Katana forging has been practiced for a long time in Japan, in the past, this profession was very developed in Japan, especially in the Edo period when every samurai carried two takana as an object of separation, it was not only is a weapon that they can protect their masters but also represents the pride of the ancient samurai. If you have the opportunity to travel to Japan, it will not be difficult for you to admire this extremely unique sword in the country of the samurai.
The takana is a traditional Japanese weapon, can be considered as the "national weapon" of this country. This sword is always on the list of the most dangerous weapons in the world with sharpness is perfect, in Japan, there are many legends related to this wonderful sword and it has no small attraction. for Japanese tour guests.
Currently in Japan, those who still keep the forging of takana are only counted on the fingers. Along with the development of modern technology, it is possible to forge a sword without spending a lot of time, however, for Japanese people, the manual forging a new sword can be effective. the highest for a sword, both in sharpness as well as conveying the soul of the swordsmith into the sword.
To be able to forge a traditional Japanese sword, swordsmiths need materials. The materials used to forge swords are not iron but steel alloys. The Japanese often choose the best iron ore to temper steel into a very high temperature (steel temperature is not disclosed). Steel after being smelted from the furnace will be tested very closely in terms of quality, if there is an error in the temperature adjustment process, the quality of steel will not be satisfactory and they will be discarded. be retrained because the Japanese believe that if there is retraining, the quality is not satisfactory.
After the steel is finished, it will be transferred to the sword smiths, the blacksmith will choose the best pieces of steel to be able to forge the best swords according to orders from all over Japan or from the world.
The process of forging swords takes quite long time and is very elaborate, usually to forge a good sword, the blacksmiths swords take up to 1 year to complete, including the process of sharpening the sword.
To start forging a sword, first to prepare the furnace, the smithy was made of earthenware, the Japanese used charcoal to forge the best swords in the world.
The carefully selected steel pieces will be stacked about 4 to 5 pieces by the main worker, each about 5 cm long and about 2 cm across, then put into the furnace until turns red. After heating the steel to a fixed temperature, the worker will take the piece of steel to smash and put it into cold water, the process will be repeated many times until the main worker (2 people). the assistant mechanic takes turns smashing the steel piece, the main worker will be responsible for keeping the steel piece on the flat iron table, the hot iron will be twisted and beat back to the original shape to create the elastic for the sword) feel enough. Forging steel will continue to allow the steel bar to form a sword, after finishing forging a sword,
There are about 6 to 8 types of grindstone to sharpen a sword and the worker takes a long time to grind a sword, sometimes up to several months. After grinding the blade, the grinder will apply a compound of ash and clay in an esoteric mixture to insulate the blade in the next firing phase to create a pattern for the blade. The sword, the pattern used to create the pattern of the sword is called a "hamon" made from painted earth mixed with ink powder, and it also shows the personality of the swordsmith. Not stopping there, the sword will continue to be grinded by the grinding machine again to create a pattern, the best type of grinding stone is crushed into small pieces of powder and used to grind directly on the blade. , the process is extremely stressful, requiring the sharpener to be very focused if he does not want to cut his hand. After grinding is done,
A completed katana will be a series of very elaborate manipulations that require a high level of concentration of the worker, if not considered a failure, the person who learns the sword training must also be very patient, a worker is only allowed to recognize when it has been more than 10 years to learn an apprenticeship from the main worker.
It is not difficult for Japanese visitors to see a katana every time they come to Japan, because it is displayed in museums or galleries, but if you want to witness a katana born there is probably a bit difficult because it will take a long time to see it.
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