Mokume-gane
Alloys · Rare · Medieval
A technique, not an alloy: a stack of different metals forge-welded into one billet, then cut into and flattened again so the buried layers surface as a pattern. It runs all the way through the metal, so it cannot be polished off or worn away, and it cannot be drawn out in advance either. The smith finds out what he has made when he files the face flat.
Identity
- Source
- Japanese metalworking tradition
- Layers
- Gold, Copper, Silver, Shakudo
- Over time
- A laminate of metals, not an alloy: the early layers were soft metals and alloys (gold, copper, silver, shakudo, shibuichi, kuromido) bonded without melting.
- Also known as
- Wood-grain metal, Burl metal
- Ores, before industry and since
- Gold (Gold), Sylvanite (Gold), Azurite (Copper), Chalcocite (Copper), Chalcopyrite (Copper), Copper (Copper), Malachite (Copper), Tetrahedrite (Copper), Acanthite (Silver), Chlorargyrite (Silver), Freibergite (Silver), Galena (Silver), Proustite (Silver), Pyrargyrite (Silver), Silver (Silver), Tetrahedrite (Silver)
- Ores of the industrial age
- Calaverite (Gold), Bornite (Copper), Chrysocolla (Copper), Covellite (Copper), Cuprite (Copper), Enargite (Copper)
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Multi-layered surface showing swirling wood-grain patterns of alternating metals: gold, silver, copper, shakudo in natural or patinated colors
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 9.5 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 900 °C
- Boiling point
- 1800 °C
- Lighter
- Vibranium
- Denser
- Bismuth
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- High
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 3
- Softer
- Zinc
- Harder
- Bronze
- Workability
- Difficult
- Brittleness
- Tough
- Malleability
- High
- Ductility
- High
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- High
- Reactivity
- Low
Lore & Narrative
Developed by the Japanese swordsmith Denbei Shoami around 1700, mokume-gane was originally used for sword fittings. The name means 'wood-grain metal', since the patterns mimic the natural grain visible in cut wood. Each piece requires weeks of skilled handwork.
- Notable uses
- Jewelry, sword fittings, decorative objects, fine art metalwork
- Forge uses
- Jewelry, Sword fittings, Decorative art
- Worldbuilding traits
- Japanese, Patterned, Unique, Artistic
Sources
- Mokume-gane, Wikipedia
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