Japanese Dagger with Sawa (Sheath & Handle)

The goal of this class is to produce a blade ready for quenching with minimal use of a grinder. The focus will be on the tanto, the dagger carried by samurai. Students will start with a piece of high carbon stock. This class will follow historic processes as closely as possible. Students will forge their bar into a blank of precise dimensions, before hand forging bevels and relevant blade geometry. Then, hand files will be used to finish the blade. Blades that are ready will be quenched at the end of the 2nd day. This class includes an in depth discussion of heat treating, and blades will be clay coated when quenched for a hamon. The third day will start at the forge to make a basic fitting, the habaki, from copper. After that, the class will turn to the wood shop, where students will use hand tools to make a wooden handle and sheath using traditional methods. This class is for intermediate smiths.