Modern Katana-influenced sword

Thanks Michael.
Phill Hartsfield focused only on his customers and ignored the critics.
Will you order a Kat from William? :)
 
Lycosa, good point about Phil. And also I seem to remember that Howard Clark was criticized a bit for not having a hamon on his L6 swords - I gather it's not much of a problem for him.

And, no, not going to be ordering any swords from William, as I'm also a sword maker. They are nice though. -M
 
Lycosa said:
Thanks Michael.
Phill Hartsfield focused only on his customers and ignored the critics.
Will you order a Kat from William? :)
Click to expand...

Phil's wakizashi and katana did not give anything up for practical usage....the majority were double ground, had reasonable tsuba and cord wrapping over a core. I might not like the way that much of his work looks, especially the, ahem, basic finish....but they were practical first and foremost, with a strong understanding of methods and materials used.

People who try to "deconstruct" (make in a completely different manner)traditional nihonto should have a very thorough understanding based upon USE as to why things are put together the way they are and how they work.

Howard Clark's L6 swords have a hamon, just a fairly plain one....I know this because I have handled probably 18 of them. I own modern interpretations of nihonto by Bailey Bradshaw(katana, no hamon), Howard Clark(1086 wakizashi and tanto with hamon), Dan Maragni(O-tanto, interesting hamon, not forged) and J.D. Smith(Tanto w/damascus forged to look like hamon, yoroi toshi dagger)...just so people don't think I look down my nose at Western 'smiths, or hold to absolute aesthetic tolerances concerning nihonto.

Here are the Maragni, and J.D. Smith pieces(This photo from The World of Art Knives by David Darom, photo by Eric Eggly:




Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Hi guys. It seems I might have been wrong about the hamon line on Mr. Clark's L6 blades. I've only seen pics that may have had lighting issues. I did remember some discussion a million years ago with some criticism of a lack of hamon, but maybe it was just not a "traditional" hamon line. Anyway, that wasn't the point at all. I just wanted to say I liked William's sword and don't be afraid to step out of the box.

Lycosa, I'm don't want to take away from William in this thread with my pics, but since you asked, I do have a pair of butterfly swords up in the custom area. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=832347
-M
 
This is sooo awesome, i love everything about this, except for the one concern about having no Tsuba, that seems legitimate, but the way it is now is aweesomeee, i love the red
 
I really like it other then the bolt handguard. The rest of the sword is so elegant, and then just a bolt jutting through. I love the Carbon fiber sheath too :).
 
Michael Rader said:
Lycosa, good point about Phil. And also I seem to remember that Howard Clark was criticized a bit for not having a hamon on his L6 swords - I gather it's not much of a problem for him.

And, no, not going to be ordering any swords from William, as I'm also a sword maker. They are nice though. -M
Click to expand...

Do you mean activity in the L6 blades from Howard?. I agree that they may seem mundane compared to the barbed wire look of the hamon on 1086 blades he clays. The L6 katana blades definitively have a hamon.

http://www.summerchild.com/hc_L6Dragonfly_mccluer.htm

Cheers

GC
 
Thanks guys. My Kat must be seen in person to fully appreciate William's work. The Red pops. Also, I really like the turks knot. I will not be sword fighting with anyone. The S7 steel is so nicely finished and razor sharp! The bamboo scabbard is gorgeous. This is the perfect katana for me. Pix to come. Thank you William!
 
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