got, or rather took my Wak back today.

[JGC]

i got a call this morning from the man attempting to clean up the blade, i assumed he was going to call to either tell me it was a loss, or that he wanted more money for the work. i was a bit surprised when he called to tell me he was willing to give me $600 for it.

 

now, i may just be a bit cautious, but that screams to me like there's something i don't know that he's not telling me. so i told him that was ok, and that i'd just like the blade cleaned up... he then offered me $700 for it.

 

i told him i would be there in an hour to pick it up.

 

when i got there he told me that he wanted it because "it was like a road map for non-fatal flaws," and he wanted it as a teaching tool. this struck me as a bit odd, because my friend had told me that this man didn't have any apprentices, and no intention of having any. now, while i do see that there are a lot of flaws on the blade, ones that can especially be seen now that it's cleaned up, i still think something fishy was up. he did say most of the remaining damage could be fixed with a full polish.

 

i took some pictures of the same area of the blade i had shown in my last post, and will probably take pictures of the rest of it as soon as i have the time. i'm actually a bit surprised with how well it turned out, though needless to say i won't be taking anything to this man again, and advised my friend to do the same.

 

 

i'm a bit tempted to save it up and send it out to someone reputable to have it fully polished. when i do, i'll make sure to ask you guys who to talk to.

 

Edit: i'll also say the thing that really feel i should get it back is he assured me that it would take him at least a couple of weeks before he could get around to it, and it's been... 2, maybe 3 days?

[John A Stuart]

I do not know the man and mean to impugn no-one, but, his interest in doing the work so fast and the increasing offers bode well for the sword and less so for letting it go. It just seems strange to get increasing offers for a study of flaws. I could get him many flawed swords for less. Curiouser and curiouser. John

[JGC]

yes, i think that he was probably relying on me knowing almost nothing about Nihonto when he made the offer. and while i do know almost nothing, the trick of the matter is i never wanted it because i thought it was valuable, i've just always loved Nihonto. :D