Project knife begins

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RA40

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This knife was taken in on a trade of other goodies. On initial inspection I thought it may be an imported piece but the build qualities aren't "import" spec. It has good fit and the materials are quality. The polishing was ok and there is a faint hamon line so it is a forged piece. It has some water spotting so this is the beginning of my polishing practice in the hope to bring the hamon line out. Once taken apart was happy to see that it is made by a stateside Master Smith. It is already fairly evenly finished other than the hard water spots so I'll begin with 1,500 and work my way up to 6K. s-schwarzer-tanto-5173-20200310.jpg
This will eventually lead up to my polishing some of the Bob Engnath Japanese swords. I bought those from Stephanie Engnath when she was selling the shop inventory.

engnath-katana-5178-20200310.jpg engnath-katana-5180-20200310.jpg
 
RA40

Getting there! Please keep us updated with your progress and with the photos!
 
Rubbed it to 8K grit. Thought that the higher finish would show the hamon better but it didn't. Been having some adventures getting the temperline to show the way I want. Used ferric chloride and it was far to aggressive on this 1085 blade. Rubbed it out again to 2K and went reading how others do this. For ease I went with a 1:4 vinegar to water solution and let it sit for 3 minutes. This frosted the softer part of the blade and the harder temperline remained fairly well polished. The finish is still pretty subtle.

Right now I have the habaki setting up with some epoxy so that it remains firm when mounted. The tsuka over the years the inside wood has shrunk some so it wobbles a bit. Not sure how I want to approach this to achieve a tighter fit.
 
Right now I have the habaki setting up with some epoxy so that it remains firm when mounted. The tsuka over the years the inside wood has shrunk some so it wobbles a bit. Not sure how I want to approach this to achieve a tighter fit.

Have you tried soaking the wood in mineral oil? It's gentle and inexpensive.

John
 
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