Originally Posted by
Mike Blue
Blue No. 1 Super Steel is sensitive to temperature control, but not any particular barrier to working the material for a smith with experience. Don't make these out to be magical materials.
As to thin. Hitachi has some rolling mills that make their ability to produce thin sheets a no-brainer. A smith trying to forge thin materials like that by hand would have to be very dedicated, hedging in the direction of foolish. Frankly, they probably would start with a thin sheet and not bother forging the steel down from a big lump unless they wanted to be able to claim they did once. From a practical perspective, it's a huge waste of time and fuel when Hitachi has already done it for you.
Since you know Japanese knives well, the whole point is the thin, artistic slices such blades produce. It's all about the presentation, Neh?