The Hamon - Parts of a Japanese KatanaThe Hamon is recognized as the sharpened section of the blade and is a result of differential hardening. In a traditional Japanese katana the blades spine is coated thickly with a special clay and thinning out greatly before the edge. This enables a master sword smith to control the speed in which different areas of the blade change temperature during the heating and cooling process of tempering. The result is a harder cutting edge and a softer spine. The hamon is revealed through expert polishing and will show itself as a slightly different shade from the rest of the blade. This is difficult for some people to see, so it is a common practice in modern day to acid burn the hamon to make it more visible. This shouldn't be mistaken for an artificial hamon even though the technique is similarly used. Artificial hamon's are sometimes produced on mono-steel or through hardened blades. These swords are made for beginner to intermediate martial artist but aren't differential hardened which is the only way a hamon is produced. An artificial hamon may be applied to the blade so it looks aesthetically correct to the traditional tempered blades.Hamon PhotosThese are some photo's of several different Hamon found on the Japanese katana that we offer.The differentially tempered 20” 1566 steel blade features a real hamon line. See more of the Modern Wakizashi - BohiThe choji hamon pattern whisps across the edge of the blade to the habaki which is etched in the Rain pattern. See more of the Mukade Ni Katanastriking wispy hamon and a bo-hi See more of the Ryujin KatanaThe 27” 1566 steel blade features a real hamon line with a copper habaki and seppa. The tsuka encapsulates the tang in textured G10 and dual pinned for a secure grip and is unremovable. See more of the Modern KatanaThe 1566 forged steel blade features a real hamon line with a beautiful copper habaki and seppa. See more of the Modern KatanaThe blade is forged and folded from a mixture of T10 and 1055 steels. This allows the hada to be more discernable without losing strength. The hamon is the o-choji style throughout the blade. See more of the Armourer's KatanaThe Bamboo Mat Wakizashi features a chu-kissaki blade of Hanwei's own high-alloy HWS-2S steel, which combines impressive performance with a striking O-choji hamon. See more of the Bamboo Mat WakizashiThe Tonbo features a prominent hamon from the differentially tempering of the blade. See more of the Tonbo WakizashiCleverly concealed, the choji hamon pattern whisps across the 5" T10 blade to the silver habaki. See more of the Frenchie Jin Bamboo TantoThe turbulent wave theme is carried throughout the sword including the beautiful hamon in the forge folded blade. See more of the Sea Wave KatanaThe hada and hamon mirror the silver turbulent waves depicted tsuba, kashira and fuchi. See more of the Sea Wave WakizashiThe hada and hamon mirror the silver turbulent waves depicted tsuba, kashira and fuchi. See more of the Sea Wave Wakizashi