Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Rogers
I don't make Japanese swords so I can't speak with any authority as to the concept of that blade's grind. From looking at pictures on the internet I see what appears to be several variations of the osoraku design. The concept probably has some reasoning behind it or it may be nothing but a choice of appearance. One can imagine anything they want for their blade designs. I made some daggers with some similar design elements in that the blades were hollow ground but the tip was flat ground. My 'concept' on that was that the tip of a dagger is the weakest point and hollow grinding the tip only makes it weaker. Daggers don't cut well for several reasons but hollow grinding the edge improves the cutting ability. That was my rationale for the mix of hollow/falt grinds on my daggers. Perhaps some similar ideas are behind the osoraku designs I saw.
But, none of that matters. If that's what you want to make then make it whether you have scientific/practical or simply a fanciful reason to do it. The how part is simple if you know how to free hand grind. Once you know how you want the blade shaped you practice until you can get it that way. Without knowing anything about your knife making background that's about all anyone could tell you: practice free hand hollow grinding and flat grinding until you don't have to think about it any more. After that, you can shape an osoraku or any other blade that you can visualize ...
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I just really love the shape and was curious about the engineering behind it. I was wondering if the grind towards the rear was at a different angle or what. I thought maybe the back portion was made to be sturdier for blocking and the front portion was ground thinner to cut deeper. I had never read anything about them being hollow ground though. Even if they were that's not something I want to get into. I'm mostly just interested in copying that distinctive geometrical bevel.
Is there any way to accomplish the bevel using a jig and belt sander? I'm trying to visualize how it would be done but I can't figure it out. I can't even figure out how to do it by hand.