The process of polishing

Polishing of the Japanese swords is very complex process. In my personal opinion it is not possible to reach good quality records without several years of proper studying under experienced specialist. It is not only about having mastered the process, but also achieving a lot of theoretical knowledge about successive historical periods of time and their characteristics, schools, and also concrete sword-cutters. Without these and long time experiences it is not convenient to try to repair an original sword. The damage that amateur restorer could cause to the fine blade may be irreparable.

My personal Togishi (polisher) experiences are insufficient. I only polish swords I have made. These are blades for practical use. The polishing doesn’t necessarily have to be of such a high quality as the swords which are to be displayed. I’m not able to get even close to the level of the real professionals. There is a big difference between amateur and professional polish. I don’t want to lower the quality of my work. The polishing quality of the blades coming from my workshop is sufficient and my colleagues and I are still trying to reach up better. Someone, reading this article, owner of a Japanese original thinking of its reconstruction, should consider the difference between an offer of a “friend – polisher” and offer of a real professional. I must emphasize again: the amateur can cause a huge damage to the blade. On the other hand, work of the professional increases the value of the sword and not only for the price you paid.

I want to point out a bit about Nakago adjusting. There is a rule I consider very important - do not modify any part of Nakago, neither its surface nor the shape. The rust is very important for identification and definition of the blades age and genuineness. Do not remove it. The color and the structure of the rust on Nakago are irreplaceable definitive aspects. You would lower the blades value a lot by removing it.

The polishing process itself has two parts. The first one is giving the blade a proper shape and the second is its polishing. The first one is the most important for the blade. Stones are used for both. It is possible to use natural or synthetic stones. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. As for the softer ones, natural stones are better to be used. Their features have a big influence on the final product.

The first part - shaping

It starts with hard stones and step by step goes to the softer ones. The stones are called according to their granularity from the hardest to the softest: Arato, Binsui, Kaisei, Koma-nagura, and Uchigomori. Two stones of the kind are usually used. Wide for the planes and thin for the back. It is very important to keep the stones in a right shape while polishing so the flat on which we polish is bulging out as a lens. If the flat is plane or is bulging in, it is not possible to make flat planes on the blade.
Arato - is used for making the basic frame of the new sword, or for removing the rust and necessary modifying of the shape while restoring old blades. We use vertical strokes. It is possible to polish Shinogi-ji a bit diagonally. Kissaki (plane of the edge) is polished vertically and it goes the same with all stones. Granularity of Arato is approximately 180. Work on Binsui is similar. We work on Binsui and all the next stones as long as there is no sign of the previous stone. This makes the blades surface softer by every step.
Kaisei - we polish at 45° angle to the stone.
Chu-nagura - we use lengthwise strokes. Good to use natural stones only.
Koma-nagora and Uchigumori are used the same way.

The second part - polishing

It is generally only cleaning of the blades surface. Two stones are used. They are called Hazuja a Djizuja. These, broken into very thin strips, are glued on a paper by the lacquer, whet to be flat and cut into small squares (approximately 1x1 cm). Hazuja is used to polish the whole blade. It is similar with Djizuja, but we do not polish Hamon part of the blade (hardened part). Djizuja is broken into very small bits (approximately 2x2 mm). We always use couple of these bits on the thumb. Right now, the surface of the blade should be clear, and the texture of the steel visible.
The next step is Nugui. It is a paste made of oil and very soft powder from the stone. There are several kinds of Nugui and final color of the blade depends on which you use. It is applied on the blade by piece of cotton or cotton-wool, depends on the kind and demanded effect. If we finish with Nugui, it is called classic style - Sashikomi. But we can use Hazuja on Hamon part again, which will create white area clearly separated from dark plane of the blade. That is modern style - Hadory. The final product is very attractive and effective. This style allows hiding some weaknesses and imperfections of the blade. On the other hand classic style clearly shows all features of the blade.

Migaki - that is a part where steel needle is used to finish the mirror surface of Shinogi-ji and Mune.
Narume - another vertical polishing of Kissaki by Hazuja. Clearly separate it from the rest of the blade.