Japanese sledge hammer video

[kalevra]

Hello,
here is my take on it: The Japanese didn't really make pattern-welded blades in the European sense of it. There were no "damascus" blades in Japan as we call them today (mechanical damascus is probably the better term). True, the blades of the swords were forge-welded, refolded, etc. However, this was done to homogenize the steel/iron; the very subtle pattern that emerged came to be appriciated for its beauty, true, but it was originally an indicator of how good the forge-welding job was. Yoshihara Yoshindo summed it up when he said: "the Japanese sword is beautiful because it is sharp" . Which means that forms follows function. The elements that give a Japanese sword its beauty are also the elements that make it the cutting tool that it is: a hamon line indicates proper temper, good texture indicates good welds, and a nice curvature makes for good cutting action, etc.
It is worthwile to remember that ALL Japanese cutting tool --chisels, plane blades, kitchen knives --where made in exactly the same way, by forge-welding pieces of charcoal-smelted iron with different carbon contents. I own a couple of these old tool, and their texture is just like a sword's if polished properly.
There are, of course, plenty of tools in Japan nowadays that are made from modern steels, and are not forge-welded at all. To understand why the old ways survived, we have to look at the role of the craftsman in Japan. Even the word itself -shokunin in Japanese -- carries a certain meaning in Japan largely absent from modern West. If one is a shokunin, there is the implication of excellence, pride in one's work, social responsibility (as in carpenter making good houses or blacksmith making good knives), and hard-headedness. As a generalization, shokunin in Japan demand the very best in tools, be they electric or hand tools, so blacksmiths dutyfully provide them.
Why are forge-welded tools better? A forge-welded kitchen knife or chisel is mostly very soft iron (it is specially produced by Hitachi) forge-welded to a very pure carbon steel (also by Hitachi, there are a few kinds). This has two advantages:The steel can be heat treated to a much higher RC hardness then a single-piece steel knife without danger of breakage, as the soft iron, which constitutes the bulk of the blade, protects the brittle edge. Such hard steel takes a very keen edge, which is very long-lasting. Another major advantage is the ease of sharpening, since most of what is removed during this process is very soft iron --- the hard steel is thin and barely protrudes beyond the soft part.
Why do the Japanese need such sharp knives? A major part of the diet is fish, often raw, which is very soft and has to be cut with a very keen edge if it is to keep its pleasing appearance and not be squashed into an unappetizing lump. Also, the presentation is as important as the flavor, so the vegetables are also cut in very certain ways -- which again, calls for very keen, fine blades, which are also easy to sharpen as a good chef wants to maintain the sharpness as a constant.
It is true that japan has in it certain elements of rigidity, but the same can be said about the U.S. We view ourselves here as flexible and innovative, but we also have our own sacred cows which we are unwilling or unable to slaughter, illogical as these might be. No culture sees itself in true light.
At the same time, it is good to remember that Japan has made the leap from feudalism to a modern state in an astonishingly short period of time, creating a powerful industry out of nowhere and adapting and adopting whatever methods it saw fit, while completely rearranging their society. I am not sure that modern life is all its cracked up to be, but there it is. By the same token, even the most conservative knife-maker in Japan uses modern steels, a power hammer and often a hi-tech gas furnace, etc. Sword-making is a different kettle of fish, as it exists to preserve the craft as it was in previous centuries. Swords are viewed in Japan as cultural treasures; when a license for a sword is issued it is not a personal document -- the owner is a mere custodian, and the document goes with the sword to the next owner. The most accomplished sword makers are designated Living National Treasures, which should tell us something about where the sword stands in Japanese culture, and why people where ceremonial robes when forging it. Having said that, I hasten to add that by sword-making teacher in Japan would sometimes wear jeans and a tee-shirt in the smithy, and thankfully I wasn't called to wield the sledge all that often as he had a nice power-hammer. Robes are for formal occasion, when visitors or tv come -- much like a smith in the U.S. donning his big leather apron and dragging out his coal forge when doing a public demo.
As to the hammers -- they work very well on blades; I use a few myself, including hand-hammers. The western cutlers used some very similar hammers, and some perhaps do. Bill Fiorini, a very accomplished smith in the U.S., uses this style of hammer for his blades. It is very true that the composite, soft-on-hard construction existed in the West for cutting tools. it is just that we abandoned it, and the Japanese, for reasons stated above, kept it and perfected it and adapted it for modern use and technologies. Not all new things are necessarily better, but not all old ways are worthy of preservation, either, just because they are traditional. I think it is good to be innovative and open-minded and not worship the past, but dismissing it without understanding it is just as bad.
Cheers.

[easilyconfused]

IMHO, the Europeans seem to have moved along at a faster pace because of the frequent wars fought between different races and peoples. The Japanese primarily fought each other - so technology didn't advance like in the West.

I think that is as big of role as the reliance on traditions. By not being exposed to new technologies and ideals, there is no need to change them. It occurred in N. America too before the European settlers arrived. Human nature generally follows the path of least resistance, mob mentality, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Each culture and region in Europe must have had their own way of doing things and contact had to have left a mark on each other's traditions, culture and technologies. Take for example languages. Common words is a common way to track contact between cultures.

I believe that hollywood has over exemplified the Japanese blade versus Western. Each has thousands of years of trial and error, but changed in their own way to the necessities dictated by that time and to use them in different scenarios would mean that they had to change their weapons. As well, to take a weapon out of the context it was designed to be used for for comparision is a, excuse the pun, a double edged sword because, as stated before, each was developed for that particular use. Would you use a hot cut on cold steel and say the hot cut is inferior to a cold cut? I wouldn't.

