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Post by Verity on Aug 8, 2017 16:54:24 GMT
Lol yeah I know what that can be like! For sharpening up the ridge line...how do I do that? Are there any videos that show that aspect specifically that tou can think of? I'll see if I can find a vid but essentially you work the two intersecting planes (the shinogi and the ji) down meticulously to make the shinogi-ji crisp again. Same with the mune
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Post by Verity on Aug 8, 2017 16:55:52 GMT
Lol yeah I know what that can be like! For sharpening up the ridge line...how do I do that? Are there any videos that show that aspect specifically that tou can think of? I'll see if I can find a vid but essentially you work the two intersecting planes (the shinogi and the ji) down meticulously to make the shinogi-ji crisp again. Same with the mune You may try to look for some vids on doing a katana foundational polish or "setting geometry", as that is essentially what you are doing again in that spot
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Post by Verity on Aug 8, 2017 17:15:42 GMT
Lol yeah I know what that can be like! For sharpening up the ridge line...how do I do that? Are there any videos that show that aspect specifically that tou can think of? Not fabulously detailed but gives you an idea: When I am not using actual waterstones (I save those for more expensive blades), I use a block of hardwood (4x4) and tape the paper to it when stretched taught to achieve the same technique as stone polishing
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Post by MLanteigne on Aug 8, 2017 20:32:57 GMT
Gee, you are setting the bar pretty high Verity lol. That was a really cool video.
Is it a matter of preference if you use the sword on top of a sharpening medium vs the medium on top of the sword?
I am still not crystal clear on how to sharpen up the blade ridge...I may make a diagram to illustrate what I think it may require.
Thanks for the help.
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Post by Verity on Aug 8, 2017 20:47:13 GMT
Gee, you are setting the bar pretty high Verity lol. That was a really cool video. Is it a matter of preference if you use the sword on top of a sharpening medium vs the medium on top of the sword? I am still not crystal clear on how to sharpen up the blade ridge...I may make a diagram to illustrate what I think it may require. Thanks for the help. Yeah, get some pics and such and I'm happy to help where I can.
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Post by MLanteigne on Aug 8, 2017 20:55:11 GMT
I think what I will do as well is try and search out a cheapish DH katana/wakizashi to practice on first. I think I've abused my Mussashi enough at this point lol
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Post by Verity on Aug 8, 2017 20:57:23 GMT
I think what I will do as well is try and search out a cheapish DH katana/wakizashi to practice on first. I think I've abused my Mussashi enough at this point lol Yeah. I started out on cheap eBay ones. I learned to do polishing and setting geometry on them (I'm still not awesome at foundation/geometry polishing)... I've gotten pretty good at finish polishes though.
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Post by MLanteigne on Aug 8, 2017 21:12:31 GMT
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Post by Verity on Aug 8, 2017 21:26:53 GMT
Yep. That would be great to practice on. The pattern-weld will help teach you etching too.
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Post by MLanteigne on Aug 9, 2017 0:58:38 GMT
Ok. I'll snag it on payday then. Just so you know, I may bug you for tips lol
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Post by Verity on Aug 9, 2017 1:04:06 GMT
Ok. I'll snag it on payday then. Just so you know, I may bug you for tips lol By all means. I have actually been taking excruciatingly detailed pictures of this current polishing project as I may do a full end-to-end tutorial when I am done. Here we are sitting at 220 grit. Note how carefully I am being to make sure the scratches are all uniform. Done properly you can see the hamon even at 220 grit... I realize it isn't much to look at yet but these lower grits and taking your time here are critical to a good finished product
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Post by MLanteigne on Aug 9, 2017 1:13:17 GMT
Speaking of...in order to preserve the shinogi...or rather in my case, redefine it, which would be the way to do it in the diagram?
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Post by MLanteigne on Aug 9, 2017 1:13:36 GMT
Ok. I'll snag it on payday then. Just so you know, I may bug you for tips lol By all means. :) I have actually been taking excruciatingly detailed pictures of this current polishing project as I may do a full end-to-end tutorial when I am done. Um yes please! lol
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 9, 2017 1:18:15 GMT
Sandpaper with a small sanding block will work. However do not put the sandpaper directly to the block. It will work much better to have a padding of somewhat compressible material such as a mouse pad cut to the block’s size between the two. Uhlan does beautiful restoration. He does not have a video to my knowledge. But if you search through his posts under “Renaissance and Military Swords” you will find his work and from time to time he will explain some of his processes with photos. Scholagladiatoria his one or two videos on his technique on YouTube. Be careful with his as he uses power tool and I shudder at the thought. If you search this forum and YouTube you will find more information.
