What to use to sharpen an original Katana?

Question

I recieved an original hand crafted Japanese Katana from a relitives Estate. This is one where the metal was turned into itself 3-5 times by hand before being formed. I need to find out what is the BEST medium to use to keep the razor edge on it. ie: ceramic steel, stone etc. Please, no funny answers. Thank You.

Answer 1

DON'T TOUCH IT

clear and simple

Sharpening a katana is the work of a specialised professional.

it is not just a single piece of steel it's made up out of different layers with different harding.  If you are not careful you risk sharpening the true edge off the blade.  

Take it to a specialist that does sword renovation, or to an antique dealer that does in Japanese stuff.

BTW why would you want to sharpen an antique?

they are not meant to be used anymore.  the risk of damage is very real and would cause serious depreciation of the weapon

Answer 2

I would suggest you do your research on a professional traditional sharpener/polisher, as there are a few different types of stones used each running in the thousands of dollars to purchase.  It also takes years of practice to become any good at it, and you could easily ruin the blade otherwise. Why would you want to sharpen the antique collectible anyway?  If it's a real antique I would think you'd want to just keep it in good condition. If you want something to work with, why not buy a cheap one as you can ruin the saya and the blade itself from practice.

Answer 3

DO NOT sharpen it yourself unless you know how.

DO NOT under ANY circumstances send it to a smith in japan.

If it is a katana from ww2 rightfully taken as spoils by a U.S. serviceman then the japanese governemnt might confiscate it.  Apparently thier government isn't capable of understanding the whole "spoils of war" concept. sour grapes.

Answer 4

You shouldn't do it yourself. If it's authentic, then the blade should be professionally sharpened by someone skilled in handling nihonto, then kept in shirasaya and maintained. When you sharpen a blade, you physically grind away a portion of the metal. Since the nihonto is designed with fairly specific hardness ratios between the different portions of the sword, regular sharpening can weaken the blade.

Contact Token Konno Art ( http://www.tokenkonnoart.com/ ) to see about sword restoration. What will probably happen is, if the current fittings are good and don't rattle, you'll need to acquire a maintenance kit, knock out the mekugi, loosen and pull off the tsuka and koshirae, and send the blade alone to him. You need polishing and "rest scabbard" (shirasaya) at minimum. Might as well go ahead and have it polished and appraised while it's there.

If it's indeed a hand-forged classic nihonto, you won't need to do much once it's properly sharpened and polished other than regularly doing maintenance (polishing and oiling) since you won't want to actually cut with it (If you do decide, "Hey, classical japanese sword made in a traditional manner. WEED WHACKER TIME!" call me so I can hurt you). Even some WWII gunto were made in the traditional manner, though, and while they're worth more, they're still not top grade. Removing the tsuka should reveal a signature.

Answer 5

If you have a real antique katana, please don't attempt to sharpen it yourself as you could possibly ruin it's value as an antique. Polishing/sharpening is a specialized art in itself, commanding very high prices (about $100 per inch), however there are people who can do it relatively inexpensively. Here is a link to a very reputable company that can help you with your sword. They can help you decide if their polisher is what you're looking for, and may be able to help you find out the value of your sword.

http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/pol...

Answer 6

You should never attempt to sharpen a real Japanese sword. It can only be done by a person that has been trained correctly for many years and with the proper tools.

If you want to ruin the sword all you have to do is try to sharpen or polish it yourself.

NOTE: Never send a real katana to Japan for work. By Japanese law real Katana can't be sent out of the country. If you send one to Japan you just gave it to them.   If you want to have it done properly you can research it on the web. There are a few in the U.S.A. and other countries that can do the job correctly.