Those blades that have layer counts of less than two hundred seem to have the best qualities as weapons. Experience has shown that pattern welded blades that have a layer count between 100 and 200 will exhibit the most vivid patterns. The resulting knives vary in size and style. All forging is done using traditional methods, employing a coal fire. Although an air hammer is used to speed the process of drawing out the billets, all the shaping is done by hand hammering.
All welds are percussion welds from the fire, rather than torch welding.
Heat treating steps are done by eye, producing some variation in edge hardness, but generally yields a superior blade to those heat treated in ovens. Special pieces may utilise layers of wrought iron or nickel. The standard practice is to layer two decorative layered slabs on to a solid high carbon steel core. This produces a blade that is a delight to the eye - but a the same time an excellent tool. The finished blades are polished to 120 grit, and then lightly etched to bring out the pattern.