Martin P Posted October 30, 2018 Report Posted October 30, 2018 HI Board, Please forgive my ignorance, but why does having a Nihonto professionally polished not lower the value? Most antique type items if you polish or pull off the patina it brings down the value. I have read that professionally polishing is not a cheap endeavor either at $100- $120 per inch. Thank you for your knowledge Martin Quote
Ray Singer Posted October 30, 2018 Report Posted October 30, 2018 Martin, the short answer is that a Japanese sword cannot be appreciated if its workmanship cannot be seen clearly. Appreciation of the artistry requires visibility. 2 Quote
ROKUJURO Posted October 30, 2018 Report Posted October 30, 2018 ...and to add another point: If corrosion occurs on steel, it does not stop as long as oxygen is around. So to prevent the deterioration of a blade, you want to keep it clean and without 'patina'. Quote
DRDave Posted October 30, 2018 Report Posted October 30, 2018 ...and a lot of blades have already been polished numerous times. edit....forgot to mention; when it comes to nakago, totally different story! 1 Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted October 31, 2018 Report Posted October 31, 2018 Glad that Dave added the nakago as one area that is never polished, Martin. But the area from machi to tip of boshi must be well-polished for both kantei & appreciation. Your cost estimate is correct - polishing is expensive, as it must be done by a togishi who has been classically trained in Japan. 1 Quote
Blazeaglory Posted October 31, 2018 Report Posted October 31, 2018 Oh I definitely polish my Nakago.. (only joking as that was a reference to a dirty joke not an actual Nihonto Nakago but a...oh you know. So NEVER polish your Nakago or you'll go blind) Sorry I couldn't resist... Goodnight folks 1 Quote
Martin P Posted October 31, 2018 Author Report Posted October 31, 2018 Gentlemen, Thank you for the information. Now is the nakago, not polished because it will removed the maker mark or other info? It would probably make it loose in the fittings over time also. ROKUJURO, I guess I don't look at active rust as a patina, but a cancer. You can stop the rust with very gentle techniques. I try and ask people that are in the know the best way to preserve an item. There are too many people that think they are preserving something, but have devalued it. That is why I love boards like this one. Blazeglory, too funny! Thanks Martin Quote
Blazeaglory Posted October 31, 2018 Report Posted October 31, 2018 Here's an example of what you DON'T WANT your nakago to look like. I would think that you could see the age of a sword (help determine anyways) by seeing how worn the file marks are, the stages of rust (rust on nakago looks different allot of times from typical red active rust but could also have that) which varies in colors from dark brown to black, pitting and decayed iron... but you'd have to polish ALLOT or in a specific manner to remove most Mei as they are chiseled in... I'm sure the "pros" will have more information for you. That was my two cents..(there's more info but were talking about reasons not to polish nakago so please don't over think my response folks) Here's a pic of a "cleaned" nakago (early/mid Edo possibly)...SHREEK! Quote
Grey Doffin Posted October 31, 2018 Report Posted October 31, 2018 The black patina on the nakago protects the nakago from corrosion; clean it off and rust will take over. Grey 1 Quote
Martin P Posted November 1, 2018 Author Report Posted November 1, 2018 On 10/31/2018 at 10:10 PM, Grey Doffin said: The black patina on the nakago protects the nakago from corrosion; clean it off and rust will take over. Grey That makes sense. Thanks Martin Quote
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