Sharpening Instead Of Polishing

[SAS]

I could tell that one was staged just by looking at that stone......no way any useful work could be done on that, maybe sharpening a scythe, but swords.....no way.

[Dr Fox]

Polishing or sharpening?

 

I also have this image, its on a woven cloth background. Probably for framing, not a postcard.

[Dave R]

 I keep thinking about this image, and I think that what you see is what you get! The swords probably are props, there to indicate what he is doing, the real clue is the housewife sat in front holding a bundle of...? I think he is no more than a street level knife sharpener dealing mainly with kitchen knives and agricultural tools, the swords included as a bit of exotica. The Japanese equivalent of these fellows.

[Jean]

The French name for the street knife sharpener is "rémouleur". In the '50s, I remember them passing in Paris streets crying "rééémouleur". There are still 5 or 6 of them in Paris, all very old. A craft which will disappear soon...

[Stephen]

Id do that

 

interesting images 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=r%C3%A9mouleur&num=20&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUuNKB0bPRAhXHSyYKHf1MA1kQ_AUICCgB&biw=1242&bih=615

[Jean]

https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9mouleur

 

A few pictures and a wikipedia article.

[md02geist]

I have a hard time believing that a warrior whose life would rely on his weapons would not know or have techniques on how to maintain them, up to and including sharpening blades. I'm sure there were toshigi and the like who went along with armies and invading forces but I don't think they would do a complete polish from head to toe every single time the blade got dull. 

 

Of course I'm just speculating and have nothing to back this up but in an era where they were conservative enough to make things like naginata naoshi etc, one would believe they would try to get the most use out of their swords as possible unless they were filthy rich and could just buy more.

[Bugyotsuji]

Recently I came upon a good Sue Bizen wakizashi, but it had a minute hakobore near the machi. After debating and consulting I took it to the Togishi and asked what he could do. He would redefine and sharpen the blade edge, he said, over a somewhat longer section, perhaps half the length of the blade. Would I also like to remove the two (saya rubbed?) scratches up around the monouchi, he asked. Turning the blade over and over in the light I had trouble seeing any scratches anywhere. "Of course, if they do not bother you...", he added.

 

Well, you know me, or some of you do. Jokingly I said, not if it's going to cost me something outrageous like 300 dollars! No, he replied, just 100 dollars for the kobore, and another hundred for the scratch lines. Er, so what would you have done? I told him to go ahead.

 

Minutes later I was at the NBTHK sword appreciation meeting and holding a beautiful Koto Moromitsu tachi. In exactly the same place I noticed a hakobore, like peas in a pod! Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh......

 

Quietly I nipped over to our esteemed sword sensei and casually asked why the ha-kobore had not been fixed. "Oh", he replied, "it might alter the overall 'ubu' sugata of the blade! That would be far worse."

 

I nimbly slipped out of the hall and rushed back over to the Togishi's workshop. "Just need to double check that the work will not alter the shape of the blade!" I muttered uneasily. He laughed and said no, it would not affect the sugata. Phew!

[Randy McCall]

Posted in error. Didn't catch it was an old thread.

[Bugyotsuji]

Oh, boring! Even though I updated it, no good? Didn't know where to post!

[John A Stuart]

No, not boring. Here is the thing I've noticed. Modern polishing brings out a swords best aspects, hopefully given an experienced polisher, but, as preservation is paramount as well, I have noticed even swords having owazamono rating are not as 'sharp' as I make my knives. They will cut, but, will they kill, as said in the TV show Forged in Fire. John

[Dave R]

 I knew I had a better picture somewhere. How about this one?

[Bugyotsuji]

Great shot, Dave.

 

My Togishi is still young, and says he wants to send his daughter to the UK.

[Stephen]

It is a good shot even tho somewhat staged.