Neglected blade in need of polish

[Nostro Titus]

Good day

 

A gentleman asked me to validate this sword and is now interested in having it polished.

Unfortunately all activities are obscured and there are some nasty areas where the kawagane is worn through.

He is open to polishers based in Japan as well as Britain, but Britain would be more convenient for him.

I have included some pictures of the blade just to show the general state it is in.

It appears to be mumei shinto (please feel free to correct if wrong) with slightly extended kissaki. There are hints of masame in the boshi as well as at some spots in the ji, at one spot with large mokume present as well. yasurime that are left (someone did some heavy sanding in places) are kiri. Motokasane is 6.3mm just before the abrupt thinning in front of the machi, motohaba: 27mm.

nagasa: 69.3cm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep well

Marius

[pcfarrar]

I'm sorry to say but I think your friend should scrap the blade and use the money he would have spent on polishing to buy something in better condition.

[Grey Doffin]

That is my impression also, but I'm not 100% sure of it. I think someone who knows Nihonto well (a properly trained polisher, for example) should take a look at the blade before we toss it on the scrap heap.

Grey

[Justin Grant]

I would have it polished, even if the current value of the blade (after polish) is still less than the cost of polishing. I am not sure why people feel that if the blade is not an expensive piece to start with, a polish is not a good idea.

I look at this like I do restoring cars. I can put $150,000 into an old car to restore it, but I may only get $75,000 to $100,00 for it at sale. This "loss" is not that uncommon in the business, and many restoration aficionados, feel the goal is to preserve the items for the next generation., I feel the same about the swords we have today. Lets face it, there are only so many of these things out there, if people tossed each sword that was not deemed worthy, at some point, the only swords out there will be the high ticket items, and people like me, and others wont have access to them, and all of the mid to low grade "starter" versions are gone.

 

I see it as keeping a piece of history alive for the next generation. You mileage may vary depending on how you think.

[Ford Hallam]

Marius is only 25 minutes away from me, if he brings the sword (and a suitable bottle of red wine... he's in the heart of wine producing country over in Stellenbosch ) I'd be more than happy to offer an amateurs opinion....it may be handy for ume-gane repairs at least or I could roll it up like a Swiss-roll and forge weld out a tsuba blank

 

regards,

 

Ford

[Stephen]

Justen

 

if the blade is not worty of polish a good togi wont do it, im sure he could find someone to take his money, not all history is worthy of restoration, I think i see a big honking crack...could be a stain....only a expert should make the call.

 

one could put 50K into a cutom yugo....itd still be a Yugo. the old silk purse out of sows ear saw.

[Justin Grant]

Stephen-

 

There is value in that opinion, and you are correct, some things are beyond a point of restoration, but preservation is also a value.

 

As for the Yugo, mark my words, in 50 years, a Yugo restored will be worth a pretty penny. There is a history with this company, the jovial nature of the car, and the quirky nature of them will make a show piece to some collectors. What is valued today will not always equal what is valued tomorrow. When I was a kid, you could by a 65 Mustang a running shape for $2,000, today, 23 years later, that car can't be touched for under 15 -20K unrestored. Same can be said for all things that hold a modicum of value today, they will increase in value as time wears on. My point is, just because it is not worth much today does not mean it won't have a greater value tomorrow. But all things that are restored much have a foundation to build on, otherwise, leave it as is and it has value in its current state in future years as a unrestored relic, but relegating it to the scrap pile will remove it from the history books.

 

Just my opinion.

[loui]

Here are some blades that have been restored that most likely would have been written off by many people:

 

http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/restoration.html

 

Regards,

 

Louis

[Nostro Titus]

Thanks for the rapid responses.

I will relate the options to him.

 

Marius