Are you interested in forging your katana but you don’t know how to go about it? Worry less as here is a list of steps on how to form your katana.
Katana is a Japanese type of sword mostly used by the samurais. The katana features a single-edged sword with a long grip that can accommodate two hands. It also has a square or circular guard.
From ancient times to modern times, forging of a katana requires steps. According to traditional methods, it takes months to complete the forging of a new katana sword as it goes through a different process to become whole.
Modern means have made forging of a katana easier and faster. Forging a katana might seem difficult only if you do not know the right step to follow. Here are some steps that can guide you to form your katana.
Essentials Tools Needed to Forge a Katana
There are different tools used in forming a katana. These tools include;
Hammers
Instructions
Step 1: Getting Your Materials
The first thing to do is to get the appropriate metal you need. Steel is preferred in most cases. The metal should be of the exact size you need and, in most cases, 3 feet long, 0.5 inches thick and 2 inches wide.
Step 2: The Action of Heat
After acquiring your metal, you should place it in an open hearth or furnace. It would be best if you heated the metal to a temperature as high as 870℃ (1600℉).
Quick Note:
The essence of the heat is to make the metal malleable and also to oxidize silica and sulfur from the metal. This act strengthens the metal.
Step 3: Forging Your Metal
Once the metal is red hot, forging a Katana from the metal is the next thing you have to do. To form the steel, you have to do the following:
Quick Steps
- Retrieve the metal from the hearth or furnace as soon as the metal reaches the desired temperature.
- You should beat the metal with a hammer to forge it. Also, you have to exhibit dexterity as you turn the metal while striking it to make the forging even. You also have to keep reheating the metal to maintain its malleability.
- It is best to get your anvil, chisel, and hammer ready for use. You have to chisel and hammer the metal to the shape of a katana. You have to be judicious when doing this because this requires professional and targeted strikes.
- Forge the sword to have a sharp edge and curved shape. You have to forge the tip of the sword and also work on the angles and curvature. The forging requires beveling the blade in two sections; short and thick sections that run along the spine of the katana and the other part that includes the sharp and long bevel extending to the edge of the sword providing the cutting edge.
- You also have to taper the end of the blade that will fit in with the handle.
Step 4: Shaping And Treating Your Sword
To form the shape of the blade you want, you will have to make use of grinders and files to shape and adjust the edge to the desired shape. You also have to heat-treat the blade, and you can treat the blade with a mixture of grass, clay, and other materials.
You should coat the blade’s spine with the mixture and leave the edge untreated, and it will make the blade’s spine flexible and the edge sharp. It would be best if you reheated the blade.
Step 5: Quenching The Metal
After reheating the blade, you should quench the blade by immersing it into water or oil. You can do this by dipping the tip and edge of the blade first before sinking the whole blade.
Pro Tip
This method makes the sharp edge and tips very hard for cutting and also makes the other side of the blade softer than the edge to absorb blows from adversaries’ swords. The essence of quenching the metal is to make the metal hard.
Step 6: Temper And Polish the Blade
You should temper the blade by heating the blade to a high temperature about 200℃ and quench the blade afterwards. After satisfying, you should leave the blade to cool.
This process helps maintain even flexibility and hardness in the blade. You should make use of water stones to sharpen the blade during polishing. After grinding, you should carry out the final sharpening on the blade.
Step 7: Fasten A Handle and Be Good to Go
You should fasten your preferred handle to the blade. The handle determines the grip on the sword, so using a high-quality blade is advised.
FAQs
Question
How fast can a katana be forged?
Using traditional means, it will take about a month to forge a katana. But modern ways have made the forging faster and easier. Using modern means, it will take about two weeks to form a katana.
The process of forging is sometimes tedious, making it take a longer time to complete.
Question
How much fold does a katana contain?
A katana should contain at least 1000 folds of steel or any metal it is made from initially. This metal needs to be pounded, heated, and folded 1000 times to reduce the level of impurity in the sword. The folding and heating help eradicate impurities from the sword.
Question
How sharp can a katana be?
Katana is a very sharp type of sword that can cut through most things every other standard sword can’t cut through. The sharpest sword in the world is the Masamune, a kind of katana. A katana can be as intense as the sharpest sword in the world.
Video
Precautions
- Always make sure you make use of the right tool. Do not make use of damaged instruments.
- Always wear your proper clothing as they provide guaranteed protection.
- Always make sure everything is in the appropriate place and the appropriate way it should be before and after work.
- You should cultivate proper safety behaviors.
- The anvil should be clean as well as other tools and the environment of work.
References
1. https://www.instructables.com/id/MAKING-a-Katana-From-Scrap/
2. https://me-mechanicalengineering.com/safety-precautions-forging-shop/
3. https://www.katanamart.co.uk/content/20-how-to-forge-a-traditional-samurai-sword-katana
4. https://www.reliks.com/functional-swords/construction/differential-tempered-katana/