Tanto from dirt

[Richard Furrer]

Hello All,
Here is a 7 3/4" tanto about 1" wide which is forged from iron ore I smelted. I began with iron ore from central Wisconsin. The iron at this particular source is bound with granite and the material needed to be roasted, crushed and then smelted to separate out the iron. In the process of smelting the iron bonds with some of the carbon in the fuel source and becomes steel.

The pattern is hira-zukuri in an ayasugi (Gassan Style) hada.
The hada is regular and the hamon has quite a bit of interesting activity. Traditionally on the ayasugi had blades the hamon would be straight (suguha), but as I am not a member of that family I can take some liberties.
The hamon has a nice turn back at the tip which I found difficult to photograph.

[Richard Furrer]

Here is a close-up of the ayasugi hada

[Richard Furrer]

Lastly a close-up of the hamon near the tip.
I like the secondary activity in this one.

[A. Ko]

Ric,

Some sweet stuff going on there on the blade surface!