Sword Restoration in the UK

[growlingbear]

Hi all,

 

I am interested in finding someone in the UK who would be able to have a look at my somewhat rusty blade (picture attached) and offer an expert opinion on if it would be possible to restore the blade and fittings.

 

Ideally I would like to find someone nearby in the south of England, but any suggestions for restorers in the UK would be much appreciated.

 

I look forward to your suggestions!

 

Thanks,

 

James

[Jean]

James,

 

Should easily polished from this picture. Fitting restoration is another matter and I am not sure it is worth the expense. But you must first explain what you mean by restoring fitting.

[tony edmunds]

Hi James

PM sent

 

Tony

[growlingbear]

James,

 

Should easily polished from this picture. Fitting restoration is another matter and I am not sure it is worth the expense. But you must first explain what you mean by restoring fitting.

 

Hi Jean, glad you think it is salvageable! I have had a couple of suggestions from people via pm so I will get in touch and let you all know how it goes.

 

With restoring the fittings, I'm not too sure what I mean to be honest! To my very untrained eye the tsuka looks old (which it is!) and dirty and the metal fittings all look tarnished and the tsuba has rust on it (photos are here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12672 and any information you could provide about it would be great).

 

Really I am just very surprised that it has turned out to be so old, and I would like to get it looking back to its best. I have inherited it from my grandfather who acquired it during WW2 so I haven't paid anything for it and it has sentimental value. I would love to find out more about it - this whole fascinating world of swords that I never knew existed!

 

Thanks,

 

James

[pcfarrar]

The fittings look ok and don't appear to need any restoration work.

 

If you have it polished just put the blade in a shirasaya and then mount the WW2 koshirae with a tsunagi (wooden blade).

[runagmc]

James, about getting your sword restored... make sure you use someone reputable to do the work, and don't rush into it blindly. Good luck with the project.

[Kevin]

PM sent.

 

Agree with runagmc - get someone competent and reputable to do whatever work you need. Go and see them first. Look at stuff they've done, form your own opinion - ask for a second opinion if need be - and, if happy, discuss the job in detail so you're both agreed on what needs doing and roughly how much it is going to cost. You don't want any surprises in any department.

 

In general, you're going to find very few businesses in the West - let alone in the UK - that can deal with every aspect of restoration, any more than you find many Westerners who are properly trained as swordsmiths in the Japanese tradition. With sword restoration you need several different craftsmen, not just one, so your odds of finding such a business go right down to just above hen's teeth level. OTOH, there's a few people out there who'll say "Sure, I can fix that!" and you'll find that the 'urushi repair' has been spray painted. We've had to do a number of repairs on 'repairs' for people.

 

Now AFAIK we're the only business in the UK that can do anything from building koshirae from scratch, with urushi lacquer, to a good Japanese standard, repair koshirae (including repairing urushi), tsuka-maki, polishing etc etc all as one operation. Otherwise the poor old customer has to go out and find competent craftsmen for all of these jobs, get quotes from each and every one and, if necessary, co-ordinate the lot. Either that, or he's got to send the whole lot to Japan and pay more for a job that we can do just as well. Not entirely my opinion. :-) We had a Japanese guy here not long back - his family have some lovely, droolworthy swords and his kantei knowledge was excellent. Anyway, he was looking at every aspect our work, and he expressed astonishment that he could find work that good in the West, and all under one roof. We may get some work from him. :-) Right now we're restoring a couple of museum exhibits. One is a ginormous naginata - something like a 28"-29" blade, with a nakago about the same length. The other involves some urushi repair. I may post photos when done. :-)

 

Kevin

Ryujinswords.com

[paulb]

Kevin,

while not criticising the services you offer in any way I do not think you are the only place where this can be handled as a "one stop shop". I have had two sets of koshirae made in the UK . In both cases the manufacture and assembly was handled by 1 person, a different one in each case, (they used other specialists but I only dealt with one individual).

Both produced koshirae that I have been delighted with and that have stood up to critical appraisal by visiting Japanese specialists.

Best Regards

Paul

[Kevin]

Hi Paul

 

OK I stand corrected. :-)

 

Kevin

[adam_haycox]

Just out of interest was the naga converted from a polearm?

[kbt]

I agree with Adam, get someone that knows what he is doing, believe me they all say this so go with someone with references. Just my opinion .

Kim Toth