sashikomi/hadori

[Jacques]

I must add that the polisher's job is to highlight the swordsmith's workmanship and nothing else.

[Rivkin]

Very personal observations:

 

I would argue that much of "what is proper polish" reflects not so much the difference in blades as difference in collectors.

I have seen people who like "Honami polish", mostly Japanese, who argue it is the proper nihonto aesthetic and if you don't like it you are a garish foreigner.

Is Fujishiro better than Honami Nishu, and how do they stack against Kenji Mishima? I know my answer to these questions, but I heard exactly the opposite opinions, in some cases expressed by people significantly more experienced.

 

Specific example, controversial one, is how does nioiguchi needs to be accented. Quite a few who studied part time under Nagayama react strongly when they see a nioiguchi where you can see it over long, like 5 inch, segment rather than about 1 inch long area, and even that at very large view angles. They immediately say its acid etched, or its not a proper Japanese polish etc. But then there are even upper grade Meiji-Gendai blades that sort of come out like this in almost any polish. 

 

Another thing is overall quality of polish varied a lot in the past 150 years. I've seen quite a few blades which were not polished ever since 1850-1900 and I was actually very impressed by the work. On the other hand some of the supposedly "really good" works from 1930s-1950s left me wondering. Better grade "Sashikomi" from 2000s and "sashikomi" today can be very different beasts. 

Could it be that "anti-sashikomi" feelings common 20 years ago were a reaction to some inferior early Showa polishing jobs?

I don't have a strong enough experience to confirm or deny, but maybe someone else does.

 

[Iekatsu]

A good Sashikomi polish is best in my opinion, much better when on display also.

[Jacques]

What said a polisher (now deceased)