Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2011 15:45:09 GMT
Hello, fellow SBG members. It's been some time since I got my first sword and, after a season's worth of cutting, I'm starting to notice a bit of wear and tear on my Hanwei Raptor. There are a number of tiny scratches on the blade, accompanied by several darker spots on the steel, which came from cutting down an unfortunate pumpkin. I' ve been maintaining my katana on a regular basis, first cleaning it with alcohol and then coating it with some light mineral oil. I bought several sheets of sandpaper and I just wanted to ask if it would be Ok if I polished the blade with 1000 or 2000 grit. There is no hamon to ruin but I'm afraid of dulling the current polish. Any advice on how I should proceed?
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Mar 4, 2011 17:40:16 GMT
The 2000 grit might get you back to a mirror finish after a lot of diligence, but 2000 will likely bring you back up to a "smokey mirror" finish. It still looks good, and might be better for you in the long run. As you are working make sure to use the 45 rule. Start working the metal in one direction, then once you have it uniformly 'scratched' in that direction, chance your approach by 45 degrees. Rinse, repeat. Maker sure you use some of that mineral oil on the sand paper, it'll allow you to use the paper longer and it will also give you a nice "sandy paste" that you can keep rubbing into the blade even after the sandpaper has died. Some members will reply on here that you should order some finger stones. It's not a bad idea, but I've found sand paper works best for my daily cutter. But if you are intersted in some finger stones, which can go up to 40,000 grit (and that's almost more reflective then a mirror ) then check them out here: www.nihonzashi.com/diy_supplies.aspx
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ghost
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Post by ghost on Mar 4, 2011 17:46:11 GMT
Final if your raptor is your primary cutter, or something you will be cutting with on a regular basis- there really is no reason to keep it super pretty. I'd just clean out the small acid etched spots with some mother's and the scratches will become less noticeable as well, depending on how much elbow grease you put in. It would suck to have to re-polish extensively every cutting session ps. My raptor is my primary beater as well...I love it (nanbokucho vers)
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Mar 4, 2011 20:37:59 GMT
Ghost brings up a good point.
I had recently learned that the katana back in it's day wasn't always kept mirror polished. The only ones that were mirror polished were tho's in times of peace or 'dress swords', which is probably why we think of all katanas as being mirrored. But if you keep a good 1000 grit finish on it, then it would still serve the same purpose as the mirrored finish (as far as cutting ability goes) and you wouldn't see every single scuff.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2011 21:10:20 GMT
Thanks very much for the info Yeah,I'm not reall aiming for a mirror finish, I just want to restore the sword the to the state it was when I bought it so I thought a once- in- a year repolish would be nice. This and I want to learn how to do it properly so I won't have to worry about it later. On a sidenote, I have some metal polish meant for aluminium but it says on the can it also works on steel. The problem is that the manual clearly states that the substance should be left to dry on the metal and then polished. Is it possible to just use it the usual way?
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Mar 5, 2011 0:13:27 GMT
I use a product called "Mothers" Mag & Aluminum Polish.
I'm assuming that your product is similar to mine. If I'm not mistaken, this stuff is basically a paste form of really high grit sand paper. I apply "mothers" and just work it right away, works like a charm. But then again, the directions don't mention anything about drying.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2011 15:02:05 GMT
Yeah, I'll probably try it on a kitchen knife first. The whole thing is just as you said- a pink paste with a sponge included. The ingredients state that it only contains oil and turpentine so I guess it wouldn't be a problem to use it normally. Thanks very much for the help, I'll probably get around to the polishing the next weekend.
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