how is the yokote made?

Will Leavitt said:
By definition, any knife I make is Japanese influenced due to my genetics.
Click to expand...

Cool, that means I can market my stuff as "Genuine Viking Warrior Blades". Soon I'll be rich beyond my wildest dreams! :D Maybe I can sell my idears/name/soul to Lynn Thompson...

NickWheeler said:
I'm glad this place is getting back to where we can all make fun of each other and have a good time doing it! :D
Click to expand...

I sure hope so... sometimes I wander into the Cove... those fellas are just plain mean!
 
NickWheeler said:
I'm glad this place is getting back to where we can all make fun of each other and have a good time doing it! :D

-Jerkass Wheeler- :D
Click to expand...

Hey, flock you pal! That affends me! Jurk. ;)

Stacy, your head can't be much bigger than mine, how do you get so much more in it? :D Holy cow man, sometimes you blow me away.

I learned more about you guys in this thread than I did about sword polishing, but I guess that's because I don't grok Japanese very well. I did learn some of the parts and purposes of samurai armor when I was making my folk art version, but it's all gone now. If I was Stacy, I'd still remember all that stuff...

Tanto dude - good luck. We all mis-spend a certain amount of our time when we first get enthusiastic about making a knife, and making a Japanese blade does have a strong mystique about it. Very compelling. But it's almost an affront to real sword makers to be so cavalier about it. That's just my thought, I wish you well and hope you get the info you need. You've come to the right place.
 
Nick sure... so you have an order for 6 ninja stars? ummm be about 3 months, pm me for pricing :D

James, not sure about Viking genetics. I can trot out my 5' tall mother to prove my Japanesesness, also I have the advantage of having the "not being from around here" look. The 2 biggest PIA for me where when Shogun the movie series came out and the Karate Kid series. Shogun had the other kids asking about ninjas and stuff :barf: and the Karate Kid movies ummmmm my mother is a Miyagi and we're from Okinawa :( oh dear God the carp I caught over that one from my friends. See, my mom used to do a thing every year in school when we studied about Japan and she'd come in wearing a kimono and everything so most people I grew up with knew I was from Okinawa and stuff..... ah well whatever doesn't kill you leaves mental scarring that will cause you to grow up to be a knifemaker to deal with the anxiety of.... never mind. :p

Dave... I grok you not grokking. One of my favorite books and my all time favorite author. You're not kissing me though. Have you ever seen pictures of the guy that does samurai armor for cats? Little..... wayyy strange but cool.

Ohhhh back on topic.... I'm still working on a semi-traditional tanto. It's been nearly a year and I'm sure I have many more months to go. It's no big rush, it's therapy from the other stuff I make. Japanese swordsmiths are great people but I've found the collectors of nihonto to be less than nice. I posted a picture of a tanto blade I purchased and asked questions about it... the makers were gracious and pointed out the problems, the collectors were some of the rudest people I'd encountered in the knife world. One person said my translation of the tang was incorrect,when I pointed out it was my mother they said she was incorrect, when I pointed out my mother has the Japanese equivelant of a master's degree they still insisted her translation of Japanese wasn incorrect. That was the final straw with me over being "out-Japanesed" :p.

Oh yeah, have fun, fill out your profile and maybe someone is nearby and can help show you the processes. I really recommend getting a grinder :p
 
Will Leavitt said:
James, not sure about Viking genetics.
Click to expand...

Well, my mom and aunts went back to the 1700's in Norway when they researched our family tree, so although I can't prove any of my people were actually Viking warriors, there's a pretty good chance. Then again, those Vikings got around quite a bit, so lots of people probably have a splash of Viking blood.

As for me, I just try to design and build knives that look nice and cut well. I'm not big on dogma and I don't much care where I steal my ideas ;)

What the heck were we talking about again? :confused:
 
James_Terrio said:
Well, my mom and aunts went back to the 1700's in Norway when they researched our family tree, so although I can't prove any of my people were actually Viking warriors, there's a pretty good chance. Then again, those Vikings got around quite a bit, so lots of people probably have a splash of Viking blood.

As for me, I just try to design and build knives that look nice and cut well. I'm not big on dogma and I don't much care where I steal my ideas ;)

What the heck were we talking about again? :confused:
Click to expand...


Dangit James.... Viking tantos, VIKING TANTOS sheesh :foot:
 
Ok, 26 posts into this thread, I gotta know.

What the hell is a yokote?

I know what a coyote is, but I have a feeling Wile E. can't get one from ACME...
 
bladsmth said:
Tanto-dude,
..As a rule, starting with a Japanese blade is a bad idea. It may take years to perfect the techniques needed. There is a lot more to it than just the shape...
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Agreed. My current tanto has taken over 18 hours just for the blade(not polished), habaki, and tsuba.

Brian the yokote is the line that separates the kissaki (point) and the yakiba (body/hardened edge).
 
i dont expect to get it on one try by any stretch but i hope i can at least find a difference in the steel from the HT and hopefully i will know more about the processes after trying than before.
 
You have a good attitude man, I hope you finish this project and take off on many more. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Will, it's cool to find another SF guy in this bunch! That's always a pleasure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top