Look beyond the weapon, beyond the object, look rather, at the focus and intent that is used to make them. The raw materials are shaped by raw will into something that transcends the mundane. That quality of will over time is available to everyone, it is only your mind that limits you.
Upvote for the documentary. Swordmaking in Japan required skills that took multiple people to complete a good sword. Making the blade is only one part and even sharpening the blades is done by a separate artist.
I wonder what happens when you get your expensive Japanese sword all nicked up along its edge? Do the Japs have a sword-sharpening service? I bet it's expensive, if they do. Of course, these swords will never actually be used for anything -- they might as well be made of pewter, for all the difference it makes. They are going to hang on walls.
They get used, they're actually pretty tough, you would have to smash the blade repeatedly on a steel pipe to ruin it, you could chop several small trees with it, and only require mild sharpening if at all.
The people who just keep them for decoration do so out of appreciation for the workmanship involved, at least I hope. To be honest, the weapon is not what is impressive, it's the tradition and the process of making one that appeals to me, that kind of tradition should be preserved, it produces something pure.
The charcoal is made from the wood of trees, it is the trees that make the Tamahagane special.
Don't tell me -- the great swordmaster, who is 87 years old, planted all the trees from which the charcoal is made as saplings when he was a boy. The Japanese are sooo full of shit. Did you know that in battle a straight European sword from the Middle Ages outperforms a Japanese sword? People have experimented. There are videos on YouTube.
Japanese iron sand is pretty shitty raw material by itself. It is the carbon in the tree charcoal that changes the properties of the iron sand. Transforming the metal, fusing it with carbon, and other minerals in the tree charcoal(charcoal is activated carbon). Notice how much time they spend purging the impurities from the metal, this is all part of the forging process.
Again, you fail to notice, I don't care about the weapon, I'm not in the business of killing people, what I find positive and inspiring is the dedication, how everyone works together at their highest level to create a piece of art.
I like that quality, I would like to embody it, although I have no team, it doesn't matter, I respect the process enough to involve myself in it as if I were part of a team. I'm the guy who runs a relay race with no team mates because fuck it I just want to race.
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