Hand-forged katana: Step 8, making the habaki
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- In these videos I forge Japanese blades by hand. I heat treat them, polish them, and make all the parts necessary for mounting them. These videos are targeted to people who are interested in metal art, blacksmithing, forging, knife-making, and sword-making or are simply interested in maker videos. I try to present content in a calm, relaxing fashion that anyone can enjoy watching, whether you participate in this hobby or not.
My most recent blades are made from modern high carbon steel, such as W1 drill rod and custom W2 steel bars. In the future I plan on smelting my own tamahagane and making swords and daggers from that ancient steel.
katana, wakizashi, tanto, habaki, fuchi, kashira, menuki, tsuba, tsuka, quench, temper, hamon, asmr, tamahagane, W2 steel
This is the tutorial that I've been looking for 5 months! with good procedure and amazing outcome. Thank you so much!
I'm so happy you've found the video useful.
This is definitely different from all the other katana making videos on utube, very unique it’s great to see someone do things a little differently. Great work... when do we get to see the rest?
I'm working on the next video now. It will be scabbard making. First I need to make a video about saya chisels, though.
Actually this is the best simple demonstration i have seen other than the one done by illiya from "thatworks" or "man at arms" on youtube. Wonderful, beyond words.
@@aakhan5281 Thank you so much for the kind words.
Thank you so much! I was clueless since I was making habaki the traditional way and had failed already 5 times
I'm glad you liked the video. I have made habakis in the traditional way, but I find this way much more straightforward.
Brilliant, thank you for the knowledge drop!
I just made my first katana last week. The habaki did not turn out very well. I'll need to try this for the next one. Thank you!
Thank you. This was very helpful.
I'm so glad you liked the video.
First of all, thank you for these videos. Very informative and helpful. It's hard to find the complete process with such detail so for those of us who aren't able to study under a master to learn, this is invaluable.
Second, how do you like to finish the habaki? I see you using sandpaper in the video, but what grit do you go up to? I've seen some habaki with finishes that look rough enough to be a file finish, and some a finer finish like yours.
Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you like the videos. I like my habakis pretty coarse. Usually no more than 250 grit.
Isn't its main purpose to absorb a lot of the impact coming through the blade into the handle, which is why it is of much softer material?
Its purpose is simply to fit snug in the mouth of the scabbard, to prevent the sword from rattling around in the scabbard or from falling out of the scabbard. Because it absorbs virtually no force, it can be made out of almost any metal. Traditionally, Japanese craftsmen made most of them from copper alloys. But fancier swords sometimes had habakis of other alloys. I cast mine from zinc just because it's so straight forward by comparison with other methods.
This is how the tradition perfected through ages 👍
Nice 🙌🏼
great video thank you
I am extremely interested in fuchi, kashira & especially menuki. I can't imagine how to engrave them properly. Are you going to make them?
I don't think I'll make a separate video on those parts. I use the same lost wax casting process to make them. I usually make them very plain and simple. Smooth surfaces. But if I wanted some pattern or engraving, I would make it in the wax before casting. 1000x easier than engraving in metal.
Very interesting and well done. Not really familiar with zinc alloys. Is it good for this application? My understanding is that zinc is much weaker than brass or other copper based alloys.
Zinc is definitely not as tough as copper alloys. I don't worry about it much, because the forces a habaki and the koshirae experience are extremely low. The forces on a habaki are nothing more than the light compressive forces of the mouth of the scabbard. Zinc casting alloys are more than strong enough for this purpose. I mean, they don't stand up to heavy hammering like brass does, but I can't see how that matters for a habaki. And in normal use the koshirae don't experience any forces, as far as I can tell.
I use zinc because it melts at around 850F, and pours at around 950F. At these temperatures the method for casting is as simple as it can be.
If you wanted to use this technique but you were concerned about the strength of the metal, the exact same technique can be used with brass and other copper alloys. You'd just have to turn up the temperature on the kiln and burnout oven to the working temperature of brass.
Very nice U are very smart ！ But I still like to make it through traditional method .I use copper ,
Thank you.
It looks a bit as if your blade dies not have a beveled spine. What kind of blade are you going for? Cheers mate
You are correct. It does not have a beveled spine. This is a hira zukuri blade.
very unorthodox method, but gives a good result!
Thank you!
Great video! Surprised by the end result. Have you made these in any other metals?
Thanks! I've tried it with brass but not gotten very good results. I haven't tried it with anything else.
That's awesome sir! 😁😈
Thank you!
@@oldpuebloforge you are very welcome 😁😈
Did u do the folding?
Looks like it still takes a steady hand
Yes, I guess so. But it's a piece of cake to correct mistakes.
Will this work on aluminum
I have had good success casting aluminum. You just have to adjust for higher temperatures.
i just watched all of these videos. Well done!
What are you going to make next?
Have you forged from raw materials? That would be cool to see.
I just hit that big Subscribe button. Great stuff man :)
Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm almost done with my next video. It is going to be on how to make small Japanese-style planes for making scabbards and handles. The next video will be on how to make chisels for scabbard-making. In the subsequent video I'll make scabbard and handle.
Sounds good man. Looking forward to seeing more videos :)
What mixture is the glue like solution
Are you referring to the white material that I pour over the wax pattern? It is jeweler's casting investment. I don't know exactly what it contains, but I know it is mostly plaster.
what would you charge to make a habaki
Not sure. I've never thought about it. Walk me through what you're thinking.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍💪💪💪
I have also burned myself multiple times by accident.😅
Why zinc?
Zinc casting alloy melts at around 850F and pours at around 950F. At those temperatures, casting is as simple as it can be.
Zinc isn't as tough as copper or copper alloys, but it is plenty strong to function as a habaki or as koshirae.
For melting the wax from the casting, would anything that produces an even heat work instead of a specialized oven like you used? I would assume it doesn't matter so long as the wax has melted away, but I want to make absolutely sure.
Fantastic method of making the habaki, though. I am glad I found this tutorial and will definitely use the same method once I start making blades!
Thank you for the kind words. You need something that reaches a minimum of 1350 F for melting out the wax, then burning out the remnant of wax, and also curing the special plaster (called "casting investment"). You could accomplish this with many systems, such as a propane forge, but you wouldn't know exactly how hot you got it. But you could figure it out. I use these specialized ovens because I can dial in the exact temperature easily. I actually heat up and burn out the wax in more steps than i show in this video. In the future I'll do a more detailed video on lost wax casting.
@@oldpuebloforge ok, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you!
Pls finish the rest of katana tips
And keep the good work
Thanks for the kind words. Next is the woodworking, the scabbard (saya) and handle (tsuka).
Make it with copper please
I have made many with copper in the past. Now I prefer this casting alloy.
@@oldpuebloforge ok
Brass?
@@ismailsapmaz381 You could certainly make it from brass. You'd just have to adjust the temperatures. I prefer zinc because the temperatures are nice and low.
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I would encourage you to go back and learn to forge the habaki. This is really not good enough.
I know how to cold forge habaki from copper. I have made many that way. I just prefer casting them. Could you explain why casting isn't good enough?
The people who are following your progress making this sword are not going to follow you through the skills necessary for investment casting. Of course, the Chinese and Koreans cast all the mounting components for the cheap knockoffs... is this the direction you are going? This was just such a letdown.@@oldpuebloforge