hamon line

Bailey Knives

Bailey Knives

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Oct 18, 2004
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I am a beginner, and I have noticed some beautiful hamon lines here on the bladeforum site. I was wondering what is the best way to make them stand out so well. I have done differentially hardened edges, but a distinct hamon line has eluded me so far. I would appreciate any help.

P.S. My name is Matt Bailey, for the "Who the heck are ya" thread. Pleased to meet you all. you people make some beautiful knives. I aspire to make one that is as nice looking as yours.
 
There's 2 main ways to bring out a hamon. One is the Japanese method of polishing with waterstones, it's an art and takes some practise to do well. The other is an acid etch. To etch you submerge your blade in the acid for x amount of time (x will depend on your acid, strong acid could be counted in seconds, cold vinager would be an overnight affair), clean off the oxides, then etch again. It will take a few times to make the hamon start showing well, continue until you are happy with the results.
 
There are a ton of ways to do it, but to start out, do like AwP said with the Ferric chloride etchant (found at Radio Shack) then use flitz to clean off the oxides.
 
What these guys aren't telling you is that even with acid etching you need a good finish first. The better the finish (higher the grit) the better your hamon will look. Check out this thread and on Page 3 you'll see some pics I've posted of recent work. Those all have up to a 400 grit satin finish. Burchtree brings his knives to something like 1000+, I think, but he has a lot more time on this hands than I do! :)

Seriously, though, the better your finish the better that etch will be. If you can see the hamon pretty good without etching it'll really look great when you etch. A good solid 320 grit finish is about as low as you could go, and if you are at 320 already you may as well go to 400, and then to 600 (why not)? :D
 
He's right, I didn't think to mention it. The higher the grit you finish with the better the etches will usually look afterwards.
 
thanks guys, very helpful. I will use that method on my next knife.
 
Good info here, one other factor is the blade steel. Simple carbon steels(1095,W1,1080,1075,1050) will work the best, steels with higher alloy(5160,01,52100) will not show as good a hamon.

Don Hanson lll
 
Thank you, Don. I was wondering when somebody was going to mention the most obvious factor. You have to select a steel that is easily differentially heat treated. A steel like O1(while possible to get a visible hamon) is much harder to do a visible hamon on, due to the fact that O1 is designed to get really hard, really easily. The simple steels work best. W1, W2, 10xx series, etc...

Then, you get to do all that rubbing and etching stuff. :)
 
Not to detract from this forum, but Don Fogg has a good tutorial on his site. not to mention a lot of proof.

I'm no expert, but I have lots of real Japanese blades, and real japanese wetstones. These reveal the hamon because (?) they don't buff out the finish, they cut it. It may seem shinny, but they are leaving clearly defined scratch paterns on the steel, and the hamon is reveled presumably because these furows are different on either side of the hamon. It's odd, but the natural stones will often leave a mattish finish on tools, and one would think they hadn't sharpened, but the result is VERY sharp. The same edge from equaly wonderful man made stones comes after the high chrome type of look. The new Shapton stones being in-between. All one can imagine is that it has to do with particular chrystals, and the shapes they cut.

Anyway, sandpaper is pretty close too, which is the method Don has on his site.

The work I am refering to has the blade sharpened perpendicular to the stone (as if trying to cut the stone). A lot of sanding and buffing goes with the blade. Anyone know if that makes any difference at all to the finish (pre-etch)
 
Protactical said:
The same edge from equaly wonderful man made stones comes after the high chrome type of look. The new Shapton stones being in-between. All one can imagine is that it has to do with particular chrystals, and the shapes they cut.
Click to expand...

Have you used the Shapton M15 or M24 stones? How do they compare to the new pro series?
 
AwP said:
.....the Japanese method of polishing with waterstones, it's an art and takes some practise to do well. .....
Click to expand...
More to the traditional way than waterstones.
It's fascinating.

Many photos & descriptions:
http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/togi,process.html
http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/togi.html
http://www.nihontoantiques.com/polishing, step by step.htm

Of particular interest,
how components of the hamon can be emphasized/de-emphasized..................

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