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Post by skurren83 on Dec 25, 2015 12:16:12 GMT
shihozume blade 1095 edge iron core 1060 mune and folded on sides just one q it got a bit damage in shipping and i want it to be flawless. i have sharpend and polished many blades before. This one is different. i know it has been etched to enhance hamon and ha/sharp 1095 steel and it looks like some abrasive is used all along the hamon very fine thin scratches that probably makes it stand out more. can someone please tell me how i shoul restore the hamon if i decide to sharpen it and remove the small nicks Please helo me.
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Post by learningswordsman1 on Jan 5, 2016 18:15:01 GMT
I would think it would be polished just like any other blade in existence. When I polish blades I only use stones so beware my answer will probably only apply to stones. The grit of stones (or sandpaper) will depend upon the type of damage your blade has. If it's a light scratch you would only need fine grit, like 1200 sandpaper or 6000 Japanese stones. Deep scratch or nick and you will want something like 800 grit sandpaper or 1200 grit stone. To make it look nice at the end you will want to use fingerstones. If you have a local river or creek go there and pick up some very smooth stones from in the water (smooth as in they should literally reflect sunlight when wet, otherwise they are probably too rough for finish work). You could also order diamond fingerstones from Nihonzashi.com. They produce a nice mirror finish. Not sure how to etch hamon though, I use stones to bring out hamon and hada so someone else should be able to answer that one. Over all since it was damaged in shipping I would send it back and request an undamaged one unless you "feel a connection" to that blade
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Post by Madmartigen on Jan 5, 2016 19:21:36 GMT
First off the blade pictured looks nice and I am not sure what you are asking about - are these pics from the forge site? Could you post some pics of the actual damage? Or do you mean the damage like the tiny drop in the shinogi-ji in the 2nd picture?
Basically polishing the Japanese sword blade is an art itself and it includes many aspects - putting in the geometry, sharpening and final polishing, including increasing hamon and hada visibility. The hamon is usually enhanced in the process, and there are many ways to do so - acid etching (many different approaches and acids, from natural to chemicals) or finger stone polishing.
Hard to give an actual advice without seeing the real damage.
What I'm thinking is this: 1. If the damage is surface only and you intend to actually cut with this sword, it will get scratches from cutting anyway, so no worries. 2. If the damage is substantial, check for a way to refund if possible. 3. If you wish to attempt to repair the sword, well - send it to a togishi (and consider if it's worth the price), or buy a cheaper blade and practice polishing, hamon etching etc. I kinda recommend the second route. Just a simple caveat - if you plan on just polishing off the part of the blade, it WILL look different than the rest of the blade. If you attempt to polish and etch just the part of the blade, it will still look different than the rest of the blade, no matter what method you use - it will look better or worse, but still different.
So - hard to say without seeing the actual damage. If it's small, leave it be. If it's big, have it repaired (or returned). If you have time and wish to learn, buy something cheapish to learn etching/polishing first (I might be wrong with this advice as you say you have polished many blades) - this is a fun route to go.
And, hmm... don't use stones from the bottom of the river, unless you are 7000lvl Gandalf and see through crystalline structure. Deep scratches are easy to make and difficult to polish off.
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Post by learningswordsman1 on Jan 6, 2016 0:59:40 GMT
I have to agree with the previous post, disregard my advice to go to a local river. Pictures of the damage on your blade would be helpful.
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