Is the difference between half forged and forged Japanese swords in terms of material or craftsmanship?

The main difference between half forging and hon forging of Japanese swords is in the process. Half forging is a process in which the swordsmith uses two different processes to forge the blade, while hon forging uses one process to forge the blade. Specifically as follows:

1. Half forging is the knife maker with two different processes to forge the knife bar, because of the two different steels, after quenching, the blade part of the knife will naturally produce high hardness, dense martensite, while the stem part of the knife due to a mixture of two kinds of steel, so the hardness of the low, the organization of the mixed organization is not dense.

2. This forging, on the other hand, uses one type of steel to forge the blade, and after quenching, the overall hardness of the blade is uniform, but the hardness of the blade is lower compared to the half forging.

Overall, the difference between half forging and hon forging for Japanese knives is mainly a difference in process, and which process is used to forge the blade depends on the personal choice of the knifemaker and his or her production needs.