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Here are some of the swords I've completed over the past year or so.  Blades completed within the last month and blades available for purchase will appear in the "New & Available" page.   Click on the pictures for further details.

 

San-mai Katana.  This 27.5 inch blade is made of san-mai (three steel) construction with 1050 on the sides and 1095 on the cutting edge.  It's got a long kissaki, a wild choji hamon, and a ton of tobiyaki and muneyaki.  Some hamons look better in person than in photographs.  Unfortunately, this is one of them.  The liveliness and complexity of the hamon just doesn't show up well in this photo.  Click the photo to see  a close-up of the hamon.  SOLD.

 

One Shaku Tanto.  This tanto was made for a video I just finished producing about hybrid polishing.  The flow came out really nicely.  Forged from 1095 steel, it runs just a hair under 12 inches.  In fact, if you're into measuring things using the bu-sun-shaku system, this one's almost exactly one shaku, the theoretical dividing line between tantos and wakizashis.  Blades of this size and curvature were common during the Nambokucho period.  Click on the picture for details.  SOLD.

 

Kubikiri Tanto.  Look closer.  The blade's on the inside of the curve.  These wicked little suckers were supposedly made for cutting off heads back in the good ol' days.   This was quite a pain in the neck to polish.  Forged from1095 steel.  SOLD.

 

San-Mai Shinogi-Zukuri.  This is a 28" blade with a long o-kissaki forged from 1095 and 1050 steel.  There's a bit of utsuri here and there, and the hamon shows nice detail.  The combination of a hard core steel and lower carbon outer layer gives a nice combination of hamon detail and blade hardness.  Click on the photo to see a close-up of the hamon with the san-mai weld clearly visible.  SOLD.

 

Tamahagane Tanto.  This blade was a milestone for me.  It was the first blade I've made from self-smelted tamahagane.  Traditional Japanese blades, by definition, are made from a primitive steel known as tamahagane.  I've been aiming toward traditional Japanese blade-making for quite a few years now, and this represents my crossing a threshold into a broad range of exciting new challenges as a craftsman.  It's about 1200 layers with a crazy hitatsura hamon.  I'm not selling this...but look for more blades from me made from tamahagane this year.  Contact me if you're interested in commissioning a similar blade.  Click on the picture for details including close-ups of the hada.

 

W2 Hitatsura.  This exciting blade, featuring a wild hitatsura hamon, was forged from W2 steel, which has recently become a favorite steel of mine.  One special note about this blade is that it is featured in an instructional video I've been shooting called, "HOW TO MAKE HAMONS."  (Soon to be available on my site.)  I get a lot of questions from other smiths about how I make my hamons...so this video is designed to provide answers to common questions and problems.  As such, this blade was designed to demonstrate some of the more advanced and interesting techniques that I know.  The blade is about thirteen inches, putting it on the borderline between wakizashi and tanto.  It's stuffed with activity including tobiyaki, muneyaki, various kinds of ashi and utsuri.    Click for a close-up of boshi.  SOLD.

 

W2 Suguha.  This blade was used for the same video referred to in the W2 Hitasura blade.  This is a much simpler hamon.  The blade is designed to evoke the feeling of Kamakura blades of the Yamashiro style.  Elegant, calm, no straining for effect.  Blade length is about 10 inches.  Click for a close-up of the hamon.  SOLD.

 

Ko-wakizashi.  This 14 inch hira-zukuri ko-wakizashi is forged from W2 steel.  W2 is sort of like a higher carbon version of 1086M.  W2 steel no longer produced and I was lucky to track down a stash of it.  This blade features an extremely active choji hamon.  Faint utsuri is visible.  Unmounted with habaki.  One of my all-time favorite blades. SOLD.

 

Canahagane Tanto.  This is a folded steel blade made from what I call "canahagane" -- a steel specifically designed to mimic the look of tamahagane.  The steel is composed of 1084 powder, cable, cast iron that I smelted myself and a few other odds and ends.  The various components were combined in a mild steel enclosure and forge welded.  (This process is called "can steel" by Western smiths.)  The mild steel was then ground off, the billet restacked, forge welded and folded until it contained approximately 250 layers.  What's cool about "canahagane" is that each layer is heterogeneous, just like tamahagane, yielding a much more interesting and subtle pattern, including chikei, sunagashi and other features typically found in traditional Japanese blades.  Has a very diffuse suguha hamon with patches of slightly hardened steel in the ji.  The blade is about 10 inches, modeled on the Kamakura era "jo-sun" style blades (though it has a bit of sori, which would not have been typical of a Kamakura blade).  Click to see a close-up of this blade's complex steel.  SOLD.

 

"Lasagne" Scrapahagane blade.  This is an 8" blade made jointly by Jesus Hernandez and I.  The blade was made by piling and forge-welding tiny scraps of old blades.   We did the forging together.  Then I ground, heat-treated and polished the blade.  Jesus then completed the very unusual mountings which are made from zebrano, ebony and other exotic woods.  I'll have photos of the mountings shortly.  SOLD.

 

 

Folded shinogi-zukuri blade.  This 29 inch beast is forged from high-layer folded steel composed of 1095 and 1050 carbon steels.  Roughly 1000 layers.   This is a very large, sturdy blade with a very short kissaki and an active choji hamon.  Some utsuri is visible.  SOLD.

 

1086M Hira-zukuri.  This 27 inch blade is forged from 1086M steel, a high carbon steel with a pinch of vanadium for increased edge-holding.   I purchased a gob of 1086M from Howard Clark and have really been happy with the results I've gotten from it.  This blade has an extremely active choji hamon, some utsuri, a pierced copper habaki, and very little niku.  The martial artist who commissioned it intends to use it primarily for mat cutting.  SOLD.

 

Buck-eye Hira-Zukuri.  This was a custom project designed by a client.  The blade, forged from 1075 steel, is thin and light with very little niku.  The sword is mounted in a saya of California buck-eye burl with a 14" long leather-wrapped tsuka, copper kurigata and water buffalo horn fittings.  The very small tsuba is wrought iron.  The blade length is 28 inches with a very long 13 inch nakago.  SOLD. 

 

Saka-choji Katana with Egg Shell Koshirae.  No joke.  Egg shells! This shinogi zukuri blade is 28", with 3/4" of sori.  The hamon is a very detailed saka-choji (slanted clove blossom) based on suguha.  The saya was lacquered red, then crushed egg shells were embedded in the lacquer, sanded flat, then clear coated.  A ridiculously laborious process.  It took about two and a half months to finish the lacquering.  Ain't gonna do another one like this for long, long time!  Simple wrought iron tsuba forged from a piece of vintage 1906 anchor chain.  Click picture for more details.   SOLD.

 

Hira-Zukuri Katana.  27" blade forged from 1050 steel.  It has a really wild choji hamon.  The blade is fairly thick at the machi, and tapers quite a bit, so it feels light, despite being relatively brawny. It has an unusual feature in the form of a maru mune (rounded spine).  This blade has been extensively tested including hundreds of cuts on light bamboo.  It's a wicked cutter.  SOLD.

 

San-mai  katana.   This shinogi zukuri katana is of san-mai construction -- very hard 1095 steel sandwiched between more resilient 1050.  O-kissaki.  Click the picture to see a much more exciting and detailed image.   SOLD. 

Look for more blades coming soon!