# What cladding for nice kasumi



## Jurrian (Sep 24, 2021)

Hello, 
What kind of cladding would be the nicest to use in combination with white paper steel, polished with jnats?


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## RDalman (Sep 24, 2021)

Hmmm matter of taste, twisted mokume gane maybe


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## Jurrian (Sep 24, 2021)

What would be the characteristics? Would you have a picture?


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## tcmx3 (Sep 24, 2021)

it's not enough to just name a material, the smithing matters.

big difference between Shig/Hinoura soft iron and like Yoshikane soft iron, where the first has noticeable banding and the latter is just like a pure ocean. which do you prefer?

Western makers often have wrought iron which I really like but may have too much 'character' for some folks.


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## Jurrian (Sep 24, 2021)

I think I like the banding better. But I’m assembling a knife to sell, so in my country I guess the traditional way would sell best. Unique selling point will be a handmade handle and handpolished finish.


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## RDalman (Sep 24, 2021)

Jurrian said:


> What would be the characteristics? Would you have a picture?


Haven't seen it done. Imagine it would be very spaced out, and almost impossible to pull off


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## M1k3 (Sep 24, 2021)

Not stainless.


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## RDalman (Sep 24, 2021)

M1k3 said:


> Not stainless.


Maybe hss


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## inferno (Sep 24, 2021)

M1k3 said:


> Not stainless.



pretty much anything clad in ss will suck for kasumi imo. i have 1 kurosaki that is so-so. but it the cladding also rusts so


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## inferno (Sep 24, 2021)

RDalman said:


> Maybe hss



hss is the best cladding


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## RDalman (Sep 24, 2021)

inferno said:


> hss is the best cladding


Shiny and shinier finish


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## inferno (Sep 24, 2021)

does hss create banding or a swirly ocean kasumi? that you could just drown in, by looking at it.


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## Jurrian (Sep 24, 2021)

RDalman said:


> Maybe hss


Has stands for?


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## inferno (Sep 24, 2021)

hi spead steal.


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## Jurrian (Sep 24, 2021)

inferno said:


> hi spead steal.


Tknx!


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## natto (Oct 17, 2021)

tcmx3 said:


> Western makers often have wrought iron which I really like but may have too much 'character' for some folks.


What makes the difference between wrought iron and soft steel? Every multi layer is welded and forged. Hot rolling is one way of forging. 

Some makers collect ancient steels. "Puddeleisen" for example. The first industrial furnaces produced cast iron only. Puddeln is stirring the hot cast to reduce carbon. So wrought iron might be a hint to a production method.

Language barrier is frustrating!


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## Luftmensch (Oct 18, 2021)

natto said:


> What makes the difference between wrought iron and soft steel?



History and technology advancement 

The modern equivalent of wrought iron is mild steel.





natto said:


> Language barrier is frustrating!



'Wrought' means worked... its roots are Germanic! To this end... I feel like 'wrought' iron can be applied in many situations - for instance, hammered mild steel is in some senses 'wrought'. It is also a style - 'wrought' iron decorations are very popular in victorian-era fencing (often with cast-iron filigree balcony decorations). The old material would have been wrought iron... I am sure the new replicas are mild steel.

Wrought iron was made by decarburising high-carbon content alloys (e.g. cast or pig iron) through oxidation. Indeed, as you say, one of the early mass manufacturing methods was through a puddling furnace (the 'Puddeleisen'). Prior to that, bloomeries produced a range of iron alloys across the carbon spectrum. A blacksmith could choose a part of the bloom that suited their needs... or even combine high and low carbon bits of the bloom. Common to these methods is that the process was not particularly clean. The products were not homogeneous and would contain slag inclusions.

To homogenise the steel and remove the slag, the metal was worked (wrought). Because the steel is 'dirty' by modern standards, you can see impurities from the smelting process. By working the steel, the resulting stock can have a nice grain and a layered, pattern-welded look from the folding/working. The contaminants can be really subtle (my preference)... or outright gaudy (meh)!

I doubt wrought iron is manufactured in commercial quantities. Industry would prefer 'clean' mild steel. That is why blacksmiths might collect old steel from railroads, farm equipment... old bridges or ships. The history behind the material can be a nice touch. Seriously enthusiastic blacksmiths might make their own wrought iron from DIY bloom steel.


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## Jurrian (Oct 18, 2021)

Tknx! Lovely to read.


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## EricEricEric (Oct 18, 2021)

Very pure soft iron with a steel core that has alloy banding


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## natto (Oct 18, 2021)

Thank you @Luftmensch , I appreciate your post.


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