Forging a Japanese Blade - Part 1

Murray Carter, 17th-generation Yoshimoto Bladesmith and certified Master Bladesmith, conducts a variety of bladesmithing courses at his forge throughout the year. These courses teach students how to hand forge their very own knives and use them for indoor or outdoor use, kitchen or camping, or what-have-you. The following videos are courtesy of Bob Worthington who attended Bladesmithing Course #202, held from Sept. 12, 2008, where students made their very own International Pro Series chef knives.

Forging a Japanese Blade - Part 1

In this first clip, Murray demonstrates the initial forging process of a blade, instructing bladesmithing class attendees how to heat and forge their own International Pro Series chef knives through example.

Forging a Japanese Blade - Part 2

In this clip, Bladesmithing Course #202 students Bob Worthington and John Marcus learn how to properly heat their blades and use the power hammer to forge them to proper thickness.

Forging a Japanese Blade - Part 3

Murray demonstrates in this clip forging a knife using both a power hammer and the conventional hand method of forge welding.

Finishing a Japanese Blade

In this final clip, Murray prepares the forge and then water quenches a blade (listen to the unique sound it makes, about 2 minutes into the clip). Students then receive instruction on grinding their knives on a huge Japanese wet stone. Lastly, the International Pro Series chef knives get their final sanding on the handles. The students later hand-sanded the handles with 400-grit paper.

To learn more about Carter Cutlery Bladesmithing courses and the many other steps to making high-quality high-performance knives, visit "Secrets of a Samurai Bladesmith" at our website:
http://www.cartercutlery.com/Courses.cfm

We have photos from other classes which you can view at our PicassaWeb site:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cartercutlery/

"The Making of a Kuro-uchi" slideshow is especially interesting and very informative:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cartercutlery/TheMakingOfAKuroUchi#

You can also go directly to see the eleven different Bladesmithing Courses on our Products Page for pricing information:
http://cartercutleryproducts.com/category.sc?categoryId=6

Be sure to visit our main website to discover more about the worth and beauty of hand-forged Japanese knives:
http://www.cartercutlery.com/

All of the Products we currently have in stock are located here:
http://cartercutleryproducts.com/main.sc

Drop by for a visit! Hope to see you soon. May God richly bless you, and remember...

Stay sharp!