Cant see the hamon.. is it there?

Knifemaker87

Knifemaker87

Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
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hey everybdy..
forged a new Wak out of W1
i have it down to like 120 grit... i havent been able to even see a glimps of the hamon.. the edge is hard and the spine is soft...

i ran a little FC over the blade... still nothing

i have done a couple hamons before.. and usually could at least "glimps" them... and i havent been able to. i think i may have messed up my quench..
is it just that i cant see it yet? or should i have seen it by now?
thanks
~Chris
 
Work a small section down to at least 400 grit and see if it comes out. If not you may have missed the window for the Hamon to form.

Chuck
 
Maybe it's hiding in there somewhere.

I can see mine real good at 120 grit. If I don't see it, I go back to the forge before it cools off.

Ain't this fun :D
 
I see mine best at 220 grit...have no idea why...


Perhaps it "opens up" best with ceramic belts? (use ceramic from 60-220, then J-Flex at 400)


Anyway....hold the knife flat (perpendicular to the floor) and stand somewhere where there are lights directly overhead. Rotate the knife slowly (like you're looking at a mirror)...it is often hard to see, and then suddenly "POP" it's there...plain as day.


Best of luck!




Could always just give it a quick 5 second etch to check it!

(best at 220+ grit)
 
Using FC, you should see SOMETHING! I have seen hamons at 80 grit that are very light, but you can see them even taking them straight off a grinder for instance with 01 steel.
 
So Chris, what does the blade look like at this moment in time? It looked really badass when you posted it before heat treat a few week(s) ago!
 
well..
it still looks pretty awesome.. only now it is sharp.
i'll post pics tonight.
see... i think i messed up the quench... and i didnt heat it like i normally do..so i dunno

like yall said i tried the normal stufff. the light reflection.. the FC and i use 80 ceramic belts too and can normally se it too! but i cant

i guess the reason i was asking was i was going for a Choji hamon... and i am pretty sure if there was a hamon at all i got it. would this kind of hamon be "slower" to show up?

thanks
~Chris
 
You should be able to see the hamon line at 120 grit. If its not visible at this point you may never see it. Remember there is no shortcuts in the heat treating and temping knives. Make sure you stick to the normal process in heat treating. This will reduce the possibilities of a screwup.---:thumbup:
 
Chris, if you don't see it, it ain't there. After I quench a blade, I scrape the clay off and go to the grinder with a fresh 80 or 120 belt and clean it up. At this point, I can see the hamon very good, without etching. If I don't see it or don't like it, I then re-clay and go back to the forge. If I do like it, it goes in the oven for tempering.
 
I often do the same, Don.



I've learned a few things about clay-quenching too....I now use thinner clay, and make sure to do plenty of grinding before heat-treating.


Don - do you use Parks? How thick do you leave the edge? I did one at about 0.030" flat ground and the edge curled like a ribbon. The same blade would have quenched fine in ToughQuench. *shrug*
 
Daniel Koster said:
I often do the same, Don.



I've learned a few things about clay-quenching too....I now use thinner clay, and make sure to do plenty of grinding before heat-treating.


Don - do you use Parks? How thick do you leave the edge? I did one at about 0.030" flat ground and the edge curled like a ribbon. The same blade would have quenched fine in ToughQuench. *shrug*
Click to expand...
Daniel, I do use Park's 50 and thin clay also. . My edges are between .030" to .040" +/-. Heat treating for hamon, there's a fine line between too thick and too thin

Very thin blades do have a tendency to wrinkle along the edge, keeping the temp as low as possible will usually stop this.
 
so...
i need to redo the blade...
DSC01848.jpg

DSC01846.jpg


the hamon isnt there.. so i need to do it over again. so i dulled up the edge.. but it is really thin. can i leave it like this or do i need to shave some more off the bottom to make the edge a little thicker? also.. is there something i can put on the blade to keep it from scaling? i would really like to use something i have on hand...
thanks
~Chris
 
I would take a little of the edge but not much. A thin slurry of satanite will help reduce scale but I wouldn't worry too much, just grind/sand off the decarb, scale.

Get-R-done!
 
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