![]() ![]() While some fake hamon are fairly easy to spot, others are much more subtle. There are several methods of creating a fake hamon - below is a video I filmed on location at a forge in China showing one popular method. How to straighten a bent Katana Real vs Fake Hamonīecause of the extra cost of making a Katana with a real hamon, both to get an artisan skilled enough to produce one and to absorb the relatively high failure rate during the quench - fake or purely cosmetic temper lines are commonly found on swords that have not actually been differentially hardened (i.e. (in which case, the bonds of the steel may weaken at the point where it Well tempered) will tend to spring back to true.īig a problem as many people think, as the sword can be straightened outĪgain and should not cause any real issues unless done multiple times Tend to stay bent while a monotempered Katana without a hamon will (if ![]() The downside is that, because the blade has twoĭifferent levels of hardness, if stressed laterally (sideways) it will Makes for a better cutter overall (you can literally feel theĭifference, as a sword with a tempered edge just seems to cut so much Harder edge, even if not particularly sharp, also demonstrates superiorĬutting ability on softer targets such as bamboo, tatami mats, etc and Possibly snapping or breaking in half on impact with a hard target. Sharper edge while avoiding the entire blade becoming overly brittle and One the positive side, tempering a sword in the way allows the blade both to keep and hold a There are many types of temper line, but within them there are two main classifications - Suguha (straight) and Midare (wavy) and a single sword may combine more than one style depending on the personal taste and skill of the artisan making it.Īftermath of some destructive sword testing clearly shows the martensite crystal structures permeate all the way through the blade the same hardness all the way through) swords. This process is a critical point in the forging of a Katana, and has a relatively high failure rate - a pinging sound when tempering disqualifies the sword being made, which is factored into the overall price and why Katana with real tempering lines tend to be more expensive than monotempered (i.e. The hamon is a tempering line and visual point of demarcation on a Japanese sword which separates the harder edge from the softer spine and is a result of a process known as differential hardening.Įssentially, starting with a forged and straight blade, the spine is coated with a special mixture of clay so that, when heated and quenched, the edge cools much faster than the spine and turns the steel in the area of the hamon into a crystalline structure known as martensite (in Japanese, the big, easily seen crystals are called Nie and the smaller ones, Nioi). Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA).Ultra Durable 'Beater' Katana under $400.Affordable Traditional Blades with 'Hamon'.
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