Stag and W2: The making of a Russ Andrews bowie.

[samhell]

Beautiful! I love the graceful slope of the clip and that stag is just killer. Congrats to both of you.

 

[sabre]

love the butt cap. I never would have guessed the knife was that big from the picture. Doesn't look bulky at all. Beautiful!

Dan Farr

 

[xuesheng]

Outstanding sir! My compliments... :thumbup:

 

[RogerP]

Great piece Roger, thanks for showing it! Incredible craftsmanship. I have a question, does the blade have a hardening line or a hamon?

Thanks for all the comments gents.

Matt, I must confess that I have always used those terms "hamon" and "hardening line" interchangeably. It may be that the former refers only to the result of the traditional clay-coating process - I simply don't know.

For whatever it adds to the discussion, here is a passage from Burt Foster's web site ( http://www.burtfoster.com ) on point:

"In addition to 52100, I also use straight carbon steels like 1095 and W-2. I use these simple carbon steels for blades with a traditional looking Japanese style clay hardening line. (You will often see this referred to as a "temper line" or "hamon". Since the line is a result of the hardening process, not a the tempering process, I don't like calling it a "temper line." And, "hamon" is a Japanese word that refers to a part of a woman's anatomy. Since I'm not Japanese, and I don't want to make hamburger out of the pronunciation, I'll just stick with "hardening line" because it's the most accurate of the three.) A blade with an active hardening line with its hard edge and soft back, is not only beautiful but was done over the years to give a simple steel the ability to cut very well but still have enough toughness in the soft spine to keep it from breaking."

Roger

 

[joeshredd]

An outstanding piece... And the story just makes it that much more real; rather than a simple pic outta some catalog, it gives the whole package, and process, a reality beyond just a nice snapshot!

Dang, Roger, I'd love to see a group shot of the core of your collection... I'd reckon a museum would be hard pressed to match it!

 

[Joss]

The term hamon encompasses much more than the hardening line (called habuchi), and in my mind implies that the blade was polished with the avowed goal to replicate the effect of traditional Jpz polishing. It doesn't mean that the means are traditional, but it does mean that the goal is to reveal more than the hardening line.

Some Jpz-blade enthusiasts take ombrage to the use of the term hamon. Personally, I judge the piece on its merits, regardless of the name given by the maker.