Forged Japanese Style Blades

B

Banana Pants

Joined
Nov 27, 2002
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Perhaps this is an offshoot of the "knives/soul" threads, but that's not how this was intended.

When I think of traditional Japanese tanto blades, the name that comes to mind is Don Fogg. More so that Scott Slobodian, Don Polzien or anyone else, because I know that he forges the blades himself and that he is concerned with the end user, not just with making presentation pieces. Of course, he is more than capable of producing museum quality art pieces, but that's not the point. I'm just saying that, from what I've seen, when it comes to the ultimate "must have" Japanese blade, it's Don Fogg and nobody else comes close. Is that accurate, or are there others I should be considering?

Thanks,

Mr. Pants
 
Don is always a good choice. And I agree with Mike Hull, Michael Bell is another outstanding swordsmith. I'm sure that Don would agree as well.

Here's a link to a great article on Michael Bell in SwordForum Magazine:
Michael Bell in SwordForum Magazine

Another smith who does an outstanding job with high-performace Japanese styled blades is Howard Clark. There is also an excellent article in SwordForum Magazine on Howard. Take a look and be sure to check out the pics of Howard bending one of his swords 160 degrees and hacking concrete blocks.
Howard Clark in SwordForum Magazine
 
Rick Barrett is also a very promising smith and has been making quite high-quality pieces.

Jerry Brumagen's work impressed me, and despite some controversy regarding the marketing of his work, his stuff is of very high quality.

Louis Mills, aka Yasutomo has been making Japanese-style blades for a long while and I would easily put him in the upper ranks in North America.

Randal Graham has shifted away from Japanese style in the last few years, but he still knows his stuff, and his work speaks pretty well for itself

Howard Clark does make a hell of a blade...though I would like to see more of them where the kissaki was more defined (something for polishers to consider).

Michael Bell is one of the best-known Japanese-style swordmakers in the US, and apprentices of his are also doing very fine work (David Goldberg, Christian Griesi).

While I have seen relatively little of his work, I think that Mike Blue is a very skilled and capable guy also.

There are also newer makers who are showing significant promise and potential, and I look forward to seeing what they accomplish in months and years to come :)

This is a short list of guys, and I'm certain I'm omitting a lot of names (sorry!). Don Fogg's quality is unquestioned, but in response to "when it comes to the ultimate 'must have' Japanese blade, it's Don Fogg and nobody else comes close," I would say that it's certainly an inaccurate assessment.

Perhaps the old-fashioned "there is no best" ideology could be applied here. Every maker, and even options within the makers' repertoires could be seen as different flavors. It's all a matter of what you want, and if Don Fogg's work "speaks" to you the most, there's nothing wrong with that (of course, if it's really speaking to you...please get help :p;):D).
 
Thanks for the recommendations, and thanks to Terry for the links; I had never visited swordforum before, so it looks like I have some serious reading to do.

BTW, I could have worded that first post better; what I meant is that nobody's work has impressed me nearly as much as Don's, just from what I've seen. I didn't mean to sound negative toward any other maker, I respect anybody who can make a good blade.

Respectfully,

Mr. Pants
 
Here's one of Don Fogg's still for sale here on the BF, fantastic workmanship, great lines, what a beauty.
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Cheers!
James
 
I've been very satisfied by both Louie Mills and Howard Clark. I've owned one Jerry Brumagen which I resold (at a loss) due to numerous weld flaws. I have a couple pieces by Don, including a tactical tanto-kinda blade, and they're great - but then Don's my all time favorite maker.

Both Don and Howard Clark are great craftsmen as well as very knowldgeable about the metalurgy details, which is a big plus in my book.

JD
 
Joss,

How did you detect the weld flaws in the piece you sold? If you can post pics of your pieces by Don Fogg I'd love to see them.

Thanks,

Mr. Pants
 
On most conventional pieces, welding flaws are quite noticeable. I think that was Jerry's biggest drawback (when I was exposed to his work), the fact that you could not be positive of getting a piece without noticeable welding flaws. Most such flaws are superficial and don't have much negative effect on the performance of a blade, but some of them can be fairly major. I remember talking with Joss about that particular piece (or at least I believe it was that one) but I never did get to see it. I haven't spoken to Jerry in a long while, so I'm not certain how his work is going (if at all). I hope he's doing well and his welding has become more consistent!

Most welding flaws are easily detected by eye. If there is a noticeable gap or openings in the grain, consider these to be flaws. Unless severely etched, the steel should look pretty much homogenous, so it becomes easy to notice when things just aren't "right."

I've seen welding flaws a lot of work, even by respected makers. When welding up a very high layer billet, it gets harder and harder to avoid. However, they can really detract from the overall beauty of a piece, and even minor ones are like splinters that can't be removed...becoming more and more painful to look at until it overwhelms the rest of the piece's merit! (from a perfectionist perpsective)
 
Yes - as Robert said, weld flaws are often quite noticeable. In fact, once you've noticed them once, you can't ever see the knife without them detracting from the pleasure you'd feel normally. In this specific case, the weld flaws were visible enough to clearly show up on the pics I posted when selling it - I didn't want my buyer to be surprised.

