About This Project
Japanese swords represent premium quality and sharpness worldwide. Traditional Japanese craftsmanship realizes the utmost excellence. The same traditions bring greatness to the Panasonic shaver. Our challenge was to use this outstanding craftsmanship to forge a Japanese sword from Panasonic shaver steel. Shaver blade stainless steel is extremely hard and difficult to fabricate. Our traditional swordsmith faced a surmountable challenge.
Stretching and Strengthening the Steel
PANASONIC'S SWORD
The swordsmith folds and pounds stainless steel into a finely dense plate harder and tougher than before. The stainless steel is then forged at high temperatures into a sword, but great care is required not to crack or break the extremely hard metal while crafting the thickness and shape.
PANASONIC'S SHAVER AND TRIMMER BLADES
A powerful pressing machine applies pressure to the stainless steel in order to create a finely dense plate harder and tougher than before. Blades forged from stainless steel offer greater strength and abrasion resistance than electroformed nickel blades.
* Yasugi Specialty Steel products known worldwide for quality also utilize stainless steel,
Quenching and Strengthening Steel
PANASONIC'S SWORD
High temperatures heat the steel to rapidly quench for greater toughness and durability. Only a master of the technique can meticulously manage the difficult heat adjustments required for the stainless steel used in this sword.
The blade is then heated again to reduce the tension of the stainless steel and stabilize the effect of tempering. This process prevents the edge of the blade from chipping, which is typical with a less flexible steel.
PANASONIC'S SHAVER AND TRIMMER BLADES
Heating and rapid cooling of the fabricated stainless steel hardens and strengthens the Panasonic shaver blades. However, absolute control of the temperature and pressure is necessary to process the extraordinarily thin stainless steel.
Sharpening a Smooth Cutting Edge
PANASONIC'S SWORD
Various grindstones delicately and carefully grind the blade to a superbly sharp edge. Grinding the very hard stainless steel took 4 to 5 times longer than traditional Japanese iron swords.
PANASONIC'S SHAVER AND TRIMMER BLADES
Panasonic shavers take advantage of the superior sharpness of an acute 30 degree angle for the inner blades. State-of-the-art grinding technology is required to achieve the highly difficult task of rendering a blade with a 30 degree cutting edge.
Ensuring Finished Quality
PANASONIC'S SWORD
Comprehensive visual and tactile inspection of expertly tempered steel prevent any deformations or flaws.
PANASONIC'S SHAVER AND TRIMMER BLADES
Highly skilled technicians conduct the final inspection of 100 blades per minute first-hand with the eyes of artisans after verification by leading-edge precision inspection devices. Each and every inner blade is inspected and marked with the date of production and lot number before shipping.
Japanese Blade Technology
A Legacy of Quality, A Tradition of Innovation
Advancing the Japanese art of making exceptionally sharp and robust swords, Panasonic has applied state-of-the-art technology to develop blades of outstandingly high quality.