Where did the rest of my hamon go?

Ryan Minchew

Ryan Minchew

Joined
Sep 29, 2005
Messages
580
This was my first try at a hamon. The steel is .125" thick w2. I was under the impression the hamon went all the way through, but the more I ground the less showed. I used satanite and my oven. I show one picture at 80 grit etched in ferric to see the activity after tempering and before the bevels were ground. I also show what I finally lived with, starting at half way to the point the activity I had is gone or there is not as much. I tried several different etchants to see if I was missing something, but never got it to show the activity of had before being ground. It was dipped after each pass. The two 1095 blades did at the same time but we're .090 and .062 stock I did not have any issues with.

 
Several possibilities:

1) When you first remove the clay after hardening, a bold line shows where the exposed steel has decarb and the protected steel doesn't. This looks like a bold hamon ... but isn't. The actual hamon is below that, if it is there at all.

2) The hamon in some cases is very shallow. It can be sanded away.

3) Large blades are trickier to get a good hamon on because of heat retention. The clay needs to be just right on large blades.

4) Trying a slightly lower austenitization temperature can help.
 
I use clay half as thick on W2 compared to 1095. I use 1475 for 1095, but 1460 for W2. Just what works for me. Experiment and see what works for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top