Axe being forged

[bugbear]

Bit glossy/tool porny, but nice to watch:

http://vimeo.com/37360333

Out to compete with Gransfors, by the looks of things.

BugBear

 

[Blister]

:shock:

Wow , now thats impressive =D> A true craftsman 8)

Did you see the mirror edge on the axe blade and shaving hairs off his arm

Thanks for posting the link

 

[paulm]

Fascinating and quite evocative with the snow and cabin and music

Must be very satisfying to go through the whole process of the forging, sharpening, making and fitting the handle, and then the leatherwork for the mask.

Noticed how he split the kindling for the forge at the beginning too which seems a very safe and effective way to split smaller pieces without danger of losing fingers !

Cheers, Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

Excellent. Thanks for posting.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[toolsntat]

Loverly 8)

Thanks
Andy

 

[woodbloke]

On a slightly different, but related topic, I thought this might be of interest...forging a samurai blade I paid a visit to one of the last remaining professional swordsmiths in Japan who was working in the Fukushima prefecture and no, there were no signs of any devastation anywhere. We arrived to find Fujiyasu-san's assistant hammering a billet:

...of steel on the anvil. After introductions were made, I was summarily roped in to wield a hammer:

...after which both of us used the sledges to hammer the billet

It's a very complicated process, but essentially one where a very hard layer of steel is forge welded between two softer, outer layers shown in the pic, in much the same way as BB's axe clip:

...so that after it's been repeatedly hammered to shape, the rough blade emerges:

The last process before the final forging process is to apply a slurry of charcoal and ore:

...to the blade to form the 'hamon' or decorative pattern made from super hard steel after which it's shaped on waterstones by Fujiyasu-san's assistant. After that, the blade is sent to the polisher so that when it comes back it looks like this:

...a tanto, or short dagger and then the full sized katana:

The blade is now lethally sharp and I wasn't allowed to touch it in case finger marks developed into rust spots, so note the cotton pad in my left hand.
The complete set of three blades is shown below:

In case you're wondering what a completed sword is worth (and it takes two months to make one), you'd best be seated. The large, full size katana is valued at around 3,000,000JPN or roughly £30,000. However, if you have sufficient fundage in the piggy bank and would like to make a very sharp :mrgreen: :mrgreen: investment I suggest you do so now...the value of his swords may be set to double :shock: in the near future - Rob

 

[andersonec]

A video of the process is here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrQqx6yM ... re=related

Andy

 

[Aled Dafis]

Excellent video isn't it, I follow him on facebook and have come very close to ordering an axe on more than one occasion, but have never quite justified it to myself stronly enough.

He has quite a few tools available, and has a few more in development. A trully amazing craftsman, he even got me tempted to fire up the forge at school, but I think that I could do with a bit of tutoring first to put me on the right tracks.

 

[Harbo]

I've got a Japanese book on the Samurai sword.
According to that, the blacksmith forges and shapes the blade - other specialist craftsmen make the hilt, scabbard etc.
A great deal of craftsmanship involved from all concerned.
They used to test them on condemned prisoners - now they use thick bamboo stems.

Rod

 

[woodbloke]

I've got a Japanese book on the Samurai sword.
According to that, the blacksmith forges and shapes the blade - other specialist craftsmen make the hilt, scabbard etc.
A great deal of craftsmanship involved from all concerned.
They used to test them on condemned prisoners - now they use thick bamboo stems.

Rod

You're correct Rod, the smith forges the rough blade and as I said, it then goes to the polisher, after which it is sent on to another craftsman who makes and fits all the other bits and piece such as the hilt, handle and scabbard, but Fujiyasu-san is only licensed by the Japanese government to make 24 blades a year. He works entirely in the dark and gauges the heat of the metal purely by the colour, sparks and sounds coming from the forge and I even have a couple of lumps of the raw steel (tamahagne) which he also makes in a kiln out the back from a special sand and red pine charcoal - Rob

 

[Harbo]

There's also a bit of religion thrown into the procedure - the smiths wear white clothes?
I also read somewhere that the best steel came from old British anchor chains?
I think the Gov limits are because the swords are very dangerous weapons and they recd. a very bad reputation during WWII?

Rod

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Excellent video, thanks for posting. I kind of wish he would have left more evidence of the drawknife on the axe handle, rather than sandpapering the facets out, but I won't nit-pick. I would truly love to own such an axe, though probably not have a use for it and that would be terrible, not to use such a tool.

Mike.

 

[bugbear]

He works entirely in the dark and gauges the heat of the metal purely by the colour, sparks and sounds coming from the forge

That's normal for blacksmiths the world over.

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

Noticed how he split the kindling for the forge at the beginning too which seems a very safe and effective way to split smaller pieces without danger of losing fingers !

I thought that was a nice example of using what you have. A blacksmith does not usually have a chopping block and axe (*) but he DOES have a hot set and a hammer.

BugBear

(*) yeah, I know this one's got a an axe or two

 

[Tom K]

Nice video there was another here http://player.vimeo.com/video/38165983 making a big boy chisel which is worth a look (hammer)

 

[Richard T]

I've noticed something about all the American smiths I see - they all use coal and non of them have any close neighbours. I have switched to coke for fear of causing localised acid rain next door.

 

[Tom K]

These guys aren't Yankees Richard they are Latvian. :shock:

 

[bugbear]

Nice video there was another here http://player.vimeo.com/video/38165983 making a big boy chisel which is worth a look (hammer)

Curious contrast between hand/eye work and precision. The chisel is bashed out with a hammer on an anvil (that wobbles...), yet the handle was partially made using captive tools in a cross slide, and the logo was laser marked.

BugBear

 

[Richard T]

These guys aren't Yankees Richard they are Latvian. :shock:

Aha ... I think coke might be a British thing compared other countries in general. I suppose most other countries have not been through a major period of coaltar/ gas/ coke production.
I can't believe his forge is exactly the same design as mine - I designed mine as an "in between" style. I was sure it was the only one. #-o

I think he's more comfortable with forging BB - anyone who can weld two bits together who's welding temperatures are different (axe) has had a lot of practice.

 

[jimi43]

Couple of very interesting parts in that chisel making video...

He seems to be very accurately measuring and making the handle stock...including measuring the cone for the socket...and then of course..since the socket is bound to be irregular...adjusting the fit...but then the thickness of the handle at the junction of the socket seems to be wrong as that too needs trimming down....

I don't understand this. And as BB says...he stamps the name on the steel but not on the handle...which would clearly be a mark of a handmade piece. Strange. =P~

But I simply love the honeycomb wax straight on the hot steel...must try that! 8)

Jim