400 year old katana needs restoration

[400 year old katana needs restorati]

I need help finding someone to restore a 400 year old Yoshitsugu katana that was handed down to me. I want to restore it to its former glory, period correct. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[Seth]

Welcome to the forum Sean. Would you care sharing pictures of it? That will help the other members guide you. 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Sean,

Depending on what you mean by period correct restoration - polish only or koshirae also - the answer to your question can be quite complicated; more typing than I'm up for. If you'd like to call sometime feel free. I'm not an authority but I have 40 years experience.

Grey 218-340-1001 central time

[Stephen]

Like Grey said getting ensemble of period correct fittings is going to be daunting.

I think I would go with Bob Benson for getting it all together and  polished by Woody a former student of Bob.

[ChrisW]

What Stephen said is the route I would probably go. You cannot go wrong with Grey's advice either (and he will probably indicate some measure of the same or exactly the same too).

[Peter Bleed]

Sean,

Taking care of Japanese swords is a challenge. "Former glory" and "period correct" are easier to say than they are to address. In fact, a nice Higo shinto like your sword may have had a couple of different sets of fittings at any one moment, not to mention replacements as owners and tastes changed. There is NO simple answer to what a good, middle rank sword should/did/might look like. As the current owner, your tastes matter. You get to decide what style/fashion/type you prefer. And, in any case, restoration is NOT something you can do. You need an expert's skills and the advice of a dealer who can (for a price) provide you with fittings that are right for 1) the sword,and 2) your plan. And be patient! Finding the people and the pieces needed for this project will take a long time. It will happen away from you and will follow a schedule that you do not command. You will probably want to meet other collectors who can help you find and make the contacts you will need. Oh, and that is FUN. You may even discover other stuff that you will want!

Peter

[Bruce Pennington]

Welcome Sean!  Our Colorado Crowd is still growing!

[drbvac]

All great advice Sean and another consideration is that it is not going to be cheap. Contact one of the people mentioned and get an idea of cost and they will also advise you if it is worth the cost.