HHC-
I did give it an etch with lemon juice, and it brought out some subtle colour difference, but now having sanded and polished it again, the etch has almost completely disappeared. I might give it another go with the lemon juice later, but worried about staining the handle now.
The steel is: https://www.schmiedeglut.de/carbonstahl-kohlenstoffstahl-cederstahl_1
Just what my colleague had lying around, and didn't want anything too fancy seeing as it was harden with a torch and I am very inexperienced.Used some wood from an old shoulder plane for the handle, not sure exactly what it is but obviously something pretty hard and durable! Messed up the pins a bit (again) so they're not perfectly flush and there's a bit of glue visible, but overall super happy with how it's turned out!
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chiroshi
Update: I went for a symmetrical grind, and my colleague convinced me to try and get a hamon. Wrapped the blade in stainless wire, then 3 layers of refractory cement and ash in increasing concentration. Heated to cherry red with a propane torch (although I was outside, so it was hard to judge) then quenched in peanut oil. A bit of the cement flaked off during the heating, so we'll see how that affects the hamon, but a quick file test shows it has hardened well. It'll go in the oven tonight and tomorrow for 3x 1hr at 180C for tempering, then comes the big reveal!