How to enhance hamon?

[flemming7x64]

Greetings to all of you out there from Denmark.

 

I´the lucky owner of a Shingunto Sword handforged app.1940 by swordsmith Hattori Masahiro, Gifu prefecture(signed).

 

Now this sword including scabbard was as goes for the blade in a terrible state. Since I´m a knifemaker in my sparsome leisuretime, I do know something about making, repairing and restoring knives and blades. My heart just couldn´t bear watching the blade keep corroding. Since it´s not a 100.000 dollars blade I decided to give it a polish though perhaps "removing" some of its marks of history. I have therefore been working for about two months very carefully restoring the sword to its earlier beauty(to my own mind). Though only to the point, where you still sense and see its former function and good craftmanship(please study photos).

 

In the process I used at least a dozen different grind/grid stones, etc, some of them Japanese. However I need to enhance hamon, and thus reading a whole library on the net(including an English/Japanese one), I´m unsure how this is done - it seems there are several ways, but which is the most "secure" way - if any?

 

Can anyone please give me a hint to enhance hamon´s former beauty?

 

With lots of thanks and appreciation

 

Flemming

[zatoichi]

Hope you have a fire extinguisher!!!

Justin

[Grey Doffin]

I think it is NMB policy not to discuss or encourage amateur polish, at least I hope so.

Grey

[ROKUJURO]

Gentlemen,

 

I plan on giving a violin concert some time soon, but until now I don't know how to play. Somebody out there who could give me a hint on how to build a violin?

[Sam Elliott]

Hi Flemming,

 

There are several areas most (if not all) here would consider taboo. Perhaps the number one is amateurs attempting to polish blades and undertake restoration that should be done by a professional. Without belaboring the point, you will do more harm than anything, and potentially (and completely) ruin a collectable item.

 

You asked what you can do to restore the hamon, and hopefully the rest of the blade. The overwhelming consensus would be to send it to a qualified polisher…..period.

 

If you ask the NMB members, they will happily direct you to some well qualified individuals who provide these services.

 

I will now remove myself from the blast radius…….

 

 

Cheers,

 

Sam

[hybridfiat]

"Gentlemen,

 

I plan on giving a violin concert some time soon, but until now I don't know how to play. Somebody out there who could give me a hint on how to build a violin?"

 

Yeah I have a friend here in WA who makes violins and teaches violin making. Doesnt take long, not more than 4 or 5 years to do properly. Unlike sword polishing that takes 7 years due mainly to the knowledge of swords required before putting the metal to the stone.

 

Flemming, Im a newbie to this area too, I fortunately read a few posts on polishing before attempting what you did.

To put this subject into a perspective you may identify with: Imagine you open an abandoned garage/lockup one day and find a genuine 1956 Ford Thunderbird in original condition. Faded paint and cracked rubber but all there.

Yee ha! You are in the money!

Before taking it to an auction house to have it valued you get as many cans of spray paint that are more or less the same colour and get to it. Hours later complete with a few runs and overspay on the duco you are done.

What would a collector or fancier of these cars say? For that matter what would your next door neighbour call you?

Take some comfort that you were ignorant of this most important part of the Nihonto world. I know this may sound patronising but please, please dont do it again.

[sanjuro]

Flemming.

 

You may have already sensed the suppressed hostility of other posters to your well meaning but misled restoration of this blade. Truly it is difficult to address your question in a positive manner given that you have already committed most of the sins we consider to be the most heinous. In a more enlightened poster we would probably denounce you as a desecrator of swords rather than a restorer. However, you have at least asked here before committing further atrocities, and for that you are to a degree redeemed. I applaud your wish to conserve this blade but not your efforts to do so. Regardless of your hobby as a knifemaker, your knowledge is to nihonto what the knowledge of a hanglider pilot is to an aeronautical engineer. I do not seek to belittle you or your knowledge with this analogy, merely to place these things in some sort of context.

 

In reality, a professional polisher would cringe at your efforts and begin again. The sharpness of the lines of this blade have been softened by your efforts and he would at least restore the crispness of those lines and planes with a foundation polish. The final stages of his work would give definition and depth to the hamon. Its hard to see by the photographs, but you have achieved only a fraction of what a professional would achieve with the same effort and possibly made necessary a more thorough polish to undo what you have done.

Please dont view this response in an entirely negative light, I seek only to explain the somewhat hostile response that you may still get. Do it right by all means, but dont do it yourself !

[J Reid]

What Keith said..

[Brian]

Well...I see everything has been said already, and I think has been expained in a positive and polite way. Please take it as constructive criticism. It is almost like going onto a forum where they only study Picasso and great Master paintings, and asking if there is a way to do a restoration yourself.

It isn't something we encourage or discuss here. As those painting students would admit, a professional job may be out of your pricerange right now, but that doesn't mean they are going to encourage you to find a cheap way. It is all about preserving the item for future generations, and is about the only way we are still able to see 1000 year old swords that are still beautiful. Few artforms have lasted this long for us to appreciate.

The best you should do is keep it oiled, and maybe use uchiko to bring back a bit of what can be seen. I know we have Scandinavian collectors here, so maybe one of them can assist with your studies.

Hope you take this in the constructive way it is intended.

 

Brian

 

PS - Perhaps it would be a good idea to post the nakago pics here, and try and determine if this is a Gendaito or Showato. If it has a Seki stamp and is a mass produced arsenal blade, then I am not sure how that affects our feelings on a clean up, but certainly better that doing it on a Gendai sword.

[Jussi Ekholm]

Well others have already expressed the general consensus regarding this. And I agree that attempting restoration on antique sword by yourself is something I never recommend or do, that is a job for professionals. Of course I understand you have to begin with something, but I don't see antique/valuable swords as a starting point, as there are plenty of inexpensive Chinese copies to practice with.

 

However as you have already done the foundation polish, I don't see the finishing polish causing any more damage to the sword, as the time consuming finishing polish will only add to aesthetics. The pages 99-142 of The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing by Setsuo Takaiwa, Yoshindo Yoshihara & Kapps discuss the finishing polish in detail. I wish you would have picked up that book before attempting a polish by yourself. As reading the book makes you understand how fine art the Japanese sword polishing is. As today we don't use swords as weapons any more, I think it's best that professionals restore them in order to keep them as healthy as possible for the future.

 

But as the polish is already done, keep it oiled as freshly polished blades can attract rust fairly easily. And I think that The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing is the best book/resource in English that describes the polishing process of the Japanese sword.

[Nickupero]

Judging from the reply's you really know how to open a can of worms!

Flemming, as you've read from the above posts these are passionate collectors who know what they are talking about. If you want to experiment then buy a $50 blade that's gone beyond restoration, don't do it on an item that has potential to be restored to its original condition

[flemming7x64]

Thanks everyone, got the picture, the nosebleeding has stopped, learned my lesson and will be "diving" quicker next time. Not offended by the well meant pieces of advice. Hope to have the opportunity to ask some other time before excercising blasphemy.

A good day to all of you and thanks again for the advice.

Flemming

[Ian B3HR2UH]

I agree with everything that you all say about amateurs and polishing . This blade however appears ,to me, to be a mass produced gunto . Is there anyone out there who would spend money on having this professionally polished ??

Ian Brooks

[Brian]

Ian,

I did mention that in my earlier post. If it is a Showato, then I think there is less need to be professionally polished. But probably still by someone who is experienced in militaria restoration and especially not obscuring the oil quenched hamon.

But someone needs to verify it isn't Nihonto first.

 

Brian