Jason, I will say that you can get a hamon with Aldo's 1084, but, not much activity. I think this is due to the high manganese content. I would try the 1080 first and see what you get. 1095, 1075, 1060, W1, and W2 will work better.

Good luck

Brion

Brion,

Which of those steels give you the best activity, all other things being equal?

Ed C.

I would skip both of those if hamons are your goal. Like Brion mentioned manganese is key, though both are fairly simple steels the high manganese content will prohibit the activity which is key to a good hamon. It just hardens to deeply. The true masters of hamons are the Japanese swordsmiths and they are using tamahagane, with little or no manganese. Indeed their steel is a big part of their blades beauty.

For steel Aldo's W2 can't be beat, the low manganese along with the vanadium for grain refinement make for a steel which can produce very nice hamons. I have also seen good hamons with W1, 1095 and 1075, all with fairly low manganese. Once you have a suitable steel, an even heat and fast quench are the next most important aspects. My first couple blades with W2 still lacked any activity, it was because I was quenching in canola. Once I switched to water I started getting what I wanted. I not saying you need to use water but it does need to be fast, I know of many smiths getting nice results from Parks 50.

On a side note, Aldo is currently out of W2. He said it will be about a month or so. In the meantime I have seen some very nice blades forged from his 1075.

I have done extensive testing in many areas of all of Aldo's basic forging steels, and by far his 1075 is the most responsive to hamons of any steel I have tried. In Parks #50 the 1075 will very closely follow any line you lay on with the clay. Just remember that hamon is an old technique for very basic steels with very old and basics tools, so forges may actually work better than ovens since soak times can put full solution at odds with differential hardening.

Thanks for the replies. I have an oven, but currently no forge. I also traded a local guy for a bit of 1095 that I plan to use instead. I have some awareness of the other challenges 1095 brings to the table.

Given that I'm using an oven, can anyone recommend austentizing temps and soak times for the 1080/1084 and for the 1095, given that hamon is the goal? I'm assuming a lower temp and shorter soak than usual? I typically use 1475 and about a five minute soak when going for full conversion on the 1084. I haven't much experience with the 1095.

Ed, I do best with 1095 and W2. I have not tried Aldo's 1075, but I am.

Brion