Folded steel

This is a picture of folded steel. One of the best known applications of folded steel is that of creating Japanese swords. The purpose of the process is to remove impurities in the steel, thus increasing its strength and resilience.

The process is pretty intense for the steel. Nuggets of tamahagane steel are forged into a block by being heated to about 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit. The block is taken out of the fire, hammered into a thinner block, scored with an axe, then folded over into a thick block again. The block is then placed back in to the fire. The process is repeated from 8 to 16 times. The result is exquisite.

Life is like that. Into the fire. Hammered thin. Scored with an axe. Folded over. Then, just when you figger you can take a deep breath… it’s back in the fire again. The process sucks. But the result is exquisite.