Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2011 23:57:11 GMT
Hey guys, I recently started looking into getting a high end custom katana and ran into a seemingly odd option for the blade I was looking at. It had an option for the type of polish I wanted on the blade. It asked if I wanted a mirror polish or a had polish.
Now I know what both look like, but I was wondering what the difference between mirror polish and hand polish is.
Any thoughts welcome.
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Greg
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Post by Greg on May 16, 2011 0:54:56 GMT
I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.
But, if I were to wager, I'd say that the final mirror polish is probably preformed by a buffing wheel. After you get a blade to around 1000 grit, you can generally do the rest with a cloth wheel and some polishing compound.
But, when I polished my first blade up to a 2000 grit, it only took on a smokey mirror polish.
So perhaps this company can only do smokey mirror by hand until they break out the machines. But, it IS possible to achieve a mirror polish by hand, it just takes quite a lot of patience.
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SeanF
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Post by SeanF on May 16, 2011 2:03:56 GMT
MAS has 'hand polish' as $200 more than mirror polish. I have no idea of the difference.
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Greg
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Post by Greg on May 16, 2011 2:14:47 GMT
Um... ok ... yeah, it beats me.
Maybe some people are really picky about how their blades are polished.
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Post by Wes on May 16, 2011 2:31:21 GMT
I actually think it has to do with the activity in the blade. A mirror polish would be easy to accomplish with machines, but bringing out the hamon and any folding activity would be a little more difficult and need to be done by hand and so they charge more.
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Talon
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Post by Talon on May 16, 2011 4:45:58 GMT
you could always email them sterling,and get some clarification on what the differences are,i have to admit im confused aswell,it would be interesting to know what they mean by those terms :?
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Post by Adrian Jordan on May 16, 2011 4:51:31 GMT
It's really very simple. With the "Mirror" polish, they polish your blade with mirrors, which can be had cheaply at any department store. The "Hand" polish is a polish using human hands, which are slightly more difficult to obtain. I suspect at least $100 of the $200 difference goes to the local funeral home owner.
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Post by Maynar on May 16, 2011 4:52:52 GMT
It's tough to find a reliable supply of hands.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2011 11:19:50 GMT
Thanks guys. I think I'll message them this morning and post whatever reply I get.
Very nice explanation, a.jordan. LOL
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2011 12:32:44 GMT
Alrighty. Got a reply from MAS.
Here's what their manager sent:
Hello sir,
Mirror polished is a machine polish. The blade surface would be completely shiny and it will look like a mirror. The hand polished blade has satin surface like finish and hamon (temperline) would be more clearly visible.
Thank you.
Best regards,
Stephan Auster
manager
That certainly clears up what the difference is.
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Post by Alexander on May 16, 2011 13:20:21 GMT
A great gunsmith wrote that polishing is a product of speed. the higher the polish the higher the speed.
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Post by Wes on May 17, 2011 0:25:23 GMT
Ha! I was right. *preens*
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Post by william m on May 28, 2011 0:53:51 GMT
Bleh, I don't like fully miror polished swords. They look like stainless steel or chrome plated swords!
As it is a Japanese sword, see if they can mirror polish the shinogi-ji and then Hand polish the Ha. It will look nice an traditional then! A lot of modern repro makers make the mistake of having all parts of the katana the same level of polish.
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