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Post by JH Lee on Feb 2, 2021 7:01:26 GMT
Several years ago, I picked up a very nice "naginata naoshi" wakizashi bare blade here in the classifieds by John Smith (who I think would be more well-known if he would make more blades). As the mounter noted, it's not really a "naginata naoshi" (made in the style of a naginata), it's more like a hefty/"meaty" naginata with a short nakago. At just 17-inches blade nagasa, it's really quite the devastator. Anyway, when I bought this, it arrived in a "hybrid polish" (basically, sandpaper and some kind of acid etch). BEFORE MY REPOLISH:So, I decided that it deserved a re-polish. Which I did. Using only Japanese stones. Because I'm a crazy person. Yes, what you see is without a drop of any lemon or vinegar or whatever; just water + stones/fingerstones. Well, I mostly skipped jizuya since this is W2 monosteel and there was no hada to reveal.... Since I'm not trained in anyway, I obviously can't say if what I did was "the traditional way." But I tried my best to follow the resources I found on-line about how it's supposed to be done. Anyway, not everything went 100% the way I wanted, but since I'm a total amateur, I'm pleased with it. Looks more traditional now. AFTER MY REPOLISH:Wish I could better capture the "clouds" of nioi crystals everywhere along the habuchi, especially around the Mt. Fuji hamon that rises into the shinogi-ji. Lots of ashi, too. Lots of very cool activity was revealed with the stones. Oh, and I haven't burnished the shinogi-ji yet. Since I started down this path of madness, I'll probably start looking for a decent migaki-bo (Japanese burnishing needle). A fun little project for a very nice sidearm. Next, when I can find the time (not easy with a toddler and work), I'm going to try to make some heavier fittings for it to bring the balance back a little closer to the tsuba.
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Post by paulmuaddib on Feb 2, 2021 8:26:57 GMT
Looks great. Very nice blade.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 2, 2021 8:54:26 GMT
I think I remember seeing this blade way back when. I think I even had a chat with John Smith about it, being a fan of the form.
Good to see it again, and done up all nice.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Feb 2, 2021 12:59:53 GMT
Very nice blade and work, congrats!
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Feb 2, 2021 13:13:41 GMT
It's looking great, even without burnishing. I'd like to see the finished product, keep us informed.
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Post by pellius on Feb 2, 2021 13:43:07 GMT
Very nice
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Post by tancred on Feb 2, 2021 17:54:10 GMT
From this non-expert's view, I thought the blade looked nice before your polish, and even nicer after. Very cool! The important thing is that you're happy with the job you did. Out of curiosity, what does the complete sword look like, with the koshirae and all?
Thanks for sharing, and again, nice job!
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Post by JH Lee on Feb 2, 2021 22:26:49 GMT
I'm a harsh critic of my own work... and I know where the flaws are. But considering how much stuff I cut with this (it's one tough little beast), I'm more or less okay if my fingerstone polish gets damaged and scuffed over time. Just gives me an excuse to go fix it again later down the road. Thank you all for the kind words though!!
The custom mount is understated and classic. Just grey-black ishime saya and dark brown silk wrap over antiqued rayskin. I'll post a pic later tonight.
The major problem is that I made the stupid mistake of going with some cheapo artsfeng fuchi-kashira... which are too light and made with some crappy alloy. Ugh. But I'm looking forward to designing and making my own and also a new tsuba too.
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Post by treeslicer on Feb 3, 2021 1:29:42 GMT
I'm a harsh critic of my own work... and I know where the flaws are. But considering how much stuff I cut with this (it's one tough little beast), I'm more or less okay if my fingerstone polish gets damaged and scuffed over time. Just gives me an excuse to go fix it again later down the road. Thank you all for the kind words though!! The custom mount is understated and classic. Just grey-black ishime saya and dark brown silk wrap over antiqued rayskin. I'll post a pic later tonight. The major problem is that I made the stupid mistake of going with some cheapo artsfeng fuchi-kashira... which are too light and made with some crappy alloy. Ugh. But I'm looking forward to designing and making my own and also a new tsuba too. Your polish looks flipping good. You might consider finding bargain antique/vintage Japanese fittings on eBay. That's what I do when the ones a sword ships with just don't cut it.
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karl j
Manufacturer/Vendor
Posts: 178
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Post by karl j on Feb 3, 2021 3:21:13 GMT
Good start JH.
Jizuya on monosteel is a lot of work, and not just any jizuya will do.
As far as burnishing, you are going to need more than the ordinary mikagi to use. The ones I use were custom made out of tungsten carbide. Shinogi ji isn't ready to burnish yet, but you are off to a good start.
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Post by JH Lee on Feb 3, 2021 6:07:11 GMT
Thanks, Karl. Probably the most important thing I learned while using stones/fingerstones is that I actually don't really know what I'm doing or supposed to do with them. And more than ever, I understand why amateurs shouldn't mess with actual nihonto themselves. The difference of 1mm, or just half a degree of incorrect direction is HUGE. Not to mention the incorrect amount of pressure on the blade and angle.... the list goes on and on.
