FORGE
My grandfather said a stone that hasn't been flattened is a stone that's lying to you. The steel knows before your eye does.
Nakamura walks us through his family's three-generation relationship with natural Japanese whetstones — from quarrying Ohira-to in the mountains above Kyoto to the moment a blade's scratch pattern tells you the edge geometry is honest.
New episodes every Tuesday
From the Workshop Floor
The Geometry of a Working Edge
Solberg breaks down why a 12-degree inclusive angle cuts differently than 20 — and why the answer isn't always thinner.
Damascus and the Myth of Mystery Steel
Okafor separates the folklore from the physical chemistry — what pattern-welded steel actually does to toughness, and what it doesn't.
Stock Removal vs. Forging: The Honest Answer
Mehta spent eight years in both camps. Her answer will frustrate purists on both sides — and that's exactly the point.
Handle Geometry: What Your Hand Already Knows
Varga has fitted handles to three hundred hands. The data surprised him. The fingers, he says, never lie about what they need.
New to Forge? Start Here.
Three episodes chosen by the editors — one for the newcomer, one for the collector, one for everyone who wants to understand where the craft came from.
What Makes a Knife a Knife
The episode that started everything. Tanaka explains why the question isn't 'how sharp' but 'sharp for what' — and why that distinction changes every decision that follows.
Reading a Blade Like a Document
Osei walks through provenance, period-correct finish, and the tells that separate a genuine antique from a convincing reproduction. Required listening before you spend four figures.
Your First Bevel: No Lies
Morozova spent three years teaching beginners. She knows exactly where the first bevel goes wrong — and it's not where you think. The most-shared episode in the archive.
New episodes drop every Tuesday.
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