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Forging Process

The Steel is Heated Prior to the Forging Process in a Charcoal Fire
　

After hammering the steel out, it is cut in half and folded.
The actual forging of a sword is a most important process. This process, along with the quality of the steel, determines the quality and function of the blade. There has been some confusion and misconceptions on how our swords are forged. The pictures of actual forging on this page along with an explanation of each process should clearly demonstrate why our swords are of the highest quality. We get the best that the forge of Chen Chiao Po can make. These swords are exclusive to Bugei Trading Company and are not available to other companies.
Each sword is individually hand forged, individually heat treated, individually polished and individually mounted. The result of this, besides the high quality, is that no two swords are the same. Each one has individual characteristics that differentiate it from others of our swords even of the same style. It takes time to make blades of this quality. This is why our blades cost more and are more difficult to acquire. It is best to order or reserve your blade as soon as possible as we do not always have full availability in stock.

The folded steel is then hammer welded together, as the forging process continues.

 

The smith then continues to shape the blade, first with a power hammer and then with a hand held hammer.
The quality and performance of our blades is of paramount importance to us and we will not compromise this quality and performance just to sell more swords. The finished sword, shown at bottom left, has an edge hardness of 61 on the rockwell C hardness scale. The hardness transition goes to 45 rockwell just above the hamon to 36 rockwell at the mune. This insures good edge holding with strength and ductility in the body of the sword. The polishing process then shapes and sharpens the blade and reveals the different crystalline structure that is evident in the sword.

After forging, the blade is shaped by hand, and then coated with clay, prior to the hardening process.

After the claying of the blade, it is heated to critical (about 1450 degrees) and then quenched in water. This process creates the martensite edge and pearlite body of the sword.

The blade is then final shaped and polished. This sharpens the blade and reveals the hamon that is created by the hardening process.