What polishing grit of sandpaper to bring out hamon line? on

Professor

Professor

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I've got a C.A.S. Shinto Katana that I've been cleaning with stuff that's dulling the finish.

I remember about a year ago somebody suggested a super fine grit of sandpaper in someone's thread to polish the sword and really bring out the hamon. Any suggestions, and more importantly, where do I get it? Knifemaker's supply? Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Professor.
 
Well, 1500 and 2000 grit sandpapers are usually available at good hardware stores. I dunno if they would work for your sword, though, so better find out before you try! I remember reading somewhere that traditional Japanese swords were not mirror polished like some are today. The hamon is exposed through a carefulbalance of polish and etching, I think, although the Japanese seem to use just finishing techniques without using an acid to etch the knife first. Anyone else with more info? I would also go to www.swordforum.com for more info.

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Thanks. I'll check it out over there. Didn't know that forum was still around.

Professor.
 
Are you making sure that any polishing you do goes all the same way? A japanese polish still leaves minute scratches, but they're all in the same direction, making them blend and show the hamon better. The polishing kit that comes with the CAS katana would probably work better that way.

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Oz

"This is your life, and it's ending; One minute at a time."
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
I don't polish in the same direction because of the scratches. Here is how I do it:
I start at 200 grit and work up to 2000 grit. Each grit goes a different direction from the last (at angles). I also polish wet until I get to 2000 grit. Then I polish dry and go horizontal. I then etch the blade and then use the old 2000 grit paper to go over it again. Then I use an automotive polishing compound to remove the last scratches and then simichrome to remove the oxides. It reveals the hamon very well.

Hopefully here is an image of a blade I did:
http://home.airswitch.net/cbenson/images/ctanto.jpg

Hope this helps,
Ravenclaw
 
Vary directions between grits, absolutely, but the final grit should all be parallel with each other. The other possibility that I hadn't thought of until you mentioned, Ravenclaw, was that the CAS katana could be etched, and the cleaning could be removing that etch, making the hamon less visible.
Very pretty hamon on that tanto, BTW.

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Oz

"This is your life, and it's ending; One minute at a time."
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
I always polish the heck out of the 2000 grit just to make sure the scratches are gone from the last grit. Sorry about the picture, hopefully this will show it the way I intended:

<img src=http://home.airswitch.net/cbenson/images/ctanto.jpg>

Ravenclaw
 
Very nice Ravenclaw! Thanks for the information all!

Where does one find 2000 grit sanpaper?

Thanks again. Professor.
 
I get a lot of my higher grit papers at automotive parts stores. I am going to start looking harder to see if I can find a better deal on the web somewhere.

Ravenclaw
 
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