weirdly shaped tanto

[Ilovekatana]

I found this tanto online and find the shape odd. Is this this shape found in other tanto or was it just a the result of a flaw in the forging process?

[Ray Singer]

This is the outcome after polish has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the width of the blade. This is seeing both in blades that have been polished many times over their life, and also due to the repair of damage (hakobore) requiring narrowing

[Ilovekatana]

1 hour ago, Ray Singer said:

This is the outcome after polish has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the width of the blade. This is seeing both in blades that have been polished many times over their life, and also due to the repair of damage (hakobore) requiring narrowing

Thank you for the info. Also one more question. Would it be a bad idea to get such a blade polished?

[Ray Singer]

On a blade that has lost so much material, additional polishes are even more likely to uncover issues and make the blade even more tired.

[Franco]

1 hour ago, Ilovekatanas said:

Thank you for the info. Also one more question. Would it be a bad idea to get such a blade polished?

 

As Ray correctly points out, the shape has already been compromised. So, unless a blade is an important piece, what is it that you hope to accomplish with a new polish? While there are excellent polishers that can work wonders/magic, adding metal is not one of them.

It is unlikely a top polisher would take it.  Which makes waiting for the right sword to come along perhaps a better idea. 

In the mean time study, enjoy!

 

Regards,

[Ilovekatana]

28 minutes ago, Ray Singer said:

On a blade that has lost so much material, additional polishes are even more likely to uncover issues and make the blade even more tired.

Okay. Once again thank you for the info.