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Post by Verity on Aug 9, 2017 1:23:02 GMT
Speaking of...in order to preserve the shinogi...or rather in my case, redefine it, which would be the way to do it in the diagram? Past. I find it better to move the blade and keep the block stationary. This translates better too if you wind up getting stones down the road
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Post by Verity on Aug 9, 2017 1:23:22 GMT
Speaking of...in order to preserve the shinogi...or rather in my case, redefine it, which would be the way to do it in the diagram? Past. I find it better to move the blade and keep the block stationary. This translates better too if you wind up getting stones down the road I also updated my above post with some pics
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 9, 2017 1:27:54 GMT
MLanteigne, you posted while I was still writing. Those drawings are idealistic and I’ve never seen a truly flat surface, not to say they don’t exist. I learned this early on when I tried a stone on a katana. Well, the blade looked flat to my inexperienced eyes. Fortunately I stopped before any real damage was done and corrected things down the road. This is why I said to put a slightly compressible material between the block and sand paper. This will allow the sandpaper to conform to slight irregularities in the surface.
PS I just read Virity’s comment. For me it depends on the blade/sword whether I move the blade or block. For blades that I can separate from the sword, katanas, threaded pommels, etc., I move the blade over the paper and the paper is on a larger surface than a handheld block. I much prefer this method as I have a better feel for what is happening. In some cases such as a peened pommel that I cannot separate I move a handheld block over a stationary sword. I don’t like this method but to me it’s better than moving an unbalanced sword that I cannot fully feel what is happening. It’s one reason that I cater to swords that I can disassemble such as threaded pommels.
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Post by Verity on Aug 9, 2017 1:40:30 GMT
MLanteigne, you posted while I was still writing. Those drawings are idealistic and I’ve never seen a truly flat surface, not to say they don’t exist. I learned this early on when I tried a stone on a katana. Well, the blade looked flat to my inexperienced eyes. Fortunately I stopped before any real damage was done and corrected things down the road. This is why I said to put a slightly compressible material between the block and sand paper. This will allow the sandpaper to conform to slight irregularities in the surface. For foundation I actually recommend a hard backing material and instead glide the blade over. The biomechanics of the arms will set proper convex/lenticular geometry naturally. A cushion will create rounded corners. Depends what you are trying to achieve. For a crisp shinogi-ji though, use hard backing and instead watch the blade and see where you are cutting with the grit. It's not a linear plane you are working... you are almost tilting the blade as you work it over the grit
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Post by Verity on Aug 9, 2017 1:45:48 GMT
MLanteigne, you posted while I was still writing. Those drawings are idealistic and I’ve never seen a truly flat surface, not to say they don’t exist. I learned this early on when I tried a stone on a katana. Well, the blade looked flat to my inexperienced eyes. Fortunately I stopped before any real damage was done and corrected things down the road. This is why I said to put a slightly compressible material between the block and sand paper. This will allow the sandpaper to conform to slight irregularities in the surface. PS I just read Virity’s comment. For me it depends on the blade/sword whether I move the blade or block. For blades that I can separate from the sword, katanas, threaded pommels, etc., I move the blade over the paper and the paper is on a larger surface than a handheld block. I much prefer this method as I have a better feel for what is happening. In some cases such as a peened pommel that I cannot separate I move a handheld block over a stationary sword. I don’t like this method but to me it’s better than moving an unbalanced sword that I cannot fully feel what is happening. It’s one reason that I cater to swords that I can disassemble such as threaded pommels. I completely agree with this. My block is 4x4x12 and I use it paper facing up and move blade. I use hard backing to have it behave like a stone. For peened longswords yes I move the block, not the blade
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 9, 2017 2:13:19 GMT
You are correct about the rounding the corners, that is why I said “slightly” compressible. When I tried the stone on the katana I got a hair line contact area and this hair ling would change on each pass. With the mouse pad, and not all are the same and I have discard quite a few, I was able to satisfactorily cover the area below the bo-hi. Below is a Windlass Javelin head someone gave me and typical to Windlass the details were somewhat washed out. I sharpened it and redefined the ridge better than the factory using a mouse pad. If my padding was soft enough to allow the paper to pass over the ridge line, or if you will wrap to some degree around the ridge, yeah then I would have rounded things off and lost the definition I was looking for. “Slightly” compressible is the word. There are many methods and what works for one may not work for another. I have several methods and at times find it necessary to change depending on circumstances. No one method works all the time for me.
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