I'm Poor And Have Questions

[Brian]

Guys...it is SIMPLE.
NEVER mention polishing ANYTHING yourself. I don't care if others say it is not worth a polish or if it is the front half of a katana or whatever. The official and unchanging policy of the forum is that amateurs and non trained people DO NOT ADVOCATE polishing anything that is Japanese and traditionally made.
Is that hard to understand?
Chris, you derailed your own thread. Not sure if you expected anything different, but really...skip the extra info and just talk about the fittings. No-one who is an amateur is qualified to even know what can be saved and what can't.
Not going to debate this further, this has been covered many times.
Consider it dealt with, and let's get back on topic and about the fittings. Don't want to lock this, so no more about that.
 

[cmjohnson]

You're quite right, and I should have know not to even make mention of the P-word.  So, moving on....

 

 

I'm hoping to acquire "used" tsukas, or the bodies at least, for the wak and the tanto and refit them to those blades.   It's quite all right if they will need rewrapping, and of course they will need koshirae.

 

I'm quite willing to learn how to do the wrapping work myself. 

 

I'm a fairly experienced woodworker, in fact I make guitars as a hobby and I've sold a few so I kind of know my way around woodworking tools,  so the possibility of making the saya is at least worth

considering but I'd have to source the honiki wood to do it.    I can carve, I can sand, I can lacquer, I can polish, I can glue, and I'd enjoy the challenge.

 

Somewhere around here I have a silver habaki I made myself, years ago.  I put it in a "safe place" and I'm trying to remember where that is exactly....

[Jamie]

 

 

Only word from a properly trained polisher can determine if a sword is worth restoration or not. Not pictures on the internet. These are just basic best guess determinations based on pictures which can be very inaccurate.

 

And if you don't even know the terminology involved with these swords you most certainly shouldn't be trying to polish them. You are not fixing anything and in fact may be damaging swords.

We are about the preservation of these swords. No one but a properly trained polisher should even be making the decision whether a sword is worth saving.