JOHN NEELY on wed 5 nov 97
Tadeusz Westawic wrote:
> I want to know the word that the Japanese steel forgemen use to
> designate the slip application in swordmaking, or the word that they use
> to name the pattern left on the blade by the slip.
Can anyone help me?
Tadzu,
Don't know a lot about Japanese swords, but the pattern on the blade is called
"hamon" - ha means blade and mon is pattern. The clay that is used in the
hardening/tempering process I believe is just called "tsuchi," the generic
word for clay or soil, although every smith has his own secret mixture that
contains powdered charcoal, ash and a variety of other things. If I remember,
the process is called something like "tsuchi-oki," though it could be
something more prosaic like tsuchi-kake or tsuchi-zuke. I imagine that as is
the case with ceramic terminology there is considerable regional difference.
Really out of my depth here - ask me about pottery terminology.....
John Neely
Utah State University
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