Interesting thread. Lots of interesting facts, view, insights and beliefs. Being me, I am somewhat excluded from taking part as I fear I would be breaking the gudlines. I will say this however:
The science behind the making of a honyaki is out there and in plain view. Those who contrive to brave this huge mass of information and knowledge will soon find it is a bottomless pit and will take several years of university to even begin to comprehend. This is not to say that there are no simplified explanations out there - and very good ones too. However, there is a big difference between understanding the science and application of it in the arts. It is one thing to be a maker of honyaki, and judging a honyaki from a standpoint of the experience gained in making them, and being a user of honyaki and judging them from a standpoint of the experience gained in using them. Both experiences refer to the same group of objects - but they are very different as far as approach is concerned. I am not a Cheff. I do cook my own food - but I fear my knife skills leave a lot to be desired in terms of kitchen work. As a maker of Honyaki I can say the following:
Honyaki knives are cnsiderably harder to make - mainly because of the reasons stated earlier. Oil quenched honyaki are different than water quenched honyaki. This is not to say one is harder than the other. The difference rests with the nature of the steels used in each of the quenching mediums. While water quenching is as a rule more prone to warping than oil quenching, oil quenching - especially certain steels that are a bit air hardening, allows for multiple quenches. While most of the crystals that grow while heating the steel retain their structure, some reverse back into nothingness. And so, while doing multiple quenches the steel structure is further refined - IF DONE PROPERLY. This kind of multi quench process will not only yield more refined steel - it will also yield multiple hamon lines - not always visible to the naked eye, and yet - still there. While hamon lines are a testament to fine craftsmanship and differential heat treating, I have seen many examples of blades that have been perfectly heat treated deferentially - but did not show a very accented hamon. And this is where application of science to the arts ends. At a certain point, knife making - especially honyaki knives - becomes a dark art. It is reliant on the experience, intuition, and knowledge of the craftsman. In most cases, the experience can be conveyed in words - but many times it cannot be explained to the uninitiated simply because they have not spent enough time staring into hot metal and flames and will not realize what they are looking at - even if shown. Not at first anyhow. In other words, while it is perfectly possible to explain swiming using nothing but words - chances are that most people who attempt to learn swiming this way will not do very well the first time they attempt to jump into a pool of water.
The science behind the making of a honyaki is out there and in plain view. Those who contrive to brave this huge mass of information and knowledge will soon find it is a bottomless pit and will take several years of university to even begin to comprehend. This is not to say that there are no simplified explanations out there - and very good ones too. However, there is a big difference between understanding the science and application of it in the arts. It is one thing to be a maker of honyaki, and judging a honyaki from a standpoint of the experience gained in making them, and being a user of honyaki and judging them from a standpoint of the experience gained in using them. Both experiences refer to the same group of objects - but they are very different as far as approach is concerned. I am not a Cheff. I do cook my own food - but I fear my knife skills leave a lot to be desired in terms of kitchen work. As a maker of Honyaki I can say the following:
Honyaki knives are cnsiderably harder to make - mainly because of the reasons stated earlier. Oil quenched honyaki are different than water quenched honyaki. This is not to say one is harder than the other. The difference rests with the nature of the steels used in each of the quenching mediums. While water quenching is as a rule more prone to warping than oil quenching, oil quenching - especially certain steels that are a bit air hardening, allows for multiple quenches. While most of the crystals that grow while heating the steel retain their structure, some reverse back into nothingness. And so, while doing multiple quenches the steel structure is further refined - IF DONE PROPERLY. This kind of multi quench process will not only yield more refined steel - it will also yield multiple hamon lines - not always visible to the naked eye, and yet - still there. While hamon lines are a testament to fine craftsmanship and differential heat treating, I have seen many examples of blades that have been perfectly heat treated deferentially - but did not show a very accented hamon. And this is where application of science to the arts ends. At a certain point, knife making - especially honyaki knives - becomes a dark art. It is reliant on the experience, intuition, and knowledge of the craftsman. In most cases, the experience can be conveyed in words - but many times it cannot be explained to the uninitiated simply because they have not spent enough time staring into hot metal and flames and will not realize what they are looking at - even if shown. Not at first anyhow. In other words, while it is perfectly possible to explain swiming using nothing but words - chances are that most people who attempt to learn swiming this way will not do very well the first time they attempt to jump into a pool of water.
out of a large honyaki blade that blew in half during quenching, or does the fact it blew already show it was f....ed steel in the first place?
