Sword Sharpening

[Lee Mc'pherson]

Good day to you all. I need a bit of help here. How do you go about actually sharpening your sword. Do you do it your self , do you send it off . and if you do it your self were did you learn are there any books or sites or something?
Thanks guys.

[Karasu Maru]

If your sword hardly has value as the work of art, and if you use it for the trial cutting, you may sharpen it by yourself.

You can find some web for sword laboratories.
http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~katanaka/sub6.html
Specialty store of whetstone for Japanese sword;
http://www.namikawa-ltd.co.jp/english/index.html

I sharpen my swords by myself except for Fujiwara Kunisuke.

[Lee Mc'pherson]

Thank you for the info. But can you tell me were did you learn to sharpen by yourself ? Are there any books you would recomend? I would start learning on my old cheap blades of course.

[kdlarman]

Setsuo Takaiwa, Yoshindo Yoshihara and Leon and Hiroko Kapp recently put out a book on the "art" of Japanese sword polishing. It is not supposed to be an instructional book, but it does cover some basics.

This is not something to do yourself with any sort of antique. Modern made blades, production swords, etc. though should be fine if you don't mind the possibility that you'll completely fubar your sword (which is what most usually do when they try to do it themselves). Most home polished swords I've seen end up with seriously compromised lines and shape.

One thing that might help is to understand that the Japanese sword does not have a secondary edge. It isn't "sharpened" in the conventional sense most of us have from sharpening knives and other tools. It is probably best to consider the properly shaped Japanese blade as having an edge that starts at the shinogi. Togi is about shaping the entire ji surface which forms the edge when you're done. And it shouldn't be perfectly flat either but should gently curve down to the ha with a convex shape. So you don't really "sharpen the edge" as much as reform the entire surface of the blade.

With antiques the question is about conservation. And that means knowing everything about the smith, blade type, etc. And then it is about removing as little as possible while restoring the "spirit" of the original smith's vision. And that is extremely difficult even for very experienced polishers.

[Lee Mc'pherson]

Talking about mordern swords and more about how to return the swords cutting edge. Any info?

[kdlarman]

Talking about mordern swords and more about how to return the swords cutting edge. Any info?

What I wrote before.

Togi is about shaping the entire ji surface which forms the edge when you're done. And it shouldn't be perfectly flat either but should gently curve down to the ha with a convex shape. So you don't really "sharpen the edge" as much as reform the entire surface of the blade.

You go about that with progressively finer stones. You likely won't want to invest in expensive sword stones and certainly not in the quality natural finishing stones as the good ones start getting into the thousand dollar range (and up). And are hard to find nowadays as the quarries are getting mined out.

It is difficult to explain how to get the proper shaping. The book above does show some diagrams about angles and how niku (the convex "meat" of the blade) is addressed. But when all is said and done you really need to see it done to get it. Can't really explain it any other way. Kinda like learning how to use swords as a martial art -- you need someone who knows what they're doing to show you and correct you as you go.

[kdlarman]

To add a bit more... If the edge is gone a new edge must be formed. And since the edge extends from the shinogi down the new edge must "feather in" upwards towards the shinogi. So again, the entire surface is adjusted. Same with chips. Chips are removed first, then the edge installed, then everything "pushed up" until the geometry is correct given the blade in hand.

[Chuck Clark]

I'm a bit presumptuous in taking part with this post, I admit, because I'm definitely not a sword polisher. I'm the son of an excellent old fashioned blacksmith who could put an edge on just about anything. He worked on several of my swords in the 1960's with success.

What I have to offer to anyone that wants to sharpen their own sword is:
The way we humans learn anything is by doing it wrong. If you understand that and are willing to go through a learning process... it's your choice. Don't say no one told you...

Best of luck, (if you want to leave it up to chance)

[pgsmith]

Mike Femal has several DIY guides for sword maintenance on his web site. One is on sharpening ... http://www.nihonzashi.com/DIY.htm

[kdlarman]

Thanks, Paul, I was trying to remember the think for that one.

Great guide but *ONLY* for production training tools. Don't do that to a nihonto. Please. It removes a ton of material and will usually destroy the subtle shaping that would most likely be correct for a nihonto.

For your Paul Chen training blade (or whatever similar) it works just fine.

By the way, if we're just talking about honing up slight dullness on a sword I use a heavily worn 600 grit DMT diamond "benchstone". Just touch up the very edge *lightly* with the hone. It will remove a slight about of material and if you do it right the marks will be nearly invisible. The hone not only resharpens but also gives the edge extra "bite" for cutting wara and the like. A great tool.

[Brian Owens]

t's not intended as a "How To" guide, but for those interested in the art of sword polishing, Tatsuhiko Konno Sensei, a Seattle area Kendo & Iaido teacher, has a video out which follows him through the process of polishing a blade.

I've watched him at work several times, which was fascinating, but the video is great because the camera allows you to get "up close and personal."

Here's a link: Token Konno videos