Weld flaws are quite common, and normally I wouldn't mind small ones - I've got 2 blades with small ones, including one from an ABS MS. But in this case, it was just too much. The problem with Jpz style blades is that once you buy the blade, you still need to spend a significant amount of $$$ for the traditional polish. In this specific case, I felt it didn't warrant spending this sum. In such case, there's not much to do with it. In some ways, that's too bad, because Jerry is supposed to have some nifty activity going on in his Jpz blades.

Quite frankly, I was quite disappointed with this experience. The blade shape was also not quite what I wanted (a copy of a hocho Masamune, sans horimono), despites Jerry being very confident when I first talked to him.

Finally, you just need to look at the custom knife market to realize that makers like Jerry - who is pretty reclusive and publicity-shy - are just not smart investments.

I don't have any pics of the Don Fogg pieces handy, I'm sorry. Two are relatively simple pieces, but the third one is an early Kemal creation, a petern welded Searles bowie which has a very tanto'ish blade shape. It's gorgeous. I stupidly was too shy when Don organized a sale of three museum-quality pieces a while back. I'm still kicking myself for that.

JD
 
Fogg knives. That is drool city;) .

All the other makers mentioned above are great. As has been stated above the choice is "whatever maker speaks to you."

You cannot go wrong with a Fogg knife. His quality is outstanding, temper lines beautiful, great guy to talk to on the phone, always answers any question (if you have them) about building knives), etc. I have several Fogg knives and consider them amoung the very finest knives I have ever had the pleasure of holding/owning. Yes, Mr. Fogg makes museum quality pieces but I think its his "user" blades that are where his real star shines. I have a knife from Fogg that I call the "bamboo dagger" and of the numerous knives I own I still keep getting drawn back to it as "the knife" I would want if the s**t came down. Biased opinion but...............

Problem is getting one

:D

Great choice(s) in makers everybody! But Fogg well.........he makes some NASTY "stickers"!
 
myself. Quite a few years ago I met Howard Clark at the Eact Coast show, had a drink with him and didn't place an order. Not long after that a friend of mine on the Forums told me to definetly order a Clark. Didn't listen, again. Too late, I understand.

Now, Don is one of my favorite makers, although, I don't own any at this time. There are a few for sale on the Forums but I've been acquiring some other knives and really don't have the money. My collection has begun to add some MS pieces and some of Don's are a must. That one posted above is simply amazing, why hasn't someone snapped that up?

A Sword by Don Fogg would would fill my needs just fine!! You really want to buy from people you like and no one is nicer to speak with than Don.

Win
 
Win,

Where are the 'few' Don Fogg knives available for sale? I just know of the Shiv posted above, but that's it.

Hoss, I would love to see pics of your Don Fogg pieces....

All - if you're interested in true Jpz style blades, a good source for nearly finished (i.e., polished) blades are the sites from the guys who polish them. Three names come to mind: Ted Tenold, Keith Larman, and John D. Mesa. They all regularly have blades for sale, that they polished. They all do Howard Clark, and John regularly has Louis Mills stuff too, Randal Graham, and once in a while Don Fogg.

JD
 
Glad to show a picture of the Fogg knives I have.

Top one is one of his "Shiv's". Macadamia nut wood handle, no wrapping.

Middle one is the knife I call the "Bamboo Dagger". It feels even better in your hand than the way it looks.:D

Bottom knife is one of his "Utility" knives.

All great pieces!
 

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I just bought the twin (it's very similar!) to your bamboo dagger on eBay. Great little knife!

JD
 
Originally posted by Banana Pants
Perhaps this is an offshoot of the "knives/soul" threads, but that's not how this was intended.

When I think of traditional Japanese tanto blades, the name that comes to mind is Don Fogg. More so that Scott Slobodian, Don Polzien or anyone else, because I know that he forges the blades himself and that he is concerned with the end user, not just with making presentation pieces. Of course, he is more than capable of producing museum quality art pieces, but that's not the point. I'm just saying that, from what I've seen, when it comes to the ultimate "must have" Japanese blade, it's Don Fogg and nobody else comes close. Is that accurate, or are there others I should be considering?

Thanks,

Mr. Pants
Click to expand...

Speaking of soul, when I laid my poor eyes on this knife, man I just had to have it! Made by Alan Folts, forged of 1090 special blend, blade is 4" from tip to copper bolster, handle is of Lacewood and formed in an octagonal shape that really fits the hand well. The spine and choil of the blade are peaked as well, adding that Japanese flavour to the look, as well as the clay temper line that Alan brought out throught the heat treat. One nice knife!

G2

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