Spotlight - Howard Clark
Custom Bladesmith of Japanese-style Sword Blades

by Adrian Ko

He may appear gruff and tough, but Howard Clark has the soul of an artist. He was reluctant to reveal his ABS Master Bladesmith rating, as he preferred his work to speak for himself. His blades have been winning acclaim within Japanese sword arts circles who enjoy the price-performance factor of his work. Some may dismiss his work as "non-traditional". Others, however, have drawn similarities between his work and that of traditional Japanese bladesmiths.

Owner and operator of Morgan Valley Forge (http://www.mvforge.com) the controversial bladesmith specializes in Japanese-style swords. "My swords aren't Japanese," Howard states. "They're Japanese-styled." The 37 year old artist emphasizes this point as confrontational collectors have in the past accused him of having no right to make Japanese swords.

Howard Clark's unpretentious approach to marketing (or lack thereof) has helped him gain much respect within the sword community. On his website, he makes no claims aside from physical attributes and intrinsics such as choice metallurgy, advanced heat treating methods, and his personal care for his customers.

Primarily a smith of blades, Howard occasionally offers fully mounted swords - either in conjunction with Bugei Trading Company or Fred Lohman Company for traditional mounts, or through his own creativity, such as his exotic Oosic Handled Katana which is the fossilized bone of a walrus' penis (the walrus is one of those mammal that actually have a bone - don't laugh) - which this writer has found to not only be an exceptional ergonomic grip but the sword as a whole is one of the best balanced swords I have held.

Japanese-trained bladesmith Michael Bell spoke favorably about Howard's work. "There are only a handfull of smiths who can make Japanese-style swords, and even fewer who can make them with grace." Howard Clark is not limited to the common shinogi-zukuri style but also embraces other traditional designs such as mohora-zukiri, shobu-zukuri, and hira-zukuri to name a few.

Above is a Shobu-Zukuri style katana made from a san-mai construction where softer outer jackets of steel are laminated over a hard steel core. The dark temper-line is evidence of the hard core.

Custom Bladesmithing

Being a custom bladesmith, Howard Clark forges and tailors the sword to the customer's needs depending on their budget. Collectors and martial artists have different requirements. For a basic katana with a good balance of function and aesthetics, Howard's choice steel is 1086 which is a high carbon low-alloy steel containing 0.86% carbon - a higher degree than what is used by other makers, and stiffer than other blades, but if bent will stay bent if torqued sufficiently. These blades are clay coated for traditional heat treatment, but are further tempered after hardening for stress relief to relieve some of the stresses from the quenching process.

For those desiring more than an attractive hamon (temper line) Howard also offers a high layer count "forge folded" pattern welded steel blade which, when properly polished, displays a hada-like appearance (forge welded grain).

Farther up the price range, Howard can also create san-mai construction blades, which are essentially an ancient system of laminating hard core-steel with softer sides. Ho-san-mai which involves laminating a hard edge steel with a softer spine is also possible.

Perhaps the most controversial is his Crucible Champalloy L-6 sword blades which traditional art-sword collectors may frown upon but martial artists will praise enthusiastically. L-6 is essentially a tool steel. In the knifemaking industry where tool steels are marketed and touted as a "steel that cuts other steels" (even this cannot be achieved if the heat/thermal treating is inadequate) Howard's L-6 blade, conservatively speaking, may very well be indestructible under normal use.

L-6 Bainite-Martensite Blades - Hard Testing

Traditional Japanese swords ("nihon-to") are made from a traditional source of powdered iron known as tamahagane and are subjected to traditional heat treating and water quenching. Nihon-to are generally not tempered for stress-relief. The Japanese sword is not only a balance between performance and aesthetics, it is a symbol around which the Japanese spirit, culture and society have revolved and developed for the past two millenia.

