Sword sharpening ?

[nindja]

Anyone have a handle on a good video for sharpening katana? i have the basic concept and know the stone grades required but was wondering if such a thing was available?

Peace
Nindja:bow:

[Charles Mahan]

Katana aren't really "sharpened" so much as they are polished. It's a very different technique than sharpening a knife. It's not really something for a novice to attempt on a sword which they value.

What kind of sword do you have?

If you are hell bent on giving it a go, lookup Fred Lohman's site on Google. Last I checked he carried a number of polishing stones.

I just checked. Lohman's site definitely has Polishing Kit's, but the price might be a problem for you. He also has some recommended books for those thinking about doing their own polishing.

http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/polishingkit.htm

[nindja]

The one I will practise on is a home made one. I'm a Tool maker. I know the sharpening process is more polishing as you described, just wanting to see it rather than read about it.

Peace
Nindja:D

[Gene Williams]

I would re-emphasize Charles' first sentence...it isn't something for a novice. If you have a valuable antique sword, don't do ANYTHING to it except clean it with uchiko or lightly oil it for long storage. Use choji oil, not some commercial product you buy down at ACE. There are some people around who know how to polish swords. I have the names of a couple.

[TEA]

You might want to try asking this over at The Sword Forum dot Com (http://forums.swordforum.com/index.php?)

[David Craik]

You might want to try asking over at Bugei too, although you will likely get similar answers there and at swordforum to the ones you've already recived here. Togi is not really something one can teach oneself; many togishi apprentice for years. I think Keith Larman of Summerchild polishing explains it best:


"Togi" is the Japanese word for polishing Japanese swords. We often use the word polishing, but it really isn't a very good translation of the word "togi". Japanese swords are very precise, elegant, and complex blades. The best swords have an incredible symmetry and beauty. The "polisher's" job is not just to bring out activities in the blade or to remove scratches. Those things are more by-products of a good polish. A good polish brings out the shape the smith intended, cleaning up the lines, shifting things subtly into position, moving lines, changing surfaces, and basically bringing out the beauty of the smith's vision. This is why a good polish is expensive -- there simply is no fast way to accomplish this. There are polishers who only work to bring out activities and get the edge sharp. That's fine if that's all you want. But to me that's like spraying a new paint job on a car that has dents and is missing body parts. The surface as exposed may have a lovely sheen, but the car is still in need of repair. To the untrained eye it may look okay, but to the experienced eye the blade will look terrible.

It isn't like sharpening a machete or something. As for a video, try http://www.tokenkonnoart.com/aboutthe.htm This video was made in 1985 by Tatsuhiko Konno Sensei, and apparently it is quite good.