Wak, no marks but well made

[Geoff Keyes]

I am a custom knife maker, most of my work is forged, and so, while I do not consider myself a sword maker, and Japanese blades are well outside my core skills, I can recognize good work when I see it.

 

I bought this at a knife show, I was told that it came from a garage sale. The owner at the show said he was going to make a blackberry cutter out of it, which made me sad, so I bought it.

 

It has a Kissaki, though badly eroded by misuse. The Mune is Mitsu and comes up to a point just behind the Kissaki, so there is a short (about .5-.75") area of reinforced tip. The Machi are clean and well defined. 18" to the Machi, 22 to the end of the tang.

 

The blade is pretty compete, except the end of the tang appears to have been hacked off. There is no furniture, but the lines are nice and clean.

 

 

 

 

So what should I do with this? I can see so hamon activity through the scratches, so my intitial thought was to give it an overall 600 grit polish and see what's there. On another forum it was suggested that I open a small window and polish out to 2000 grit. I don't know any local (Seattle Wa) nihonto people, so my next opportunity is the Oregon show in the spring. Any advice is welcome.

 

Thanks

 

Geoff Keyes

5 Elements Forge

[obiwanknabbe]

Hi Geoff,

 

Looks like you have a cut down Wakizashi that someone did a serious number on. Judging by some of the proportions, it looks like the Fukura /Boshi may have been ground off (fatal flaw). Hard to say with these pics. Also, image 9751 appears to show remnants of grinding having been done on the Ji up and around the Koshiogiji. I cant tell if that is homon showing in the pic or the reflective angel of sharpening . That said, I don't know if there is anything left for a polish.

 

Some warm vinegar will help expose any remaining hamon along the edge. While in most cases i would not recommend this, i don't really see the harm here. If you can still make out anything along the edge, then it my be salvageable, but the cost of a polish would almost certainly exceed the value of the blade. I hope your not too deep into it ($$).

 

Best regards,

 

Kurt K, Dark Star Forge.

[Geoff Keyes]

I'm only in $50. I suspect that I could polish it out myself, (in the sense of cleaning up the scratches and putting a good foundation on it), and mount it as a Dha and get $500 for it. At the worst, it's a very nice bit forging and would make a great fantasy piece. At the best, it's still got some value to a collector. Or it becomes a saddle knife for my wife.

 

Geoff

[obiwanknabbe]

Geoff,

 

Please dont try to polish it yourself. Togishi work is likely the most difficult metal working art there is. Even if its not a national treasure, you will likely do more harm than good. The stones that are required for this type of work are highly specialized, as is the individual methodology for polishing a blade from certain periods and/or schools. I know its never what people want to hear, but its better to stabilize it and do nothing further than to attempt a polish and ruin it forever.

 

As a fellow blade-smith, i fully understand the desire to work on it, BUT, i would advise you to use it as a study piece instead. Analyze it from every angle and use it as a template for a work of your own. Much can be learned from simple study.

 

Best regards,

 

Kurt K

Dark Star Forge