Typically, nihon-to are differentially hardened with a harder martensitic edge and a softer pearlite body. Martensite is a molecularly hardest form of steel, while pearlite is a soft form of steel. Because of this, the Japanese sword was designed for rigidity and stiffness - not flexibility like Western blades. In Japanese swordsmanship, emphasis is placed on cutting technique as improper use such as incorrect entry angle upon cutting can result in a bent or broken blade.

Howard Clark's L-6 blades raise the performance bar in durability significantly higher where function is more important than aesthetics. His L-6 blades sport a martensitic edge but a body comprising full bainite - which is steel in its springiest form, molecularly speaking (not to be confused with the term "spring steel" which is a term for a type of alloy). Where the practitioner is willing to sacrifice aesthetic qualities such as nie, nioi, etc. and the ability to select a hamon (temper line) pattern, significant improvements in performance can be gained (however, his standard 1086 blades will have better edge-retention capabilities and wear-resistance than the L-6 blades).

On two separate occasions, I had the opportunity to test two of Howard Clark's L-6 blades. Both were of traditional dimensions and traditional cross-sections. One was sharpened (hereafter known as "Test Blade 1"). The other was unsharpened, left with an edge just shy of 1 millimeter ("Test Blade 2"). The closing test employed a mounted katana with a blade that sported a traditional cross-section and traditional sharp edge and traditional dimensions ("Test Blade 3").

Each blade had a body that rated 48-49 Rockwell "C" scale hardness with an edge of 57-58 Rockwells.

The test blades were not polished because they were made for torture testing.

Test Blade 1

Test Blade 1 had already been subjected to intense punishment on a poor unsuspecting fork-lift before I had evaluated it. The result was some damage to the edge but the body of the blade remained intact. I held this in an anvil and flexed it to 60 degrees and the blade returned true with no warpage (I did not have eye protection at the time, so hesitated flexing it further). Nevertheless, this was a tremendous eye-opener as traditional nihon-to were not made to flex; they would bend - under enough torque and bending the martensitic edge would crack or break. (Note: the picture on the left is from the second phase of testing.)

I later took the blade and struck the concrete ground to see if the fine sharp edge would crack or chip. (My mouth sprang open with a big, "Oww!". People were too busy laughing, unfortunately, to take pictures. The force of the blow unfortunately cut my hand and gave me a nasty blood blister.) The result was a quarter-inch deep hole in the concrete but no cracking or chipping in the blade edge other than surface scratches.

We took the blade to the anvil, striking at the anvil with the spine of the blade. It took several strong swings before the blade finally broke - the breakage point occurred where a chip (from impacting on the aforementioned fork lift) ended and where the bainite body began. Were it not for that chip, the blade might have endured more shock.

Test Blade 2

This blade is the one with the unsharpened edge - Howard made it for the breaking test. Again, it sported only a traditional "regular" cross sectional geometry and, apart from the 1 mm. unsharpened edge, was not thicker by any means.

Again, the flex test. The blade was affixed in a vice and I pulled on the tang up to 60 degrees. The blade returned true as Test Blade 1, which speaks for the consistency of Howard Clark's work. Flexing the blade to 90 degrees caused some degree of warpage (the blade was now offset by 15 degrees). Bending the blade back in the other direction a few times, I was able to straighten the blade reasonably.

The objective of this exercise was to see how much it would take to break an L6 bainite blade. The blade endured a 160 degree bend. Once past this point, the edge first gave, and then subsequent torques back and forth caused the affixed end to break.

Not bad at all!

I then spied a pile of concrete blocks and recalled how at some reenactment fantasy faires that stage combat prop sword makers would tout the superiority of their thicker-than-normal blades by striking into concrete blocks and breaking them. In truth, even a wooden mallet or my hard head could achieve the same feat.

Nevertheless, it was interesting what damage a relatively thinner 1 mm. thin edge would endure.

As shown in the above illustration, Test Blade 2 was given a reverse-tip for convenience. I wrapped the tang in a leather glove and struck at various points of the concrete block. Like Test Blade 1, the blade damaged the concrete block but the edge took no significant damage. I then impacted one point repeatedly and the concrete block then crumbled under my wrath.

