To make a Japanese sword, find the material you need before starting work. Better to order a strip of puff damascus from the factory or just try to buy it. At worst, high-alloy steel will suit you, which is used for the production of exhaust valves for marine diesel engines and turbine blades. The proof of the quality of steel is the letter "A" at the end of the grade.
Instructions
Step 1
Use a new large file to cut a regular diamond cut. Observe the proportions, thickness and angles of inclination.
Step 2
Pull the shinogi rib continuously, from the tip to the very tip of the shank. Change the shape of the section not qualitatively, but only quantitatively, decreasing in the direction of the ends.
Step 3
Saw down the shoulders only after you have finally formed the blade along its entire length. If you hurry, the file will start jumping, and you will "fill up" the back on the cut.
Step 4
Do not make the thickness of the cutting edge less than 1 mm, because when you harden, half of the carbon will burn out of it.
Step 5
Do not file in a classic style. You need two files. The second, smaller one, is needed for final tweaking.
Step 6
To make the back line perfect, make a special device. Take a wooden block 20 cm long with a convex side corresponding to the deflection of the blade. Attach sandpaper to it, work like a jointer, leveling the arc.
Step 7
Decorate the spike area in a classic style. Apply files. Finally, drill a hole in the shank called "nakago-ana", and also cut its surface with a notch.
Step 8
Try to heat treat in the forge rather than in the shop. After all, you need a spacious meter-long oil bath. Dip the blade horizontally with the blade pointing down. Make sure that the furnace runs on charcoal, because coke contains a large amount of sulfur, which will degrade the quality of expensive steel. If there is no temporary tub for water and oil, then bend it from a piece of tin.
Step 9
Anneal only in a layer of ash. To do this, make a narrow pencil case along the length of the strip. Heat the structure until it shines orange, soak for two hours, then let it cool down with the furnace. Now check the strip for linearity, if necessary, straighten with a copper hammer or wooden mallet.
Step 10
Do the hardening heating, taking into account the color of the glow - for this, the workshop must be darkened. Use the table of the dependence of the color of the glow on the temperature.
Step 11
Leave immediately, until an irreversible structural change begins in the metal.
