Originally Posted by
David Weaver
No lamination. I would make sure you know you are going to use this maebiki noko-giri a lot, and that you're going to be successful because 1095 spring steel (the only thing you'll want) in that thickness (0.1) will cost you a mint. And if it is not a superb example, it will likely be immediately worth less than the cost of materials once you've made it. I don't know if the originals were tensioned, tapered or ground hollow, but these are things you will not be able to do well.
I personally, if I wanted to use one, would wait until one with patina (and not springing leaves of rust all over it) showed up on ebay without any broken teeth, take my lumps paying for it, and see if I could tolerate using it. The videos I've seen of them being used suggest that you will spend days using one to cut a few boards, even the vintage boards where people are using them out of necessity and not out of experimentation.