How to forge your own Katana?

[Sircnay]

Over the last 3 summers my friend and I have been trying to forge our own katana's just for fun. He himself has been doing Kendo for about 4 years and I"ve been learning from him for the last few months. I like it, it's fun. Don't think I'll ever get serious with it but, hey, it's good to have dabbled with.

Anyhoo, this summer we're going to try again. The last three swords we tried to make always broke.

We used steel bar stock to make the swords. He has a forge (he lives in a house that was built in the early 1920's) in his backyard and we use that to forge the weapon along with hammers and buckets of water.

The handles are made of bamboo or pine or oak, depending on what we have. And wrapped in cotton straps. We usually bolt the tang into the handle by drilling it and using some 10mm hex nuts with an adjoining bolt.

Any ideas as to why they break?

[Tant01]

Over the last 3 summers my friend and I have been trying to forge our own katana's just for fun. ....The last three swords we tried to make always broke.

We used steel bar stock to make the swords. He has a forge...in his backyard and we use that to forge the weapon along with hammers and buckets of water.


Any ideas as to why they break?

Yup. Bar stock? Spring steel? 5160? What kind of steel are you using? Some steel like nails can not be hardened because the steel lacks the necessary ingredients, Carbon mostly. HC steel will break from repeated quenching. I'm surprised you were able to finish one! I've heat treated carbon steel and made (home made by stock removal) rustic functional
knives but not a sword. Heat treating is a tricky deal. Forging, that is shaping a chunk of barstock with heat and hammers will do more damage than good if you get it too hot or cool it too fast. Stress fractures and releasing carbon from the steel are just two things that can go wrong...

The internet has numerous resources but you might start here...
http://www.dfoggknives.com/handmade.htm Enjoy!

[HtTKar]

You'll want to use spring steel for the outer parts. What I mean is the springs from car parts. But the main reason their breaking is that traditional swords were made from different metals.
There is an inner layer of softer more flexible material. This Gives the sword some flex, though its not strong enough to use alone. Without flex, your sword will break.
The outer layer will want to be a strong spring steel.

The two metals, will work out most of the impurities, and will also create a slight bend in the sword. Theres a person on ebay sometimes that shows the process from start to finish

[HtTKar]

You could start with easier swords, like bronze or iron, just to get a feel.
The Ebay person is no longer selling, but I found this link below that will help you a great deal.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/sword-making.htm/printable

[LoneWolf1]

Are you trying to through harden of dif temp (the way real katana are). if your startin out you should use stock removal and simple steels like 1050, 1090/1095, or 1060. When you have the basic shape take the steel down to about 200 grit. Now comes the annealing. To anneal the blade you have to heat the blade evenly until it looses it magnetism ( this can be checked by passing a magnet over it). Now you have to let the blade cool slowly by placing it in an insulating substance such as vermaculite or sand. Repeat the annealling process 3 or four times, the more you anneal the steel the the more the crystalyne steel structure is refined and thus the better your blade will turn out. Now time for applying the refractory cement. I'm only going to explain how to dif temp because I have little experience in through tempin. First you apply the ashi lines, take a putty knife and the cement and "tap" little lines about 1/4'' apart alone the edge of the blade. Then apply cement to the back and sides of the blade. U should layer the first 1/2'' to 3/4'' of the cutting edge thinner than the back and side of the blade. Let the cement harden over night. Now heat the blade evenly to the non magnetic zone pass it back into the heat for a fraction of a second and take the blade out quickly and put it into the water. the blade should bend forward the kick back ( thats how the curve was put into the katana). pull the blade out and dry it. You will be very lucky if the blade doesn't crack. Check for cracks and correct the blade if it has any minor bends. Now time to check if it can cut, test it out on some hard wood. Finally polish the blade to as fine of a grit as you can, try to get to 1500 grit or so. U can find fine grit papers at auto body shops. U should be able to see the hamon ( wavy line along the edge of the blade after polishing). Then mount the blade up in a hardwood handle ( a piece of a hickory sledge handle works really well). If everything turned out you should have a fully funtional sword. This is only the basics if you really want to find out how to make a real katana read alot! there are many good sources on the web, in books but the best thing you can do is find someone to teach you how. Sorry if this sounds like incoherient babling. The topic is really just to huge to explain.

