Pics courtesy of Alex Huangfu of www.Chinesearms.com:
Above and below pics shows different parts of a jian (Chinese double-edged sword) forged with sanmei (3-plate) laminated construction. See the borderlines running parallel along both edges, they are actually the boundaries between the central cutting-edge plate and the two side-supporting plates.
The beautiful blade has been heat-treated without using clay. As can be seen from these 2 pics, the frosty patterns of martensite crystals are randomly distributed all over the blade, rather than running along the edges only.
