Hello Mike. Personally on W-2 I use satanite. I have tried Rutlands but I get better results with satanite. I have had some furnace cement that will puff up during heating, most likely because of retained moisture, and that is after drying for two days. They are both about the same in removal after heat treat.

The things to remember are temperature control and thickness of the coating. I usually go less than 1/8" thick for the coating. The hamon will also depend on what your quenching medium is. I prefer Parks 50.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Brion

Hi Mike,

I'm just kinda kiddin, but "clean and precise" is the opposite of what I want in a hamon.

I would look for "wild and crazy". What I would call clean and precise, is the hardening

line you get from differentially hardened 5160.

Kidding aside, I prefer satinite. It works great, comes off without grinding, is cheap, and

best of all, you don't have to wait for it to dry! Happy sanding <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Dan

ps. If you prefer a somewhat less active Hamon, don't use clay at all. Being a bowie blade, and just assuming the thickness, taper etc..., if you heat the entire blade, and quench, you will get a nice even Hamon, following a certain thickness, along the length of the blade. Depending on the overall geometry, the line will move up or down the blade.

I apologize. Maybe precise was the wrong word. I am looking to get a bunch of activity with some nice ashi. I will have it HT'd in about 9 days so i will get some pics and show you guys how it turned out. Thanks for the responses, i appreciate the information.

Mike