Hand polishing Japanese style - Shiage

I

itrade

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Jul 3, 2002
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The Sword polishers use a little, very thin stone ( Jizuya and Hazuya) under the thumb or finger. This is used to rub the final finish into the blade (except for burnishing).

Has anyone here tried anything like that?

Seems some kind of thin plate (copper?) and diamond paste would produce a similar effect.

Steve
 
I have had a similar idea. I haven't yet gotten to the point of trying it. What I was planning to do was use a piece of marble that I have along with different grits of wet/dry sandpaper. There was someone a few weeks ago here that used various grits of stones. He said that it worked well but was pricey. I think that the sand paper and finishing with diamond paste would produce a nice even finish. Not sure about using a copper plate. I would think that as long as it was flat and smooth that it would not matter. Give me a few weeks and I can let you know :).
 
yes i have tried it, you use paper that has been laquered for a backing under the stones, the diamond paste wont have the same effect,...the finishing stones open up the steel, where modern abrasives tend to have a more closing or smearing effect, in a sense a sort of burnishing. the finished product looks completley different. but i also must add i am in no way very proficient with the natural stones, i got a complete set, along with a few single stones from namikawa to practice with. it is a totally different way to finish a blade, if you are interested in that style of finishing i strongly suggest you order a kit from namikawa, i paid around $420.00 with shipping from japan, when i get a little better with the stones i plan on forking out quite a bit more for some of the better stones, the finish looks much better to me ( my opinion only)
 
Yes Mark, that's exactly what I was wondering.

Hmmmm...

Any chance you'd part with a flake for jizuya??

Steve
 
Thanks Robert,

I tried calling him a few months ago. He wasn't too interested in selling supplies. At least to me. Said he was getting out of that.

Right now I have a blade I've gone up to a 2000 stone. The finish is looking real good. However, there are cloudy areas and the scratch pattern isn't even enough.

I hate to go back to paper or buffer at these point because the grind line is extremely crisp. (Yes it is crisper than you can achieve with paper and a sanding block. Paper has more give than the stone and would round the edge a bit.)

So, I'm kinda stuck.

Steve
 
Hmmmm. I went to www.mscdirect.com
On page 900 they have various diamond polishing compounds. I have read here of people using mylar and diamond polishing compound as a way to strop. Perhaps mylar backed by by something hard and flat would avoid the give that you would get from wet/dry paper. They have the paste up to .5 micron in size. This may not be as good as the stone but maybe something that you could check into. Just a thought.
 
Thanks feth, (BTW I'm the guy trying Japanese stones :) )

Mylar, hmmmmm.

I just got off the phone with Shapton. They do have a number of sword polishers using their stuff. (According to the books professional polishers don't use artifical stones for the final work. However, Shapton says some are. You decide.)

In anycase he also said that the main guy there fixes the blade to a board and moves the stones. Hmmm...

I ordered what they call 'slipstones'. The are small 1" x 3" x .25"ish. In 5,000, 8,000 and 12,000. ($15 a piece instead of about $100 each for full size in those grits.)

I'll try them out. I'll post the results if anyone is interested.

Steve
 
itrade
Sorry about that. I read your last set of post on this subject with great interest. I was curious about how it worked out. I would like to see the results if you get a chance. I had hoped to try this myself at some point. I have read several sources saying that it is best to clamp the blade down and move the stone over the steel. I would imagine that this is more important on a sword sized item. If I may ask, are you doing this shapeing/polishing to a knife or a sword?
Thank you for the link Mr. Mayo.
 
Sword? Don't I wish. I'm dreaming of forging a 12" True Japanese shape Tanto (not that chisel pointed kind).

For right now I'm doing knives.

I've used the 320 and 1000 stones to work out grinding marks, but finished with paper. So my stone work is 'covered up' to date.

The current blade is just over 4". I'm soo tickled about the crisp grindline, I'm stuck on finishing it all the way with stones. However, I can't get the finish even.

One other thing is flaws are very appearant and hard to work out. With paper and especially with a buffing wheel, you can work out small areas of scratches. At times I even use a rubber backed sanding stick to smooth things over. That's not so easy with stones - no cheating.

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RE moving stone or knife.

So far moving the blade over the stone is working very well and producing very flat surfaces. You know how with a sanding block one pass with uneven pressure and you can lose the grindline? That doesn't happen (this is just for me - remember. Your mileage will vary) when I'm pressing on the blade, on the stone.

Right now with the 2000 stone I wouldn't want to show a pic. It is unfinished looking.

I'll try and post some pics of each stage after I can show a finished product - if I ever get there.

Hope that helps,

Steve
 
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