IMO, because western society didn't have the same "death before dishonour" mentality the Samurai seemed to have, which may have lead to a more rapid arms race. It would be interesting to compare the armour race to the weapon's race.

And, like it has been said before, every tradition has wisdom to impart to anyone who will listen. The key is determining it from the piles of you know what that can come with it. ;)

[minaraimono]

Kalevra, ホーヒさんからメールを送っていただいてありがとうございました。

Greetings all.


I am now in my second year of living and studying blade smithing in Japan and have a healthy foundation in Western style smithing as well. This by no means makes me an expert, especially where swords are concerned, but I suppose I might have some perspective on this matter. That being said, I want to stay as far away from the, "If Zatouichi where to meet Sir Lancelot in a dark ally..." scenario. I can think of several objections, but most importantly there is little for us to learn from it. With that, I would like to seize upon the last phrase offered by the proceeding contributor;
"every tradition has wisdom to impart to anyone who will listen. The key is determining it from the piles of you know what that can come with it."

I do believe that there is wisdom to be gained from looking at and comparing cultures and traditions, otherwise I would not be where I am as I type this. However I have the rather unlikably esoteric belief that such things ought to be experienced before they can be discussed.
Rather than get caught up on ethereal Lets get back to something we can sink out teeth into. I believe this thread started with a video of three strikers working on a billet for a Japanese sword. Very quickly we get a comment on the difference in the design of the hammers being used. I think Johannes has the right of it, for the most part. Personally, I am still uncertain of the value of changing the center of gravity of the hammer if used in the standing position. The same hammer shape used while seated has a whole different story. With a few more years of research I might be able to write a book on the subject, but suffice to say, the body mechanics change completely, and the Japanese hammer takes advantage of that. I don't think anyone will find much value in using it while standing, unless you happen to be accustomed to that style of hammer already.

Now I will jump to where "philip in china" adds his comments. Personally, I cant say I see anyone in this video either, " swing... just like somebody breaking toffee," or "hold both hands at the end of the handle." I see feet and hands set apart, and relatively good posture. Perhaps the fellow to the far right is doing a better job of keeping his spine straight, but I've seen worse at every single blacksmithing event I've been to (and a few better). The distance from the anvil and the hight of the swing are both different from what we are used to, but remember this is not "up-hand position" striking, and should not be expected to look like it.

Considering how long the arch of the swing is (which gives them more power), they are doing a good job of hitting with positional and axial precision. Perhaps that change in handle location does help. I'm not sure.
I think this technique is being utilized with attention to physical laws and body mechanics (about which if you really really want, I could offer more of my thoughts). But i think its more important that we each cultivate our own eye. Make some observations of your own and post them. Think about the basic physics at work and apply your own experience. Then we will all be able to engage ourselves in the topic, and some wisdom might just precipitate out.

Personally, I only have so much striking experience, but I'm not familiar with what "philip in china" calls, "slidingthe handle through the hand on the down stroke [sic]." I think my hands stay put on the down stroke. But its been about two years since i did any striking. Please correct me if this is wrong.

And to see some guys really swinging like Casey Jones, and a glimpse of similar hammers being used in the west (though for different reasons I suspect) check out this video.
another group of spectacular craftsmen

[Drew]

I would love to know if anyone has any leads on japanese blacksmithing as a more general discipline (in other words, I don't care too terribly much about swords)? In other words... where would you find "the art of blacksmithing" / "New edge of the anvil" in its japanese form? Oh, and of course, preferably in English so I can read it. :)

[Glenn]

Go to the top of the forum page and click on user cp
click on edit profile
go to the bottom of the page, enter your location, and save.

We would like to know where in the world you are located.

[Glenn]

Drew
A internet search will show both books available for purchase.

New edge of the anvil can be previewed in English by clicking on the link.

[Frosty]

Glenn:

I believe Drew is looking for the Japanese equivalents to American smithing how to books, not translations. He's interested in learning Japanese smithing techniques other than bladesmithing.

Frosty

[minaraimono]

There is, as far as I know, no such book. There are not even any "how to" books written in Japanese on the subject of blacksmithing. While the Japanese language does have a word for "blacksmith" (someone who makes objects by forging iron) there is no community surrounding the craft in such broad terms. There are regions with strong traditions of making certain types of objects, for example, Sakai is famous for kitchen knives and Miki is famous for carpenters tools. Within those towns there is a network of craftsman, but they tend to keep to themselves. In fact, it can be very hard to get knife makers, chisel makers, saw makers etc. to see that they are all part of the same craft. Perhaps because so few people have back yards to begin with, the "back yard blacksmith" phenomenon does not really exist in Japan. Very few people consider smithing something that just anyone can take up.

I don't know of anything written in English, but one book that might be of interest is called 日本鍛冶紀行 (nihon kajikikou): Japanese Blacksmith Travel Journal. Its in Japanese and not instructional at all, however, it has lots of pictures of traditional Japanese farm tools, and is currently in print. Its nice to see some of the iron products of Japan other than the swords, knives, chisels and planes that have become so dominate. It might be inspiring, or at least intriguing.

I tried to find an English website that sells it, but failed. If you paste the Japanese words written above into a search engine the Japanese version of Amazon is one of the first hits. You might be able to figure out how to check out based on the icons, and its relatively familiar layout. (2,000 yen is about 20$ US)

While I was on Japanese Amazon I did find a few books about blacksmithing that I don't yet own. None are "how to" style books but they might have some good information all the same. I will let you know if i find something good.