Hi to all.
I recently acquired a very nice wakizashi from Japan. ( my first nihonto..WOO HOO :)
Looked flawless to me. Beautiful polish.
Then, this morning I pulled it out and noticed a tiny black dot on the hamon.
I won't elaborate any further other than to say I tried to remove the dot with metal polish and when that left a bright spot I hit with a piece of scotchbrite. Did look a little better and less shiny but it's still visibly different than the rest of the hamon.
Like I said-newbie ( and all the stupidity that comes with that )
Can anyone suggest someone in the San Francisco region to clean up my 1/8" x 3/8" idiocy?
Thanks in advance!
jonnyuzi@gmail.com
I don't know who to suggest,
I don't know who to suggest, other than to say you need a real togishi (polisher) to fix it. Anyone else may make it worse, even if they may be skilled at other types of metalwork, they likely won't understand how a Japanese polish is done, so they won't know how to make the surface "match".
Years ago, there was a qualified togishi on the west coast named Jimmy Hayashi. Maybe he or his student is still around??
Pete
Thank you!
Not what I was hoping to hear but I appreciate the reality of what you say.
JonnyO
fixing your oops
(insert obligatory admonition against amateur polishing here) It is probably not as bad as you think. Not sure if Jimmy Hayashi is still working in the area, but he could fix you right up if he is. The right ha -to finger stone would make it easy to blend in the area if you have to do it yourself. Edit (duh, my 1st post here, and when I answered, I did not see the previous response. +1 for Hayashisan)
Ha-to finger stone?
I'll try google. Somebody said it was my friend. :-D
finger stone
It's not as easy as you may think. If the finger stone is more than 0.03 mm thick, it will scratch the blade.
Ian C
nihonto.uk
Finger stone
Thanks for saving me from more grief, Ian.
So these take skill to polish? Not hamfisters like moi?
:-D
.03? That's thinner than a sheet of paper yet it's called "a stone"?
I feel SO bad-not for me-for marring the sword. Should have just left it alone till the next token kai show in San Fran...sigh.
As Fred Sanford was want to say to Lamont, "Ya big dummy!"
Anybody know a polisher in the States?
Fixing black spot
It's not as easy as you may think. If the finger stone is more than 0.03 mm thick, it will scratch the blade.
I don't follow your logic here, the only affect the thickness has is in the ability to follow the contour of the blade, i.e. niku. All "polishing" is scratching the blade, albeit in a controlled manner. The OP is not doing an entire hadori just trying to repair his already OOPS. A light touch is required. OR, send it to Hawaii to Bob Benson and Woody. Yes, I AM a polisher. NO, I will not fix your sword.
Huh?
Yes, I AM a polisher. NO, I will not fix your sword.
Why? You don't help idiot newbies? Curious am I.
Your question
I do not accept outside work; as a blade smith and a limited quantity collector of nihonto, I have enough work already. Also, many people like to tee off on others who they perceive as incompetent who have not studied polishing in Japan for years, even though they themselves do not possess the skills.....they see themselves as caretakers of history, and vehemently criticize others they perceive as destroying history. This is frankly a pain in the behind I prefer to avoid. As far as helping "idiot newbies", I think i have. Good luck.