sharpening a big blade !!

[innocent bystander]

'Spect a few have seen this over on BB, but someone posted this interesting link :
mms://wm.channelj.speedera.net/wm.channelj/chj/intr12_katana_e_020204.wmv


It's very interesting, but about 27 minutes long. Might be worth using a downloader to save it to your hard drive, as it's a streaming video.

 

[Spacemonkey]

I've not bothered looking, but i have always been under the impression that you don't sharpen a true katana in the manner that you would a knife, but maybe the wmv file title is misleading or a it's a cheap and nasty copy? Would be interesting for another type of sword though I guess.

 

[Stew]

Spacemonkey - watch the video!

It's rather impressive and the blade isn't being sharpened more like polished. A lot of work is put into it.

 

[innocent bystander]

10 days work on one sword - 5 sharpening, and 5 finishing it off.
All on water stones. About 5 different grades in all.
And it's an old one too, something like 5 or 600 years old. If that aint a true katana, i dont know what is....

 

[mark a.]

Amazing. What an incredible level of skill that goes into the sharpening and polishing. I get an ok-ish result on my straight razor after about an hour. But this guy keeps going for 10 days to get that absolute perfection. That's dedication for you.

 

[Spacemonkey]

I stand corrected, it is a great clip! So that's what my ex-wife meant by they're not sharpened-what she meant was not regularily as you would a knife, but polished as and when. Her father still has their old family blade and many newer, cheaper blades. Her grandfather was an accomplished practitioner of yabusame, which is the mounted archery they practice, and he was in many early Kurosawa films, and her father was an extra in 'Ran', one of his newer, colour films. Damn, I miss my Japanese culture!!!

 

[innocent bystander]

Glad you liked it !! I've saved it to my hard drve for future referance, like if i get peed of sharpening one of my toys...

 

[familne]

Excellent vid, the attention to detail is amazing! Very good tutorial on the proper use of waterstones.