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Post by JH Lee on Feb 3, 2021 6:16:02 GMT
Here's the current mount. I will keep the saya, habaki, and seppa. But the crap fittings have got to go. Speaking of crap fittings, just got a complete piece of garbage tsuba from swordstore.com today for another project. This tsuba was not blacked bronze as advertised but cast iron (with casting lines EVERYWHERE) and a terrible black primer paint that had obviously just been sprayed on top. Complete overpriced bullcrap. I'm fuming. Anyway, back to the wakizashi. Currently, there's an old plain gunto tsuba on here; which I stsrted using because it helped with the blade.balance. But I'm going to make my own tsuba and fuchi-kashira for this over time. The "theme" of the ox menuki and a simple stainless rod/staff on the other side was inspired by Judges 3:31 and the oxgoad of Shamgar.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 3, 2021 8:20:01 GMT
Love the saya. If I ever get my Rawblade done I'm hoping to do something similar.
Thinking of just plain black iron kodogu and bare, black lacquered same. But that's only if I ever get money to do it.
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Post by JH Lee on Feb 3, 2021 12:47:57 GMT
Love the saya. If I ever get my Rawblade done I'm hoping to do something similar. Thinking of just plain black iron kodogu and bare, black lacquered same. But that's only if I ever get money to do it. Sounds like a great project piece! Isn't it funny how it seems like a lot of people just want simple/classic elegance for their koshirae, and the Chinese forges keep churning out mostly gaudy eyesores? I think I had this wakizashi sitting for 3 or 4 years as bare blade before I finally was able to get it mounted. Yours will get there. It's worth the wait!
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Feb 3, 2021 13:23:36 GMT
Love the saya. If I ever get my Rawblade done I'm hoping to do something similar. Thinking of just plain black iron kodogu and bare, black lacquered same. But that's only if I ever get money to do it. Sounds like a great project piece! Isn't it funny how it seems like a lot of people just want simple/classic elegance for their koshirae, and the Chinese forges keep churning out mostly gaudy eyesores? I think I had this wakizashi sitting for 3 or 4 years as bare blade before I finally was able to get it mounted. Yours will get there. It's worth the wait! When I started a few years ago I did look at the gaudy stuff, the more I am into it the less I want it. Mind, I think a flash of colour or complexity have its place here and there, but again personal opinions differs. There are flashy nihonto. I am personally guilty of some bad fitting choices, partly by ignorance (or plain bad taste) and partly by curiosity over different koshirae style, as experiment. Guilty as charged.
View of things and preferences evolve as one learn more and get past the initial excitement of novelty. I am trying to correct my ways.
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karl j
Manufacturer/Vendor
Posts: 178
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Post by karl j on Feb 4, 2021 4:29:48 GMT
Thanks, Karl. Probably the most important thing I learned while using stones/fingerstones is that I actually don't really know what I'm doing or supposed to do with them. And more than ever, I understand why amateurs shouldn't mess with actual nihonto themselves. The difference of 1mm, or just half a degree of incorrect direction is HUGE. Not to mention the incorrect amount of pressure on the blade and angle.... the list goes on and on. Haha. Welcome to a little bit of my world. There's levels to this stuff. The right fittings will set the mounts off nicely.
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Post by jeff190 on Feb 6, 2021 5:34:02 GMT
It's really not bad!
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Post by senna1 on Feb 22, 2021 19:08:24 GMT
Nice job!
Do you mind expanding a little on what you did/used? Water + fingerstones = hazuya uchigumori?
I like that it seems to have restored the more "proper" lighter ha, darker ji balance. Did you wind up using a nugui of any sort? I've read that modern steels don't respond the same way to fingerstones, but that looks pretty nice to me.
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Post by JH Lee on Feb 22, 2021 19:40:08 GMT
Nice job! Do you mind expanding a little on what you did/used? Water + fingerstones = hazuya uchigumori? I like that it seems to have restored the more "proper" lighter ha, darker ji balance. Did you wind up using a nugui of any sort? I've read that modern steels don't respond the same way to fingerstones, but that looks pretty nice to me. That's basically it, yup. Some nugui at the very end. Speaking of which, I think our own Karl J in this thread sells his own blend which is more suitable for modern steel. I'm going to get some when I repolish my Bugei Dragonfly. I'm basically done now making the copper fuchi. The copper tsuba needs to be shaped a bit more. Then I need to make the kashira, also from copper. It was really difficult to make because I have never soldered anything before. Fun little project though. When I'm done, I'll post a poll in a new thread asking feedback about how I should patinate things (red/rokusho or black or natural brown).
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Post by treeslicer on Feb 23, 2021 1:02:12 GMT
It looks very good indeed.
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