[MatthewAlphonso]

The advice all of you have given is very good. But I would advise Sircnay To start with knives first and work your way up from there. I would also advise getting someone who knows what they are doing. Doing this may be hard but it is the only safe way (slivers of steel in your eye sound nice?)

Also you may want to look at
www.arador.com - is mostly armour buffs but they can at least point you in the right direction

www.swordforum.com - They handle all types of swords, they can generally tell you what you need

www.www.primalfires.com - All about blade/blacksmithing

You'll probably get the same advice I gave you, but at least you can find the tutorials you need. Hey, mebbe you can find a local tutor. I'm sure if your friend has a forge that there's someone near by that knows how to use it (damn, I wish I had one.

[HappyJackSlade]

Hia MatthewAlphonso.Checked out your links in your thread.Found some great reading material on Japanies history.
Awesome links dude.

[Sircnay]

Thanks! Wow those are some pretty neat links!

[MatthewAlphonso]

you may also want to check out the Society for Creative Anachronism (www.sca.org) a nonprofit organization dedicated to recreating the period of history from 5000 B.C. to 1600 A.D. find a local group and try to make an Arts and Sciences meeting, you should find people with the tools and
know-how there.

[sojobow]

You'll want to use spring steel for the outer parts. What I mean is the springs from car parts. The outer layer will want to be a strong spring steel.

So that's what's wrong my Chevee! Darn car hates potholes (with me in it). But, with the cost of insurance these days! Anywho, fun is in the making. I'm told all swords will break sooner or later so don't let that get you down. Fun part is also using whatever material you have (junkyard is full of material). Do it for fun. And don't throw out that old barbeque pit. (Warning: leave the wife's car alone).

[MatthewAlphonso]

Also, I wouldn't suggest the Leaf Spring method, at least without some heavy annealing. As the spring is worked, the steel gets harder and harder (also more brittle as a result) the same thing occurs when you work the metal, this is the reason that metals must be worked at critcal temperature (bright cherry red with no magnetism). Also, leaf springs are of an inferior quality steel than you would want in a combat sword (they will work for a while but don't trust them too long), though they can make pretty wall hangers. or a SLO, Sword Like Object (the crap you get from flea markets)

[Tant01]

....a SLO, Sword Like Object (the crap you get from flea markets)

LOL I have one like that, Found it on a farm up in the rafters of a barn, looks like stainless steel under all the rust, Bent it back to nearly straight with my hands. My son made a handle for it and polished it up... Funny stuff!

[robertlee]

You can go to a metal shop or suplly. Get spring steel in lentghs. Say !/4 or 3/16. thick. 2inches wide. And four to five foot lentgh. use soap stone to draw out the pattern Cut it out with a ban saw. take it down with a grinder Emory sand it. Then use high speed polisher to polish and put a finised edge on it. There used to be a person here that made swords on custom order. And they turned out well. I made one myself. And went to his shop to finish it. Or you can try the folds for damsecis blade. Which takes forgeing .

[MatthewAlphonso]

the problem with stock removal (the method Mr. Robertlee sugessted) is that the blad will not be work hardened, it takes a hell of a lot less skill (isn't that part of the beauty of makling your own blade), and also the blade would not be folded or laminated (two different processes, similar but different). Also, the damascan steel (pattern welding) was not used in Japan (though I could be wrong) though it is purty, especially when you learn how to manipulate the design.

[robertlee]

That way may not be the best way. But not a bad sword when done. And when done right with the spring steel. The blade holds up well And almost razor sharp. The person here that made them would make swords knives body armor shield ect. He would get several orders for swords And I believe about a 3 month prosess in the total making of a finished sword. But no big deal Most people do not make there own swords.