Polishing Setup (with video)
Dec 12, 2008 16:10:59 GMT
Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2008 16:10:59 GMT
This should probably go in the tools and toolmaking area, but I thought it would be more appreciated here.
In my quest to perfect my bladesmithing abilities, I've run into the problem every other bladesmith before me has confronted.
Once you make it...you've got to polish it =/.
Howard Clark bypasses this by selling his blades in binsiu polish (smiths polish) which is basically rough ground to foundation shape. Lucky guy lol. For those of us without superhuman bladesmithing prowess, we've got to finish polish our blades before anyone will look at them =).
Here was my temporary solution to not having any Japanese style polishing stones:
I made this in about 10 minutes with a circular saw and some scrap 2x4 I had laying around. Basically it fits over the bucket, and you wedge (I just made a wedge from the 2x4 I used for the setup) a large sharpening stone into the slot cut to fit it. You then cover the stone with whatever grit paper you wish to use, fill the bucket with water, and polish away. I tried it out last night and found the clips weren't very effective at holding the paper. Lucky coincidence was that a full sheet of sand paper is just a bit wider than the sharpening stone is long. So I cut it into strips, ending up with 5 strips approximately 2.25"x8.5" or so if I recall). This left approximately 1/4" overlap on each end of the sharpening stone, which I then tucked in prior to wedging the stone in place. Once wedged, the paper was held firmly, and only required infrequent adjustment to tighten it (mostly due to the water softening the cheap paper lol).
I have to say the results worked out pretty well. I took my 19" overall length osoraku blade from 80 grit grinder polish through 100 grit, 120 grit, 220 grit, 330 grit, 400 grit, and finally to 600 grit in a few hours while sitting in the living room watching TV lol. There's no mess if you keep another bucket to toss your used papers in.
I'll try to get some good pictures of the results so far up in a bit. I still have to do 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit, but first I need to make the habaki so those will have to wait.
Anyhow, just thought I'd share. This method will work well to fix scratches in your own Japanese or even Western style blades. Not to mention this is THE process used to polish and sharpen a katana (only with stones of course). It also does an incredible job bringing out the hamon. My advice is to practice on something smaller first though. You can permanently damage the edge (not to mention the shinogi ji lol) by an off stroke...particularly at the lower grits.
Cris
In my quest to perfect my bladesmithing abilities, I've run into the problem every other bladesmith before me has confronted.
Once you make it...you've got to polish it =/.
Howard Clark bypasses this by selling his blades in binsiu polish (smiths polish) which is basically rough ground to foundation shape. Lucky guy lol. For those of us without superhuman bladesmithing prowess, we've got to finish polish our blades before anyone will look at them =).
Here was my temporary solution to not having any Japanese style polishing stones:
I made this in about 10 minutes with a circular saw and some scrap 2x4 I had laying around. Basically it fits over the bucket, and you wedge (I just made a wedge from the 2x4 I used for the setup) a large sharpening stone into the slot cut to fit it. You then cover the stone with whatever grit paper you wish to use, fill the bucket with water, and polish away. I tried it out last night and found the clips weren't very effective at holding the paper. Lucky coincidence was that a full sheet of sand paper is just a bit wider than the sharpening stone is long. So I cut it into strips, ending up with 5 strips approximately 2.25"x8.5" or so if I recall). This left approximately 1/4" overlap on each end of the sharpening stone, which I then tucked in prior to wedging the stone in place. Once wedged, the paper was held firmly, and only required infrequent adjustment to tighten it (mostly due to the water softening the cheap paper lol).
I have to say the results worked out pretty well. I took my 19" overall length osoraku blade from 80 grit grinder polish through 100 grit, 120 grit, 220 grit, 330 grit, 400 grit, and finally to 600 grit in a few hours while sitting in the living room watching TV lol. There's no mess if you keep another bucket to toss your used papers in.
I'll try to get some good pictures of the results so far up in a bit. I still have to do 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit, but first I need to make the habaki so those will have to wait.
Anyhow, just thought I'd share. This method will work well to fix scratches in your own Japanese or even Western style blades. Not to mention this is THE process used to polish and sharpen a katana (only with stones of course). It also does an incredible job bringing out the hamon. My advice is to practice on something smaller first though. You can permanently damage the edge (not to mention the shinogi ji lol) by an off stroke...particularly at the lower grits.
Cris