Polishing a Window into a Blade

[Hardy]

I have a military sword, and it's probably a Showato, but there is a slight chance that it might be a more traditional gendaito.  

 

The sword's current polish obscures a lot of the blade's details. It is hard to clearly see the hamon, and any potential hada is impossible to make out through the scratches. The blade is covered in fine scratches, none of which look to be particularly deep. 

 

I don't want to waste a togishi's time, or a substantial amount of money, polishing a Showato.

 

What is the best and most time/money efficient way to polish enough of a window into the blade to reveal the hada and hamon?

 

I understand that I will necessarily be doing damage to the blade if it turns out to be a gendaito, but if it does turn out to be a traditionally made blade I have every intention of paying for an art polish (the sword has family history attached to it).

 

I have some experience working with swords and knives. I've polished and performed edge work and reprofiling of non-Japanese swords (European, Chinese, Indian, Caucasian), including some antiques. I have experience with using stones, hand sanding, files, etchants, and powered belt sanders, grinders, and buffing wheels.

 

I appreciate any insight the more experienced hands around here might offer, and I would prefer to not go into this blindly and do more damage than is necessary. 

[BIG]

Do I understand right, that you are going to polish a window?

 

Best

[Hardy]

Do I understand right, that you are going to polish a window?

 

Best

A window into the blade. That is the term a togishi I spoke with used to explain polishing a small section of a blade in order to reveal the character of it hidden under a marred polish, corrosion, or what-have-you.

[16k]

Man, you can’t do that yourself! It’s a NO! NO! NO!

 

It’s either you get a togishi to so it, or you don’t. Showato or Gendaito, an inexperienced hand will ruin the blade and it won’t help you make a judgment anyway. It’s a job!

[ROKUJURO]

Hardy,

if you had a Rembrandt or a van Gogh painting in bad condition, would you venture a restoration on the base of your competence to paint a chair or a wall in a room?

We do not encourage such attempts as there is a high risk of damage. You would have to learn all about shapes and steel types of swords and periods of making and the many different styles of blades, before you learn to use the special Japanese stones which are completely different from what you are used to. In Japan, becoming a TOGISHI (sword sharpener/polisher) is a very long and laborious process and takes at least five years. 

Whatever you polished before, Japanese sword blades are different and cannot be treated as any other steel object.

So I would  suggest that you find a traditionally trained polisher to do the work. It is not that expensive.     
 

[vajo]

Hardy hear on the words of Jean and JP. Please do it not. What is wrong with your sword as non traditional? It is a well shaped nice sword. 

[SAS]

The learning curve is very steep, the stones are very expensive, and mistakes can be permanent, for those who try to tackle Japanese swords. It takes a long time to develop proper judgment. Even if you managed to make a window, then you have a surface which does not match the rest of the sword; eventually this would bother you to the point of wanting the rest done, leading to greater chance of damage/mistakes, or, an experienced polisher would then have to correct the previous attempts. Good advice above.

PS Power tools are NEVER used on Japanese swords! Here is a good reason why....

[mywei]

If it is a gendaito you risk potentially ruining it forever in about two seconds! Don't do it yourself!

[ROKUJURO]

Ouch! That hurts to see!

[Ken-Hawaii]

NMB is dedicated to preserving swords, not ruining them! I've seen far too many blades that have been ruined by "knowledgeable amateurs."

[PNSSHOGUN]

Would you practice voluntary surgery on friends and family as well?

[SteveM]

Whether this particular sword is traditionally made, or non-traditionally made, the difference in monetary value is probably far more negligible than you imagine.

[ROKUJURO]

Steve,

why that? What are your thoughts?

[Bruce Pennington]

Steve,

why that? What are your thoughts?

Jean, because, unless the gendaito is of a famous smith, they are both selling for similar prices on the market these days. But, if Hardy's blade is a family heirloom, then that won't matter to him.

 

Hardy, I got my first gunto after my dad passed away, a mantetsu. It was missing parts and the blade looked like it had seen quite a bit. I took my time and fully replaced the missing parts and then paid to have it fully polished. It was worth every penny. It doesn' matter to me if I spent more than it's worth on the market - to me it's priceless.

[SteveM]

This sword falls well within the genre of militaria, and its appeal will be directed mostly to enthusiasts of militaria. There seems to be a very healthy market for militaria nowadays, at least for high quality or unusual or rare blades. This blade isn't particularly unusual. The smith is well-known, and the sword has a nice length. It needs a polish. 

 

Even if the sword is traditionally-made, I don't think the value of this sword increases much. It is still an out-of-polish sword, made for the war in the middle of the 20th century. Its marketability may increase slightly since (presumably) it is able to be registered and traded in Japan. But that doesn't really add much to this sword. I don't think there will be many interesting activities hiding in that hamon.

[SAS]

another reason why (same sword, not my photo, not my work) amateurs shouldn't "polish swords"....

[lonely panet]

That's a nice looking ha-machi.

 

 

Just like new hahaha