Prewar70 Posted March 15, 2016 Report Posted March 15, 2016 Has anyone ever accurately weighed a sword to determine how much metal is removed as a percentage? It obviously depends on many factors but it would be interesting to compare if this has been measured. 3 Quote
ggil Posted March 15, 2016 Report Posted March 15, 2016 Very good idea! Too poor to polish but very curious. Also, some before and after precision micrometer readings would be similarly interesting. I assume only blades requiring foundation work would show much relative loss. I wonder if this info is considered in the yearly contests in Japan. Me thinks it is important to consider though, regardless. There are people getting blades polished all the time, so this info wouldn't be hard to come by if dealers on NMB wanted to find out. - Grant Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted March 15, 2016 Report Posted March 15, 2016 Shoot! I just sent something of the Mishina-San. I wish I'd have weighed it first. This would've been a fun question to answer. Quote
Prewar70 Posted March 15, 2016 Author Report Posted March 15, 2016 I'm sending a tanto to Benson and I will weigh it. Quote
Stephen Posted March 15, 2016 Report Posted March 15, 2016 Joe im sure he can weigh it for you. Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted March 15, 2016 Report Posted March 15, 2016 Yeah. I thought about asking, but don't want to seem dumb. I mean, you guys already know that I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, but he doesn't. 2 Quote
Prewar70 Posted March 15, 2016 Author Report Posted March 15, 2016 I'm curious if the results would be surprising. I see discussion about old blades having thin skins and I thought how much metal is actually removed Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 Recognizing that Mishina-san is a very busy man, I may not get a reply, but I did ask him to weigh my sword. I also asked him if he would be willing to comment on whether there could be any trends regarding what we are discussing that he would be willing to comment on. It may just be that, "Every sword is different" - which to a certain extent is absolutely true. But I am very interested in understanding if there is a difference in the amount of steel that needs to be removed and difficulty in polishing in groups of swords. Perhaps the construction of swords by different schools or traditions influences this. Perhaps it's age/era. Perhaps it's nothing - but this question has me quite curious! I hope he is able to take the time to provide some insight. As a mukansa polisher, his opinion on the matter is very valuable. Quote
Kronos Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 What is he polishing for you if you don't mind me asking? Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 Yes, being a perpetually-nosy engineer, I weighed my wakizashi before & after shiage, & found there was 0.2 gram difference. I used a digital scale with 0.1 gram accuracy, & weighed the bare blade three times, each time. So not much metal was taken off, to say the least. Oh, & the polish was done by Woody Hall, Bob Benson's deshi - great job, too! Glad they're local. Ken Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 What is he polishing for you if you don't mind me asking? He's going to polish my Morioka Masayoshi. I saw a blade by the same smith in Tampa that Danny had (don't get ideas, I already called dibs!) polished by Mishina-San and I knew I found my polished and that the sword had to be done. Breathtaking doesn't explain how good the blade - and polish - was! Quote
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