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I Forge Iron

It took me 25 years to make this sword....


JPH

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Hello:

I am still battling this thing with my hand but here is something that took me close to 25 years to finally finish up.

As some of you know I was very close friends with the late Mr Robert Engnath..as close if not closer than brothers. He and I back in the day were working on ways to produce "finish it yourself" sword blades with a real hamon for his business "Blades -N- Stuff"..We must of destroyed two tons of steel and hundreds of blades figuring this out..but we did. Bob went on to become one of the most sought after "japanese blade" makers in the world.

Well while we were mucking about with this I forged this blade out of 1076, in the shinogi-zukuri shape, and I not knowing better at the time forged in a bit of sori prior to heat treating.. Well Bob and I were trying a new quenchant mixture, a mix of lye, salt and dish soap.. It worked great but it put even more sori in the blade...almost 1 5/8" of an inch..(This mix worked so well that Bob used it from that day on...)

Anyway I finished it up using wet/dry paper and put it into shira siya where it stayed from that day on..I was mostly burned out from doing all the Japanese stuff so I didn't really think about going all the way with this one, I did however take it with me to the various shows that the Engnaths and I were doing so Bob could take orders for similiar sword blades... This is where it gets "interesting"

Bob and I were at the Pasadena Knife show...our tables were next to each other as we usually were..I had this blade with me when this geeky fellow comes by my table and without warning grabs and pulls out the sword...Now I am trying to get this guy calmed down and Bob is rapidly coming to my aid, when the fellow says "Don't worry I am a trained Ninja" (what ever that means I do not know...) and then proceeds to raise the sword up, over and down his back from his right shoulder..

He shouldn't of done that. All that sori in this blade means the point isn't "where it should be" and about 3" or so of the kissaki burried itself neatly in the idiot's right but cheek.. Now things get worse (for him..funnier for us..) Instead of thinking and reassessing his situation and pulling the sword straight up and out, the idiot simply pulled down on the tsuka and opened up his behind like a canoe. Copious amounts of blood followed. Needless to say I finally got my sword back and he was off to the ER via ambulance..never to be seen again.

I spent the rest of that afternoon cleaning the numbskull's blood off the blade. Of copurse what happened spread like wildfire throughout the show..with more than ample help of Bob and his lovely wife Stevie. Several other makers dropped by with suggestions as to what I should "name" this sword...

Well I just put it away and more or less forgot about it...and when Bob passed away so suddenly..it just didn't see the light of day for a good long while. I was heartbroken at his passing as he was very much "family" and I couldn't bring myself to do anything with it until now.

Seeing that this was the last blade we made together as a team..I figured I should mount it up and finish it as a cover sword for book IV, which I did.

So here it is..the infamous sword named "Xxxx Biter"...

It is in Tachi mounts with a 29 1/4" long shinogi-zukuri blade, the tsuka and saya are covered in tiger rayskin and my favorite black and gold chevron pattern Ito. The saya has hammered copper fittings and the rest is done in a mix of silver and gold leaf under black cracked lac. It is sealed with 10 coats of clear hard lacquer. I feel this give a very nice visual effect.

The mounts are bronze, with gold and silver details done in a dragon motif. Tsuka length is 12 1/2" or so.

I think that Bob would be pleased with the way it all turned out. Given the fact that is is one of the few pieces I have that he worked on..it is a very special sword to me. It is only fair that it be used for the cover of book IV as I will be including all he notes and other information that he and I came up with on Hamons back in the day.

Hope the photos turn out..

JPH

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Well this was done waaaay back when and we were just starting to understand how to induce sori during yaki-ire. I wanted about 1" to 1 1/4" sori so I went ahead and forged about 3/4" or so before we hardened..it picked up almost another inch during yaki-ire so this is what I got...

I will say it takes a little getting use to as far as Kata and form, but it cuts like a laser..even and smooth cutting on goza or tatami..That curve just lets it all flow...

JPH

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Beautiful blade. Love the story. Those guys that pick up a blade, you warn them and they still manage to cut themselves. Idiots. Now days they would sue you over their incompetence. The blades name, I shot Dr. Pepper out my nose when I read that. Funny stuff as well as fitting. Not the Dr. Pepper, it burns.

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Beautiful blade. Love the story. Those guys that pick up a blade, you warn them and they still manage to cut themselves. Idiots. Now days they would sue you over their incompetence. The blades name, I shot Dr. Pepper out my nose when I read that. Funny stuff as well as fitting. Not the Dr. Pepper, it burns.

im sure the sword blade burned on its way out too.... and in for that matter....
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