question about polish

[zatoichi]

Is the white above the hamon a part of the polishing process #1. Is the lack of detail in the hamon ( bleached look ) #2 part of the polishing process? Keisho. If this is not nioi isn't this a rather artificial look? Is the Nie #3 being brighter and more distinct in this blade also done on purpose during polishing or is it a natural occurrence during sashikumi polish? I know it happens from polishing the blade but does the polisher work on that line exclusively or does it just end up brighter because of the metal composition? Thank you.

Justin E

[runagmc]

The bright white area above the habuchi is actually jitetsu. The contrast with the darkness of the rest of the jitetsu is from the process of nugui and hadori. The jitetsu is not as hard as the steel making up the hamon, so the small area above the habuchi appears more white than the hamon because the fingerstones used in the process of hadori leave larger scratches in the softer jitetsu.

 

Hopefully you can understand what I mean...

 

All the polishes you have posted are hadori/kesho polishes. As I said, the darker particles within the hadori outline are the nie and nioi (hardened steel)... harder particles appear darker within the hadori area... the whitest part at the top is unhardened jitetsu.

 

Also, a softer fingerstone will cause a whiter more "bleached" look, and can cloud some of the activities in the hamon - especially in pictures.

[Ron STL]

Justin -

 

It can be a little hard to understand when looking at different techniques used by polishers. 25 years ago, keisho style was not often seen and most blades were done in the older style of sashikomi. Today -- and I guess this is up to the polisher and his school of training -- basically, blades in nioi are polished sashikomi stype and blades strong in nie are in keisho. In actuality, a good polisher will tell you they use both techniques to bring out the best qualities of the blade. I recently had a Hizen Yoshinobu polished and it was done in predominently keisho. However, the keisho is done right so that the jigane is brought out beautifully and yet one can "look thru" the hadori and into the hamon to enjoy the hataraki that's there. I was told that to receive Juyo today, Keisho is preferred...but in Japan, often the owner has their blade "toned down" (shall I say) into a more sashikomi polish once the Juyo paper is secured. Is this really done? I don't know. Attached shows the Yoshinobu before and after polish, if the pictures show up okay.

 

Ron STL

[zatoichi]

Adam thank you for taking the time to reply that did answer my question.

Justin E

[zatoichi]

Ron thank you for the examples. I can see from your sword that hataraki can be seen through the hadori.( by hataraki I mean the shape of the hamon, hope that is right) that is a great example of the change from Keisho polish.

Justin E

[hxv]

Justin,

 

Hataraki are activities within the hamon such as ashi, yo, etc., not the shape of the hamon.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[cabowen]

The appeal of a good KESHO polish is that it both brings out the jihada and allows the details in the hamon to be seen when viewed properly. Many think the hadori hides the hamon and the activity within but that is not the case in a properly done KESHO polish.

 

 

 

EDITED: correct spelling... Thanks for pointing that out

[ROKUJURO]

Gentlemen,

 

before it settles in the minds, it might mention that it is KESHO polish and SASHIKOMI.