Removing light scratches

[SwordGuyJoe]

All,

I am not sure if this should be moved to the military section or not. If so feel free to move. I have a 1942 Koa Isshin Mantetsu that has a lot of scratches on it. I have attached a couple photos, not sure if they will really show you much. How do I - and by "I" I mean a professional, not myself - remove these from the blade? How much will that cost? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[nagamaki - Franco]

hello,

 

scratch removal; the sword will need to be polished. cost; ~ $90 to ~ $110 per inch. direction; there are any number of polishers ranging in ability and skill available, depending more or less upon your location?

[Brian]

Since a Koa Isshin isn't a Gendaito and there is no real hada to worry about, I am sure there are polishers who will do you a "Showato" polish that will clean the scratches for less.

This doesn't have to be treated the same as a Nihonto.

Try contact our own Ted Tenold. He will be able to do it or advise who is doing polishing on these currently. Much less than the $100/inch I expect.

 

Brian

[Ted Tenold]

Not many options when it comes to polishing Arsenal and Factory made Showato. Scratches are scratches and they all come out pretty much the same way. The polishes on most of these swords weren't that great when they left the factory though there are odd nicely done ones. Heck, it's only within the past twenty odd years that nicer Gendai have started to be accepted by polishers. The polishing costs just simply run as much or more than the sword is worth when finished.

 

Not sure who might be willing to do them actually, though I know Fred Lohman offers polishing and frankly, for the money he charges and type of sword, this might be the best or only option.

[SwordGuyJoe]

Does this mean he will do a good job or since it is showato, not many do this type of work and he's really the only choice? Is he good? I know for this type of blade, I don't need the best, but I would like a good job. Thank you for the advise!

[Ted Tenold]

Best I can tell you Joe is to contact him and talk about your needs. He's about the only option I know of for the type of sword you have.

[John A Stuart]

Joe, I had a small Minoto 24" polished through Fred's outfit and a tsuka re-wrapped. The sword had been damaged in transit. It turned out OK. The polish was done by a Japanese fellow and tsuka by another fellow. Fred assembled that sword prior to return, new seppa etc. I would consider him more of a contractor than anything else, having various people available to do certain types of work. John

[Chris Osborne]

Hi Joe,

I do work on many blades of this type. If you like, take a look around my site and either send me an e-mail or give me a call. My contact information is on my site.

[katanako]

I recommend Fred Lohman for removing those light scratches. He has polished 4 of my swords. I would NEVER send him my Yasukuni or high end Samurai blades. But for Showatos, Mantetsus, no problem!

 

I once bought a junker wak on ebay for $400 with the thoughts of learning how to polish. Then I realized just how difficult it would be, so I sent it to Freddie. This blade was a real dog, with scratches, rust, and a couple of shallow chips. Lohman had it polished and remounted. Then I took it to the Northern Cal Sword Show to get an opinion, but I did not tell anyone at first that Lohman had polished it. The remarks I got ranged from "nice job" to "not bad" and "decent." Then I told them that Freddie had polished it, and they were incredulous! And the next question would be: "How much did it cost for the polishing?"

 

For guntos, doggie blades, and junkers, Fred can polish it for around

$700. I once sent a junker wak blade to Japan for polishing and it cost me $2K to get it polished. Far superior to a Fred Lohman job!!! But, it was like putting a $10,000 paint job on a rusty 1973 Pinto. I was in the doghouse with my wife for a long time on that one.

 

KATANAKO