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"Hamon" thread
- Thread starter 2knife
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2011
- Messages
- 147
If you really like hamons you owe it to yourself to check out Don Fogg's work. To me his work stand alone.
Of course the work of Japanese swordsmiths is where it all started and it would be hard not to acknowledge makers like Yoshindo.
Of course the work of Japanese swordsmiths is where it all started and it would be hard not to acknowledge makers like Yoshindo.
- Joined
- May 14, 2001
- Messages
- 1,414
I too am amounst those who love seeing a beautiful hamon and appreciate the photos. I don't do a lot of blades with a hamon probably since most of my work is with damascus but will do one occasionally. To me there are two skills involved. One is the actual hardening of the blade and the other is making the hamon really "POP" or show well. Honestly I do one much better than the other and would love to watch as some finish their hamoned blades. 
Any way that you go about it, there is always A LOT of elbow grease involved. To get the very best activity on a hamon requires a water quench but you also risk a number of failures. I have gone to using Park's 50 which gives a very good hamon without all the risk.
Here's one to show the activity that you can get with Park's 50:
The actual purpose of the hamon is lessened with the size of the blade. [It is much more critical for a sword blade to be able to bend without failing than a Bowie or hunter. Though it is always good to have the extra strength in a knife blade, honestly how often is someone going to bend the blade on a Bowie in normal use? If the blade is properly H/T'ed, the hamon is mostly cosmetic. Cosmetics though sells a lot of knives and creating a hamon is a very useful skill for any maker to possess.
Good thread. I've enjoyed it.
Gary
Any way that you go about it, there is always A LOT of elbow grease involved. To get the very best activity on a hamon requires a water quench but you also risk a number of failures. I have gone to using Park's 50 which gives a very good hamon without all the risk.Here's one to show the activity that you can get with Park's 50:
The actual purpose of the hamon is lessened with the size of the blade. [It is much more critical for a sword blade to be able to bend without failing than a Bowie or hunter. Though it is always good to have the extra strength in a knife blade, honestly how often is someone going to bend the blade on a Bowie in normal use? If the blade is properly H/T'ed, the hamon is mostly cosmetic. Cosmetics though sells a lot of knives and creating a hamon is a very useful skill for any maker to possess.
Good thread. I've enjoyed it.
Gary
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- Joined
- Jan 26, 2008
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- 799
Y'all know I have a Hanson hamon addiction going on. Here are a few of Don's crazy hamon blades I have the privilege of owning. I cherish them!
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Here is a recent acquisition that I'm quite fond of...a W2 Sujihiki by Mike Mooney:
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I have always been a hamon fan. Here Don does some magic on some Howard Clark 1086M steel:
I recently had John M. Smith do a W2 utility knife for me. I have not used it yet, but expect it would handle all uses I would ever want it to perform with class. Note his treatment produced some alloy banding, also.
Good thread, David. A lot of talented makers on here making steel talk.
- Joe
I recently had John M. Smith do a W2 utility knife for me. I have not used it yet, but expect it would handle all uses I would ever want it to perform with class. Note his treatment produced some alloy banding, also.
Good thread, David. A lot of talented makers on here making steel talk.
- Joe
RyanW
Moderator
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- Jul 17, 2009
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- 3,327
Great Thread, and photos from many makers that I look up to. I admire their dedication and effort to push the hamon to its limits.
Can't believe Quesenberry hasn't been shown yet, Photo doesn't do it justice
A Rader I had the opportunity to handle and photograph
Some of mine in progress
Can't believe Quesenberry hasn't been shown yet, Photo doesn't do it justice
A Rader I had the opportunity to handle and photograph
Some of mine in progress
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2008
- Messages
- 760
oops. didn't see how old this was. don't have professional pics, anyway.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2008
- Messages
- 760
oops... sorry about the dead thread.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 1999
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- 9,437
I don't understand what's so bad about posting to a thread like this...??? 
The appreciation for differential hardening and the potential results, doesn't seem to have gone away after quite a few centuries.
I thought dragging up old threads was just frowned upon when the information in the thread was no longer relevant.
The appreciation for differential hardening and the potential results, doesn't seem to have gone away after quite a few centuries.
I thought dragging up old threads was just frowned upon when the information in the thread was no longer relevant.
- Joined
- Dec 2, 1999
- Messages
- 9,910
Awesome thread!! It may be old but not forgotten.
The DHIII knives always make my clicking finger twitch.
The DHIII knives always make my clicking finger twitch.
Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
I don't understand what's so bad about posting to a thread like this...???
The appreciation for differential hardening and the potential results, doesn't seem to have gone away after quite a few centuries.
I thought dragging up old threads was just frowned upon when the information in the thread was no longer relevant.
Nick, it says in the rules, don't make me drag them up please, that Thread Necromancy is frowned upon.
I mean, come on...it's a six month old thread with two pages....the last poster could have started a new thread....and if people cannot use the search feature, maybe navigating the internet is just too much to attempt. When these happen in succession, as was happening much this summer, it pushes the newer, MORE relevant stuff off of the first page.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2007
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- 8,216
Hard, fast rules don't work. But sometimes, I feel like this particular one should be hard and fast. After all, who is the arbiter to be? Do we post opposing views back and forth? Or instead start FRESH threads. And since the moderators don't say much, it's up to forumites to point out the rules to newbies.
I just gotta be with STeven on this one.
I just gotta be with STeven on this one.