Polishing/modifying my new JWHOTSTEELFORGE Tanto!.
Nov 2, 2007 5:11:36 GMT
Post by slav on Nov 2, 2007 5:11:36 GMT
JWHOTSTEELFORGE Folded Tanto makeover:
(adapted from my review of said sword)
I finally received my Folded Tanto from JWHOTSTEELFORGE! It was $130 shipped.
When I first received this blade, it was a real dissapointment for the following reasons: the hamon was counter-polished, making it look like a wire-brushed hamon. Also the kissaki was counter-polished. It was done very well, but I still don't like counter-polished kissaki. The habaki was cheap looking considering the quality of the blade.
BEFORE:
I was not satisfied with the counter-polishing of the hamon, and the counter-polished yokote/kissaki, so I took it upon myself to re-polish this blade.
My aim was to polish out the kissaki/yokote and the hamon. Then I planned to do a light re-etch to bring out the hada and hamon. If i got around to it, I thought I'd try spicing up the habaki a bit too.
AFTER:
Here are the results:
I polished the blade using a careful and intensive hybrid-polish.
I also gave the HABAKI a little makeover. I used low-grit sandpaper to give the habaki some grain. As you can see, it turned out looking very authentic, and much more professional:
More of the re-done blade and habaki:
(notice the hamon and hada)
(since this sword doesn't have a cool tsuba that I can show you guys, I guess I'll just show off my pristine mirror-polishing job ;D.)
(no more yokote)
There you have it! The JW Tanto, reborn. This was a fun little project, and I am so proud to own this sword now. After some work, this blade has proven itself to be a serious Japanese-style masterpiece, hidden under the guise (and pricetag) of a low-end replica. WOW!
(adapted from my review of said sword)
I finally received my Folded Tanto from JWHOTSTEELFORGE! It was $130 shipped.
When I first received this blade, it was a real dissapointment for the following reasons: the hamon was counter-polished, making it look like a wire-brushed hamon. Also the kissaki was counter-polished. It was done very well, but I still don't like counter-polished kissaki. The habaki was cheap looking considering the quality of the blade.
BEFORE:
I was not satisfied with the counter-polishing of the hamon, and the counter-polished yokote/kissaki, so I took it upon myself to re-polish this blade.
My aim was to polish out the kissaki/yokote and the hamon. Then I planned to do a light re-etch to bring out the hada and hamon. If i got around to it, I thought I'd try spicing up the habaki a bit too.
AFTER:
Here are the results:
I polished the blade using a careful and intensive hybrid-polish.
I also gave the HABAKI a little makeover. I used low-grit sandpaper to give the habaki some grain. As you can see, it turned out looking very authentic, and much more professional:
More of the re-done blade and habaki:
(notice the hamon and hada)
(since this sword doesn't have a cool tsuba that I can show you guys, I guess I'll just show off my pristine mirror-polishing job ;D.)
(no more yokote)
There you have it! The JW Tanto, reborn. This was a fun little project, and I am so proud to own this sword now. After some work, this blade has proven itself to be a serious Japanese-style masterpiece, hidden under the guise (and pricetag) of a low-end replica. WOW!