The Mystique of the Hamon

I think a meaningful hamon is applied when a mind carefully considers it's intention. Some are not so meaningful and that's fine. I prefer differentially hardened blades when it comes to carbon steel anyway and pretty is always welcome. For my uses, concepts regarding hamon as in the case of a sword don't generally apply. Wide blades I feel are less effected by many of the traditional concerns as they apply to narrow, optimised weaponry like katana and the like.
The really good ones, though, are those which take into account the performance enhancements which can come with adjusting heat retention during hardening an tempering. Understanding flexibility and hardness and how the twain should meet is where the masters are at.
However, understanding the aesthetic enhancements available is also important, especially if one wants to sell one's knives. Hamon is hawt.
 
I love ‘em too. Here are some of mine:

IMG_5946.JPG

IMG_6263.JPG

IMG_6790.JPG

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HrotJkh_F3TdEuqs4cpD_4v3U171d98wKpQRFMVnFz4=w251-h188-p-no

wtew18q8FJ1ns3v5KpygPs4ilyvj3s8f6QDpNGZ36fM=w741-h556-no

4JzWx7yujkoWaEz7XOxwHfALkVrY9aTBLvoTZRq8354=w741-h556-no
 
What luck I have, there are parts in this post extraodinaires
some I 'n'll even imagined. Which work, what knowledge
thank you.
................................................
la mort ou tché tché
 
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My thought as well, STeven.
It is a laminate, Claudio does make REALLY cool knives !

Doug
 
Question: From an entirely functional standpoint, would the differential hardness only be necessary from the edge to, say, 10mm? Or less?

Or is there a strength benefit widening this. Or a strength loss?

Educate me.

Coop
 
Coop in my opinion and what a differentially hardened blade was meant to do is give the Blade the advantage of a hard cutting edge with a soft spine to absorb shock and give the ability to return when stressed (flexed)

It is known as an imperfection when the temper line touches the edge the same as it is an imperfection when it is to close to the spine

If you want to see what is the best ratio look at Properly made Japanese swords

These blades where created when people's lives depended on the quality of the temper and where tested rigorously

You need more soft than more hard to make the design work properly
 
SharpByCoop said:
Question: From an entirely functional standpoint, would the differential hardness only be necessary from the edge to, say, 10mm? Or less?

Or is there a strength benefit widening this. Or a strength loss?

Educate me.

Coop
Click to expand...

Not an entirely simple question, so I'll do what I can.

Historically, hamon were pretty shallow around the Kamakura period as akadave2 explained. By shallow, maybe 1/4", with ashi, so if the blade busted, it was a little piece and not a major chunk....a bent sword was preferable to a broken one as you could unbend the sword on the battlefield and still kill someone with it....if it busted, well....you wound up less one major and expensive weapon....the sword was obviously used at relatively close ranges in battle OR in a street fight, and you wouldn't want it to fail.

Once battles were relegated to politics and police reduced the number of street fights, the katana sword became a status symbol, and two major things happened. The furniture(fuchi, kashira, menuki and tsuba) became more ornate, using precious metals and laborious texturing, and the hamon got wider and wilder. This is because the Japanese were fascinated by hamon activity and as battles became a thing of history, the poetic references to hamon became more romantic.

With modern nihonto, the hamon is KEY. Most collectors are not cutters and the thought of "ruining" a polish that costs upwards of $2,000 and is a visual ideal is anathama to both western and eastern collectors of nihonto....also as akadave2 stated, "more show than go".

That said, ANY blade with mostly hardened components is simply wrong as judged by this aesthetic which is highly informed by performance from a theoretical standpoint. A mostly hardened blade is subject to significant cracking when used as katana were used on the battlefield....a net loss in performance, not strength per se.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thank you for the explanation, everyone talks about Japan and is often made reference to this country for technique rather old forge.
I learned some thing to day.
.............................................................................
la mort ou tché tché
 
Joe and STeven - thanks for the schooling.

Coop, thanks for posting. That mocha ivory fighter from Don has some great activity!
 
An interesting addition to STeven's post is that some of the early variations from the straight suguha hamon, the one that looks mostly like a straight line, were to take even more advantage as to what the ashi are doing by greatly increasing the surface area between the softer spine and harder edge. Imagine how much longer that wavy line is compared to a straight one. That is, in part, also why the hamons started to get wavier and more active. But as STeven says, after the Tokugawa unification things got showy as did the refinement of the polisher's trade. The fact that swords evolved suggests that there was a refinement in polishing from the very beginning as the smiths needed to "see" what worked and did not, but the modern hadori polish that most take as standard was developed for display.
 
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I like all those, in particular the work of Don Fogg, Nick Wheeler, Jason Cutter, & Stuart Branson. I find that the more subtle, straight, and narrow hamon are often more seductive to me right now, but I realize that it's probably due to the fact that so many makers have mastered the techniques involved and that the market demands wild hamon - as it does for modern Jpz swords.

Don Fogg did some small, controlled hamon as well as exuberant ones that basically cover 4/5 of the blade. As I can judge per pictures, Nick's hamon (and polish) are at least as good as Don's on average. That's not a knock on Don; he was the innovator. Nick has the benefit of building on Don's legacy, and building he does. My hat is off to both.

akadave2 said:
Narrower hamon with the kind of activity like Ashi, yo etc helped to make the edge tougher in actual combat.
Click to expand...

This is debatable. Some of those activities could be considered an indication of potential weakness. I'm thinking of nie and o-nie in particular.
 
I have come to really really like hamons. One of the biggest things for me personally is the joy of uncovering the hamon. Its almost like polishing up a fine piece of walnut or koa or something. I really like uncovering the unknown and seeing the fruits of your efforts.
 
Ohhh, so nice! That's just gorgeous, Joe. Lucky guy who owns this piece;) This is one of my very favourite Kyle Royer knives. All the features, hamon, stag and damascus, work very well together.
 
Must be a sleepy Sunday when a pair of Lurquins and a handful of hamony stag from Royer don't cause a stir.

A new week calls for new hamon forumites :)

Seth
 
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