Recommendation? Hamon

K

Kissaski

Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
4
I know there's probably many threads on hamon lines and things but if anyone could help me i would appreciate it.
I tried making a wakizashi, forged it from an old leaf spring, then attempted to make my own clay to temper it with - i used pottery clay, water, regular fire ash, and some iron filings, then applied it and waited a couple of days for it to dry. Within a few hours i noticed many spots showing through, which i think turned out to be rust. I heated it to non-magnetic temperature, and a bit more, before quenching (in water). However, i have polished the blade a fair bit and still not even a hint of a hamon. Did i use the wrong recipe? Any ideas what could cause the rust spots? I cleaned the anvil of any scale each time.
Also on a side note, as this is my first attempt at bladesmithing, i also ended up with a slight bend sideways, im pretty sure this could be because i didnt put the clay on perfectly evenly, although i also didnt normalise the blade beforehand to relieve stresses so that could be it too. Is normalising the blade just heating it to cherry red and then letting it cool slowly?
Many thanks
Hugh
 
Not every steel will show a hamon.
Purchase some w2, 1075, W1, 1095, and a few others and you'll see hamon.

I'd recommend 1075 for the heat treat you're doing at home.

There's lots of good threads on here about hamon development. I'd skip YouTube vids unless it's Nick Wheeler or Walter Sorrels for now.

Use the bladeforums search engine and pay close attention to the details.

Here's a good start: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-hamon-thread.1459372/
 
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I would say the biggest problem that you had with this setup is the mystery steel. Like Josh said above, use one of the shallow hardening steels and you should have much better luck
 
Lots of work to forge something like that without even knowing if the steel is capable of producing hamon.
 
Many thanks for your replies - I figured out that the rust spots were from the iron filings in my home made fire clay. I know that old leaf springs can produce a hamon, but no doubt this is dependent on the age and type of steel ect. Am currently waiting on some fire cement to dry - my third attempt. If this doesn't work im just going to complete the blade and not worry about a hamon, its a nice shape and it hardens well so thats all that matters in terms of functionality.
Thanks
Hugh
 
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