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I have been reading The Japanese Sword Column and thought it may be of niche interest to other Soylentils. It is written by Paul Martin, a noted British expert of Japanese swords. From the introduction:
Along with cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji, the Japanese sword has become one of the enduring symbols of Japan. It has experienced centuries of warfare, evolved through Mongol invasions, survived the introduction of the musket, the end of the samurai era, modernization, and confiscation and destruction by the Allied forces following World War II. They are an anachronism in modern society, yet they continue to be made. They are an integral part of Japanese culture.
Today, I feel very fortunate that we have access to Japanese swords and can observe the artistry of blades that were previously only accessible by Japan's ancient military and social elites.
I particularly enjoyed the July 25th article, The Changes in the Shape of the Japanese Sword. The articles are short, update infrequently and have plenty of pictures of museum-quality swords. A good fit for those with a casual interest in the subject.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 10 2017, @08:21AM (5 children)
After all you children are done discussing the Second Amendment and Pirates vs. Ninjas, could we have some discussion of the technology of the Japanese sword?
It is not over-hyped, in actuality. The carbon content of the blades were controlled by a process of forge welding cast iron (very high Carbon content, up to 5%) to wrought iron (almost no carbon), and then drawing the billet out and stacking it upon itself to be forge-welded again, basically kneading the metal until the proper alloy was achieved, and at the same time removing or distributing any other impurities that could cause flaws or weakness. And a single blade would be composed of several different parts of differing carbon content, again forge-welded into a single blade.
And don't even get me started on the differential hardening and tempering techniques, which were not only functional, but aesthetic as well. Best blades in the world, for at least a thousand years, rivaled only by Damascus blades. The West could not even reliably make steel until Bessemer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 10 2017, @11:21AM
I think my fascination with the japanese sword comes from reading Musashi and imagining the grace and focus of movement that can be achieved if the sword is good enough.
If I think about it, it's a pretty violent and gory book, but I never thought of it that way.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 10 2017, @02:11PM
Hah. Doesn't come close to my +3 diamond edged mithril sword, made by dwarves a thousand years ago.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 10 2017, @02:48PM (1 child)
It is over-hyped, if only because there's just ludicrous amounts of hype. The technology _is_ very neat, mind, but the mysticism around it is huge.
Do keep in mind that the techniques used are there to make up for the poor quality of the steel available. European swords at the time were made from higher quality material (even the non-Damascus ones), so they didn't need to go the same lengths to get a, well, weapons-grade weapon.
It does go to show the lengths humans will go to in order to overcome the limitations of what they've got at hand, even if (especially if?) the goal is killing other humans.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @07:33AM
You really, really have no idea of what you are talking about, do you? European "steel" of the Muromachi-jidai? Ha! 愚かな外国人!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 10 2017, @04:36PM