JGC Posted March 30, 2009 Report Posted March 30, 2009 ok, i bought this Wak about a month back, and it's blade was in... well, pretty horrid shape. it wasn't rusted, but it looks to me like someone took it to a grinding wheel in an attempt to sharpen it. it actually pained my physically to look at it, but still... $200 wasn't something i would pass up. i'm providing two pictures, though one is only a negative so that you can see the extent of the damage. this is the worst of the damage, but the marks continued the entire length of the blade, all the way to the tip. it pained me mostly because it was done, obviously, right up the Hamon. i can only assume whoever had this thought that the Hamon was some sort of... i don't know, rust? my mind can't actually come up with what would make someone do this. after talking to a friend of mine who used to do Kendo, he put me in touch with a friend of his. his friend happens to have been in the field of sharpening Nihonto before he came to America decades ago, and even does a bit of work here and there. he said that he was willing to at least attempt to remove the damage, though not polish it for $200 American. he wasn't sure if the Hamon could be salvaged, but he would give it a shot. so, i took it to him today, and he said he'll get around to it in a few weeks (he's retired, lazy, and has a few people who he's been doing doing business with for years ahead of me.) i've seen some of his work, and it's really good, but like he said it's not going to be a polish. so, tell someone who's new to the whole Nihonto world... do you think there's hope for it? James C. Quote
Kevin Posted March 30, 2009 Report Posted March 30, 2009 Umm! Well - you can try. :? My guess - and it is a complete guess from those photos - is that the blade was tired before someone mauled it with a grindstone. It may, by now, be utterly and completely banjaxed. Just my thoughts though. I'd ask a professional polisher what they thought. That's the gentle, tentative view. My own personal opinion? If it was me buying? Whilst I have recovered badly abused swords, they've been swords where I thought that there was a better than good chance of being successful. I'd have given this one a miss. I'd have probably been muttering something along the lines of the probabilities of snowballs surviving in Hell for any length of time. Kevin Quote
John A Stuart Posted March 30, 2009 Report Posted March 30, 2009 Obviously the best person that would know the answer to that is the man to whom you have given it to try and repair. it is amazing what can be done with swords that one would think to write off. I'm sure we all would like to see what happens. Is there any shots of the whole thing? As a before and after reference? Luck. John Quote
JGC Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Posted March 31, 2009 John A Stuart said: Obviously the best person that would know the answer to that is the man to whom you have given it to try and repair. it is amazing what can be done with swords that one would think to write off. I'm sure we all would like to see what happens. Is there any shots of the whole thing? As a before and after reference? Luck. John no, i wish i had. i only took this picture right before i left the house, (my brother has a setup for Ebay items, so it was fairly easy to get done quickly.) i wanted it as a reference pic of so i could compare before and after. the way i saw it, i'm probably not going to find something truly great for $200, but it was worth a shot. it still had it's Tsuba too, iron, Seppa, and Tsuka though the wrapping was gone and it was just the bare ray skin and wood. it had Menuki, but they're lost in my friend's apartment for the moment. i've always loved Nihonto, though only since i've bought this have i really started obsessing. i've practiced Tsukamaki in the past quite a lot, so i'm thinking of attempting it myself some time... honestly, this sword alone, even if it isn't great, has turned in to one of my favorite hobbies. :lol: i just wish i could find more information on the maker. the Mei just reads "Norimitsu." Quote
John A Stuart Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Ineresting, There are lots of Norimitsu smiths predominately of the Bizen school. Do you have the specific kanji for Norimitsu? It can be any age of course. Maybe you can take a camera and get some more pictures, purely curiosity on my part? John Quote
JGC Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Posted March 31, 2009 John A Stuart said: Ineresting, There are lots of Norimitsu smiths predominately of the Bizen school. Do you have the specific kanji for Norimitsu? It can be any age of course. Maybe you can take a camera and get some more pictures, purely curiosity on my part? John already have pictures of it. http://www.spuffnet.com/Sword/Mei.jpg i had to come here to ask for help with the translation... or rather, to make sure i had it right. Edit: and i'd hate to go bother him, purely for the reason that i'm pretty sure he's doing my friend a favor doing this for me. Quote
John A Stuart Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Well, the mei fits the bizen smiths and the patina makes me feel that it could be a koto. I hope this turns out well more than ever now. John Quote
JGC Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Posted March 31, 2009 that's pretty cool to hear. it also gives me a good starting point to start looking for information. i'm trying to make the handle as close to what would be accurate for its period as possible. Quote
Grey Doffin Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 This person who has sharpened Japanese swords before, who will remove the grinder marks from your sword, is he a properly trained polisher or something else? This sword may be salvageable and it might be worth the expense of the salvage, but if the work is attempted by anyone other than a properly trained polisher you'll be wasting your money and possibly destroying the blade. Grey Quote
JGC Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Posted March 31, 2009 properly trained polisher... that or just an old Japanese man who has a lot of people fooled and is really good at faking it. Quote
Ted Tenold Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 James, I know there is a bit of humor intended in your statement, but to be frank and honest; If you are truely not sure, then you sent it to the wrong person regardless. Best to find out in advance. Just gentle advice, with no assumptions or accusations intended on my part. Quote
JGC Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Posted April 1, 2009 Ted Tenold said: James, I know there is a bit of humor intended in your statement, but to be frank and honest; If you are truely not sure, then you sent it to the wrong person regardless. Best to find out in advance. Just gentle advice, with no assumptions or accusations intended on my part. no, it was just a joke that came out wrong. i've seen some of the man's work and it's all very nice, and looks as good as several museum pieces i've seen. i've got no doubt at all that if anything can be done to it, this man can do it. i just mean his comment on the matter was "we'll have to see how it turns out." i'm pretty sure he would have told me honestly if there was no hope for it, or if he was reasonably sure he could restore the blade. i just think it's one of those situations where, as he said "we'll have to see." Quote
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