Description
In this comprehensive six-day course, students will gain mastery over several very important bladesmithing skills and complete their own Damascus steel knife. Upon completion of this course, students will have a very comprehensive understanding of Japanese bladesmithing and be able to independently forge knives.
Hands-on techniques will include:
- Selection of steel specific to Damascus steel knives
- Lamination techniques
- Forge maintenance
- Forge welding
- Forging to final thickness
- Traditional annealing techniques
- Scale removal
- Cold forging
- Straightening
- Quenching
- Tempering
- Grinding
- Polishing
- Acid etching
- Low temperature silver soldering
- Attaching handles
- Sharpening
- Hand sanding to completion
- Construction of a leather sheath
Lecture topics will include:
- Overview of different types of traditional Japanese cutlery
- Philosophy of Japanese metallurgy
- The five criteria for superior cutlery
- Expose on laminates vs. homogeneous steel blades
- Practical parameters of cutlery design
- Advanced blade sharpening and maintenance
- Regional variation of traditional Japanese bladesmithing
- Relative strengths and shortcomings of man-made sharpening stones vs. natural stones
- Japanese blade-related terminology
- Slide show of bladesmithing in Japan
Prerequisite to this course are any one of the following: 101, 102, 201, 202, or 500 course.
Classes taught one-on-one unless otherwise negotiated. Travel and lodging are at the student’s expense.
