The video documents the process of making a Japanese sword, from gathering iron sand to forging and polishing the final product. The narrator, Derek, and his producer, Petr, visit a smelter in Japan where they learn about the traditional method of making steel, known as the Tatara method. They also visit a swordsmith, Akihara Kokaji, who demonstrates the process of forging a sword.
The video explains the science behind making steel, including the importance of carbon content and the process of folding and hammering the steel to create a strong and flexible blade. It also shows the process of polishing and sharpening the sword, which can take up to a month.
The video also features a lesson on how to use a Japanese sword, taught by a master, Takara Takanashi, who is a 10th-generation student of Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary samurai.
Throughout the video, Derek reflects on the importance of craftsmanship and attention to detail, and how it can result in creating something truly beautiful and valuable. The video ends with a message from Derek, thanking the viewers for watching and promoting Henson Shaving, a company that makes high-quality razors.
1. Japanese swords can be strong enough and sharp enough to slice a bullet in half.
2. The method of making these swords has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years.
3. Japanese swords are considered to be among the best in the world.
4. One sword from the 16th century has been appraised at $105 million, making it the most expensive sword ever built.
5. In Japan, there is a smelter that is lit for only one night each year where steel is made in the same way it was 1300 years ago.
6. This method is known as the Tatara method, and only steel made in this way ends up in the very best Japanese swords.
7. Sword making in Japan goes back about 3000 years, but in those days, swords were made out of bronze.
8. The iron for Japanese swords comes from iron sand, which is found in rivers and is collected by creating diversions in the river to increase the concentration of iron.
9. The iron sand is mixed with charcoal and heated to over 1,250 degrees Celsius to create steel.
10. The steel is then sorted by quality and carbon content, which is done by eye, and different grades of steel are sent out to swordsmiths around the country.
11. Only 30 swordsmiths in Japan do it as their full-time job.
12. The forging of the sword begins by heating the steel in a coal oven with hand-pumped bellows until it is soft and malleable.
13. The steel is then hammered into shape, and the process is repeated multiple times to create a strong and flexible sword.
14. The sword is then covered in a layer of clay and heated in a furnace, and then rapidly cooled in water, a process known as quenching.
15. The quenching process can cause the sword to shatter, and about one-third of all blades shatter during this process.
16. The sword is then polished and sharpened by hand using whetstones of different coarsenesses, which can take a month to complete.
17. The iconic curve of a samurai sword comes from the formation of martensite, a type of steel that is created during the quenching process.
18. The boundary between different types of steel in a finished sword can be seen by the difference in color, known as hamon.
19. Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary samurai, killed his first opponent in single combat at the age of 13 and spent the rest of his life perfecting his sword-fighting technique.
20. Musashi fought in more than 60 duels to the death and won every last one of them.