Understand that this test was an impromptu one, as the goal was to see how much it would take to break the sword. The martensite edge of the L6 sword suffered mere scratches. Depth of the scratches will depend on the hardness of the material being cut.

Overall, I was very impressed, keeping in mind that this is not an apples-to-apples comparison between a traditional nihon-to and a Howard Clark "gaijin-to".

The sword performed very well even in this improper "concrete-cutting contest." Stage combat swords are often demanded by re-enactors to facilitate improper edge-on-edge stage play and are generally made thicker (and thus weigh more) to perform feats such as going through concrete blocks. As real swords should never be subjected to such abuse, the Howard Clark L-6 katana blade performed admirably considering what stage combat prop swords can achieve.

Test Blade 3

The inset image in the right side of the photograph below is an example of one of many young hardwood trees of approximately 2 inches in width. The first set of test-cutting comprised misses, near hits, incorrect entry angle, an irritated sigh on Howard's part, and finally a hewn tree. (Wear eye- and facial-protection, as the falling tree hit me in the face and gave me a scar!)

My own efforts (left image, above) were the result of my enthusiastic efforts to trim local folliage. As mentioned before, in traditional Japanese sword martial arts, importance is placed on cutting technique (the Japanese sword is first and foremost a cutting weapon - not as a blade with a "reinforced piercing point" as some marketing jargon which circulates the industry claims.) The angle of entry is of utmost importance because even in wet straw-mat test-cutting (or tameshigiri) an improper angle can result in a bent sword.

As you can see, my technique is far from exemplary. In many cases, I would have bent a traditionally made sword - or a factory/production sword such as the C.A.S. Iberia "Shinto Katana" by Chen Chao Po. The Howard Clark L-6 martial arts blade suffered no damage to its thin sharpened edge, nor any warpage of any kind. It remained perfectly straight, perfectly capable of taking more.

Conclusion

I must stress that the use of Japanese or Japanese-style swords must be paired with the study of proper technique. The purpose of the tests on the L-6 blades is not to prove that the swords can cut concrete but to see how much the punishment threshold has been raised. Howard Clark's L-6 blades, specifically, will not reveal temper-line activities such as nie, nioi, and ashi, nor can a temper-line be specified (e.g. choji, etc. because of a non-traditional approach to heat treating.) Because these aesthetics (which are important to collectors) are sacrificed for raising the performance bar, the prospective buyer should understand the tradeoffs. Thus an L-6 martensite-bainite sword will serve any martial artist well and make up for poor technique (or accidents) that would otherwise damage a traditionally made blade.

One might find deficiencies - in terms of appearance - in the blades on Howard Clark's website. Keep in mind that these are unpolished blades finished only to 220 grit. Especially in the case of forge welded blades that sport a hada-like pattern, a traditional quality polish can bring these blades to their fullest potential.

In short, from both an aesthetics and a performance standpoint, Howard Clark's custom blades are gracefully executed and subjected to superb heat treating for high performance and maximum durability. The weight and balance achieved - such as that of the Oosic Handled Sword - is nothing short of exemplary. While such qualities will vary from user to user - as it is well within the custom bladesmith's abilities to achieve any weight and balance - the Oosic sword almost had a personal tailor-made quality to it - as if the weapon were meant for the wielder.

While the Japanese government's NBTHK imposes many restrictions upon swordsmiths residing in Japan over the manufacture of traditional Japanese swords, "gaijin-to" smiths such as Howard Clark do not have such restrictions as such smiths are not making traditional Japanese swords. Howard finds the beauty of traditional nihon-to something to aspire to. He has the ability to emulate them but prefers to also find an expression that is truly his own.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Daryl Meier and Howard Clark for inviting me to Daryl's shop for this educational experience - and for having me in your home, Daryl. Also warm thanks to Al and Mary Dippold for letting me stay at their home and eat up their "flat meats" (ham).

Contact Information

Website: Morgan Valley Forge (http://www.mvforge.com)

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