Tanto (Japanese Dagger)

This was a project that I finished last semester but didn't get a chance to document it until now. I have a new respect for the people that make these style of knives & swords because the process is very long, grueling, and must be done completely by hand. There is no machine in the world that can form the blade into the complex cutting device that it is. This project took a week of research on traditional japanese blades, and 3 weeks of non stop work. Ten of those days were spent grinding the blade geometry on an oil stone. Every single part of this knife was made by me from scratch.

The blade itself started out as a file because I didn't have a month to forge it out of the traditional tamahagane steel, but it was taken through the same exact process that you would take a normal blade through after the forging process was complete. After the normalization process the back 2/3 of it was coated in a special clay mixture. It was then heated to critical point (~1500°F) and then plunged into a bucket of water. This is called differential hardening which is how you get these things to sweep upwards in an elegant curve, and gives you a hard, razor sharp edge and a softer shock absorbing spine. It was then tempered in an oil bath.

This thing was a definite endurance trial and I would love to do another! So contact me if you want one of these done custom for you to your specifications. Base price starts at $275.00

Specs:

-Blade:
9.5" long with a 4.5" tang and around a .25" sori (curvature); between 1/8" & 5/32" thick. Barely visible Hamon line. Visible Kissaki (tip differentiation). Nihon-to blade geometry configuration. Convex Moran Edge. Laminated copper/bronze (high phosphorus content) Habaki. The tang is signed with my trademark.

-Koshirae:
Solid red oak construction hilt. Bronze Tsuba with fine silver implants. Bronze Fuchi & Kashira. Sterling silver Menukis with titanium implants & cast in place red CZs. Faux black rayskin scales underneath synthetic black ito (wrap). Brass Seppas. Red oak mekugi.

-Saya:
Solid red oak construction. Black lacquered selectively sanded for aesthetic purposes. Oak Kurikata. Synthetic black sageo.

The stand that the knife is resting on is red oak with black felt in the cradles.