Okay. The last thread got out of hand and I locked it because people were being asses.

EDIT: NO LAST SAMURAI JOKES.

I am posting these pics because I want to. If you don't have ANYTHING WHATSOEVER NICE to say about me or the sword and/or swordwork depicted in these pictures, I am asking you respectfully to not post at all. Yes, this is a public forum, but I would expect at least some modicum of maturity from people that are older than me yet act younger.

The pics:












AGAIN: If you are going to be an asshole, don't post. Simple as that. I also ask that if you want to be a post whore, go the the proper area of the board, The Corner, to do so.

I will entertain comments, criticisms, and questions. Please keep your jokes respectful if you have to joke at me. And if you think I'm anal about respecting the sword, I am. It's just the way I am because of my beliefs, and it's not something for you to pick on.

 

Since you seem to know a lot about swords, how do you know if one is hand forged? Sorry I have no idea about anything with swords, just that one of my friends is really into it and he keeps mentioning "hand-forged".

 

once again, you posted in the wrong forum, Shogun.

 

Don't Hate the Player hate the game

 

 

Okay.. this is going to take a while to answer:

To tell if a katana is handmade, all you have to do is look for certain activities (swirls, lines, etc) in the blade. A hand made sword is the best for quality and precision, and you can almost instantly tell when a sword is machine made (ie cut from a chunk of steel, ground to shape, then heated up and formed) and when it is hand made (the sword feels alive, fast and smooth in your hands when you handle one).

Hand-forged is where the sword is completely made by hand from the first drop of the hammer to the final stroke over a polishing stone. It takes about a month to make a decent hand-forged blade, and up to a YEAR to make a superb one.

How to tell: well, a hand-forged blade will show signs of repeated heatwelding and hammering, which can be seen by holding the blade at an angle under direct light. If you see a sparkling effect that looks kind of like crystals, but in a long, wavy pattern, then you have a damned good hand-forged sword.

I don't know much more beyond that, but all I can say, from years of practice, is that you know a sword is machine or handmade pretty much by feel. A machine made sword feels like a dead weight in your hands, while a hand made sword feels alive and fast in your hands. It's hard to get the feeling into words

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LordVagabond
Okay.. this is going to take a while to answer:

To tell if a katana is handmade, all you have to do is look for certain activities (swirls, lines, etc) in the blade. A hand made sword is the best for quality and precision, and you can almost instantly tell when a sword is machine made (ie cut from a chunk of steel, ground to shape, then heated up and formed) and when it is hand made (the sword feels alive, fast and smooth in your hands when you handle one).

 

No problem! If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me

 

Aren't the "hand made" swords actually sheets that are folded, to be progessively thicker while "machined" are a single piece?

 

the hand made ones are forged in the mountains by 2 blind samurai brothers who feel everything out, hence the hefty price tag.