Thread: Could This be Tamahagane?

Hello all,

I recently received a blade from Japan that caught my eye as interesting. When I looked at the blade in the light just right, I noticed a series of wavy horizontal lines along the blade. Since the blade also had some fine surface scratches, I polished the heck out of it to further investigate these lines. Unfortunately, they faded a bit with the polishing, but they are still very visible. I tried to capture the lines, but they did not come through very well. I was wondering, given the country of origin, could those lines signify that the blade is Tamahagane? If not, are they indicative of another type of steel? Regardless, the blade is stunning. I can't wait to hone it up and give it a try. Also, I would love to know what the kanji on the tang mean if anyone happens to know.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

If it was Tamahagane, it would be marked as such,it is not Tamahagane for sure.

Ok, thanks! Thought I would ask. It's interesting nonetheless. Honing her up as I type.

Maybe from tempering. Google "Hamon lines" and see if the examples match.

Cheers, Steve

Originally Posted by Steve56

Maybe from tempering. Google "Hamon lines" and see if the examples match.

Cheers, Steve

Hmmm, the wavy pattern is very much like the Hamon lines that I saw on Google Images, but the lines on my blade are much more numerous and tightly packed compared to the one or two that I see in the others. I read that vinegar will make real Hamon lines stand out a bit more, so I will try that and see.
Thanks for the insight!

Have a look on eBay at the razors listed by the user Nipponjapan. You might find your answer on there. Lovely looking razor BTW.

Originally Posted by wayne394

Have a look on eBay at the razors listed by the user Nipponjapan. You might find your answer on there. Lovely looking razor BTW.

I see a couple that I can hallucinate looking similar to mine.
I appreciate the kind words. The blade certainly looks cool, and took an edge like a laser yesterday. May become one of my favorites.

The waviness could be a result of the forging process. If the razor was made from tamahagane it would have been marked as such on the tang.

Mostly likely this feature is called alloy banding. It can look like pattern welding but is not. It has more to do with the heat history of the blade, and grain structures internal to the steel. Some think it a flaw, others an aesthetic feature.

And, despite tamahagane being a mono steel, to create a solid bar to work a blade from, the material has to be folded and welded to eliminate the crud from smelting and close up all the open spaces. This produces a pattern welded surface look. The same thing can be done by welding one alloy back on itself.

Another possibility; the same features can appear in blister or shear steels.

All these mono steel patterns can be manipulated by forging or similar methods used in pattern welded steels to alter the pattern's appearance.

I remember Oz writing a post about Alloy banding a while back that looked a lot like folded layers in a mono steel

edit: this is the post
http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...vel-grain.html