First Katana - Straightening

69_knives

69_knives

Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
1,855
Well, the first katana is coming along nicely. It had a pretty good curve to the right I think because I hit the bottom of the pipe I quenched it in or maybe it would have been anyway, from what I understand from other makers it's pretty uncommon to not have some warpage in a sword.

It was a little unnerving; there was one point while applying pressure that the wood 'gave' a little and made a funny noise which also made the blade go 'ding'. I don't need to tell you how that made me feel but I see no evidence of a crack yet. so far so good.

I made the straightening jig from some pieces of oak and rare earth magnets glued into the backs so they will stick to the vise jaws.

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Ding almost always means cracks.Does the blade ring like a bell still?As for straightening, you will have better results if the blade is heated to tempering temps.You will be amazed how much stress is relieved and how much easier the straightening is when the blade is 350-450 degrees.
 
if you herd a "tink" sound coming from the blade, there's a 99% chance there's a crack somewhere:(
 
I'll have to check it closer, I sprinkled some fine steel dust on it where I was working on it and held a strong magnet on the opposite side to see if they would line up opposing on a line but nothing like that happened.

Also, I was heating on the inside of the curve with a small torch before straightening, just hot enough to sizzle a wet finger.
 
I gave it a few whacks with my knuckles and it still rings; what would it do if it were cracked?
 
Well if cracks in a blade are like cold shuts in damascus, it would make a duller sound the the sound would not last as long.

Its looking good! Can we get some side shots of the entire blade?
 
The ring seems to be fine and I've been bending it across my knee looking for any visible signs of a crack and can't see any. I think when the wood gave way a little it just made the sword ring a bit. it wasn't the dreaded 'tink' sound. I can also feel it vibrate for 2-3 times as long as the ringing lasts.

I will try to get some better side shots, maybe after a bit more hand sanding; I'll also have to work out some sort of long light box cause the pics don't turn out too well without. I started the hand sanding last night, I cheated a little and brought it to work to do a little bit of polishing on the machine but made sure to stay away from the shinogi so I don't dull it. I know it isn't going to be perfect but I'm pretty happy with my first sword. :)
 
Sounds like the wood budged a little bit and made the sword vibrate causing the ding sound. Nice sword! Bending it on your knees that many times you'd think that if there were any crack in the blade, it would have separated and gotten to a more noticeable point by now.
 
Thanks guys for the comments.

Now I need to find a crash course on finishing as I really know nothing about the tsuba, habaki, or tsuka construction. Even though I'm not really trying to make an authentic sword, I'd still like to learn a bit more for future swords.
 
Hehe your gonna love the habaki! It takes a few tries to get the hang of it and a lot of time.

Do you have The Craft of the Japanese Sword? If not I could try scanning the habaki page and sending it to you. I'll also try to find the online guild.

Edit- Here is a good start on the habaki but there is another I'm thinking of... hmmm
http://www.aescustomknives.com/docs/knifemaking12.htm

Here is the other one. Make sure the machigane sticks out of the bottom of the habaki, much much easier.
http://www.jhbladesmith.com/en/tutorials/techniques/habaki-making.html
 
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Thanks Dan, Those links were just what I needed.

I had a funny feeling it was as involved as all that.
 
Dan Seaver said:
Its looking good! Can we get some side shots of the entire blade?
Click to expand...

Ok, Here it is, complete with 15" bookmatched cocobolo scales. Getting close to being done. I can't wait to get the scales glued up and do some test cutting.

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Another update; almost finished. I need to sand the saya and give it another coat of black paint, add a kashira, add a couple of turks head knots to the hilt as well as the saya and I think that's about it.

I didn't clean and polish it for the pics, just because it's meant to be a user and not a wall queen.

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And here's a video of me doing a bit of test cutting; milk cartons, a water bottle and some soda cans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cxAGS3-pHY
 
Thank you, Sam!

I know the guard is off; I centered the guard with the tang instead of the blade when I marked it for drilling; a mistake I didn't realize until after I fit the guard on. My notch for the machigane was wider than the notch at the mune so it is off center. The reason for the macigane notch being wider is the steel is from a leaf spring that I cut in half down the width and the center hole in the spring is there under it.

That piece of aluminum was really corroded and I couldn't get it all out so it looks distressed and I kind of like the look. :)
 
Looks great! What type of wood is the tsuka? The habaki is a little too rounded for my taste, I prefer angles. edit- Ah they're cocobolo like I thought.

If your ever on the eastern side of Canada near Toronto with a day to spare, let me know. My shop doors will be open.
 
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