Charles Krause wrote:
> 
> I always thought that would be a _real_ accomplishment of sword-modelers,
> would be the accuarate representation of a Katana. Probably the type whose
> edge and back of blade followed the radius of different circles would be
> easiest. However, the blades are actually very complex shapes, and the fact
> that the metal is not uniform throughout the blade but is purposly hardened
> to different crystalline structures in different parts of the blade makes
> for some quite beautiful, and very hard to procedurally model!, textures.
> And let's not even THINK about doing a wapped handle accuratly,and as far as
> the orbate tsuaba got........ *shudder*
> 
> Still - it is probably _the_ sword modellers ultimate challenge. Someday
> when I have a few months spare time, I may start pulling textbooks on
> Japanese sword smithing off the shelf a give it a whirl, but not today.
> 
> The image? Damn close in any case :) Best approximation of that style of
> blade I've seen I think :)

   I have longed for the talent to accurately model an edged weapon. I have
 a couple of small books on the subject, one for knives the other mostly
 french cutlass and broad swords, and buy the occasional magazine off of
 the rack when something catches my fancy.
   The textures would be a bit of a challenge but I think I could master
 that with little effort. What has had me stumped is how to hollow grind
 a curving edge without leaving scratches of blemishes from the operation.
 Some of the finest cutting blades in the world have what is called a hollow
 grind above the cutting edge.
  It forms a gully of sorts that is actually deeper than the majority of
 the taped thickness of the bevel leading to the sharpened edge. The
 advantage of the hollow grind for those curious to know is that when the
 material that is being cut into passes the keen sharpened edge of the
 cutting tool the material has a very smooth edge that adheres to the flat
 smooth surface of the blade. This causes jerky or start and stop cutting
 sessions and is a nuisance.
  The hollow ground blade limits this by allowing the material to start to
 heal back towards itself and then is quickly angled outward breaking its
 suction like grip to the surface of the blade. This action gives much
 smoother cutting through materials much thicker than the height of the
 blade and serves as a self cleaning process as well. In consequence this
 reduced build up of compounds that will foul the cutting operation leading
 to successful cutting operation with a repeatability that is refreshing.
  The hollow grind operation is relatively easy on the right machining
 equipment and the odd scratch of two can be eliminated by buffing it out
 on a buffing and polishing wheel. Pov csg operations are not quite as
 forgiving in this regard and forming a uniform indent in a curved surface
 is uniquely challenging. Added to that is the limitation of having no way
 to polish out any blemishes left by csg operations as you would be capable
 of in the real world.

  I think that I will continue to evaluate my thoughts about this for a
 while before thinking about thoughtfully attempting a well thought out
 approach to this thought provoking yet stimulating little problem.

-- 
Ken Tyler

mailto://tylereng@pacbell.net

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