- Joined
- Oct 4, 2017
- Messages
- 528
I have done a few hamon and each one came out very differently. Two were with 1075 (one in the rutlands hamon thread) and one was 1084.
The 1084 clayless hamon (intentionally heated the edge up more than the spine) was darker (normal steel color) towards the spine and lighter at the edge. The line in between the two shades (sorry not good with my Japanese terms yet) was lighter still. For this hamon I etched the blade completely in vinegar and polished with 1500 silicon carbide powder 5-6 times. Then I did a selective etch and polish with lemon juice.
On the first 1075 hamon, the edge was darker (grey) than the spine and there wasn't much of a line in between. This knife wasn't completed and I didn't get to the polishing stage.
On the 1075 knife I am working on now, I only have it to a rough machine finish and etched it in ferric chloride. The edge is totally black. We'll see if it has any wispy-ness after polishing but as for the color, the edge is very dark.
What are the different causes to the different colors? I thought that normally the edge was dark and the spine light so when I was doing my first hamon (in 1084) I was very surprised to see the edge etch lighter. It was a clayless hamon so that could should have an effect on it but I still thought the hardened bit would be darker.
Thanks
-Ian F
The 1084 clayless hamon (intentionally heated the edge up more than the spine) was darker (normal steel color) towards the spine and lighter at the edge. The line in between the two shades (sorry not good with my Japanese terms yet) was lighter still. For this hamon I etched the blade completely in vinegar and polished with 1500 silicon carbide powder 5-6 times. Then I did a selective etch and polish with lemon juice.
On the first 1075 hamon, the edge was darker (grey) than the spine and there wasn't much of a line in between. This knife wasn't completed and I didn't get to the polishing stage.
On the 1075 knife I am working on now, I only have it to a rough machine finish and etched it in ferric chloride. The edge is totally black. We'll see if it has any wispy-ness after polishing but as for the color, the edge is very dark.
What are the different causes to the different colors? I thought that normally the edge was dark and the spine light so when I was doing my first hamon (in 1084) I was very surprised to see the edge etch lighter. It was a clayless hamon so that could should have an effect on it but I still thought the hardened bit would be darker.
Thanks
-Ian F
