On a CBC TV shoot at Seki City, famed for it's Samurai Swordmiths and blades....
The Sword-smith fired up his forge and heated a lump of iron...
...and allowed me to help hammer the red hot steel to form a sword... This bit was scary, as the Sword-smith was a bit of a grumpy old thing, and I was afraid of invoking his wrath should the hammer not fall flat, or with enough power. Usually outsiders would not be able to take part in this sacred art, and so I was aware of the honor involved in being allowed to enter the smithy and assist in the forging.
This is the process from right to left,...melting the iron into lumps, collecting the lumps and heat welding into a block before hammering and folding the steel block at least 17 times before forming a sword shape. Eventually the sword is heated hammered into the slight curved shape particular to Samurai swords.
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