they were from impurities or particular elements being present and was told that they weren't, it was more from how the metals cooled or something?

 

[Dawkind]

I’ve got a straight razor by Tim Zowada that was tamahagane he smelted from the black sand on the shores of Lake Michigan….great thread.