multi-cultural

Andrew · 31st July 2008, 06:58 PM

Jeff is it worth trying to rework that blade and straighten it out again before you polish it?

Jeff Pringle · 1st August 2008, 05:17 PM

It is to me, and it would need to be straightened to do the polishing correctly. Since the major warps were unfairly installed (if I’m reading the damage correctly, of course), and since with Japanese blades you can pin down the time and place of manufacture, even the individual smith, by looking in to the polished steel – it feels like the right thing to do.
It can be a risky operation, since you never know when metal fatigue will cause a blade with a long history of flexing to snap, but I was able to coax it through and it is mostly straight now, just a couple minor adjustments left.

Andrew · 1st August 2008, 05:30 PM

Nice! Are you going to try and heat treat it again, or leave well-enough alone? What about the mountings?

Love to see pics when you get a polish going. Any chance you could take pics along the way as you restore it?

Henk · 1st August 2008, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

Love to see pics when you get a polish going. Any chance you could take pics along the way as you restore it?

I'm convinced many members would like to follow the process by pictures and explanation. A great project to restore a magnificent piece to its old glory.
We are ancious to see the results.

Jeff Pringle · 5th August 2008, 10:07 AM

No desire to re-heat treat the blade, since I’m interested in what’s left of the original heat treating and it feels like that would be a final insult to this blade which has already had a tough life. The hilt could get some surface-level help, but not ‘til after the blade is in better shape. I don’t think I’ll disassemble the grip, which will limit the scope of work on that area.
A photo essay sounds like a good idea, though this isn’t a front-burner project so it might go on for a while! The final result will be far short of the blade’s former glory, though, it is too far gone to be more than a shadow of its original self. I’m thinking of splitting the difference between a conservation and restoration, restoring it back to a possibly imaginary point just before it fell into the hands of people unaware of basic sword care – but there is a lot of deep rust and other damage that will remain.

I used a manual press to remove the bends and ripples, since it has good control at the high force levels needed to take out that curve. There were also a lot of bends, so it was helpful in isolating them one by one. I held the blade against a flat surface and marked where it touched, then used blocks of wood at those points to transmit the force in the right direction.

mross · 5th August 2008, 09:00 PM

It looks like the butt cap may be a kashira. Is it possible the handguard is a reworked tsuba? It also looks like it could hava a fuchi there also. Intresting to say the least. Further look also appears to have a seppa next to the tsuba like guard?

Jeff Pringle · 7th August 2008, 05:50 PM

Yes, the grip is wearing a fuchi and kashira in brass, the guard is a copper tsuba with 1/3 hacked off indicating that the new owner was right-handed and liked to carry the sword with the grip close-in to the body (well, I guess most swords are worn close-in compared to the Japanese style) – two copper seppa.
Next step is to remove the surface rust with a fine-grit stone to see what’s really going on, determine the course of further action; and polish a small section to check out the steel and hamon.

5th August 2008, 10:07 AM	#5
Jeff Pringle Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 189	No desire to re-heat treat the blade, since I’m interested in what’s left of the original heat treating and it feels like that would be a final insult to this blade which has already had a tough life. The hilt could get some surface-level help, but not ‘til after the blade is in better shape. I don’t think I’ll disassemble the grip, which will limit the scope of work on that area. A photo essay sounds like a good idea, though this isn’t a front-burner project so it might go on for a while! The final result will be far short of the blade’s former glory, though, it is too far gone to be more than a shadow of its original self. I’m thinking of splitting the difference between a conservation and restoration, restoring it back to a possibly imaginary point just before it fell into the hands of people unaware of basic sword care – but there is a lot of deep rust and other damage that will remain. I used a manual press to remove the bends and ripples, since it has good control at the high force levels needed to take out that curve. There were also a lot of bends, so it was helpful in isolating them one by one. I held the blade against a flat surface and marked where it touched, then used blocks of wood at those points to transmit the force in the right direction. Attached Images

7th August 2008, 05:50 PM	#7
Jeff Pringle Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 189	Yes, the grip is wearing a fuchi and kashira in brass, the guard is a copper tsuba with 1/3 hacked off indicating that the new owner was right-handed and liked to carry the sword with the grip close-in to the body (well, I guess most swords are worn close-in compared to the Japanese style) – two copper seppa. Next step is to remove the surface rust with a fine-grit stone to see what’s really going on, determine the course of further action; and polish a small section to check out the steel and hamon. Attached Images

31st July 2008, 06:58 PM	#1
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	Jeff is it worth trying to rework that blade and straighten it out again before you polish it?

1st August 2008, 05:17 PM	#2
Jeff Pringle Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 189	It is to me, and it would need to be straightened to do the polishing correctly. Since the major warps were unfairly installed (if I’m reading the damage correctly, of course), and since with Japanese blades you can pin down the time and place of manufacture, even the individual smith, by looking in to the polished steel – it feels like the right thing to do. It can be a risky operation, since you never know when metal fatigue will cause a blade with a long history of flexing to snap, but I was able to coax it through and it is mostly straight now, just a couple minor adjustments left.

1st August 2008, 05:30 PM	#3
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	Nice! Are you going to try and heat treat it again, or leave well-enough alone? What about the mountings? Love to see pics when you get a polish going. Any chance you could take pics along the way as you restore it?

5th August 2008, 09:00 PM	#6
mross Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 478	It looks like the butt cap may be a kashira. Is it possible the handguard is a reworked tsuba? It also looks like it could hava a fuchi there also. Intresting to say the least. Further look also appears to have a seppa next to the tsuba like guard?