The point of a blade as it arrived: dull grey steel with rust spots and old scratches.

(a.)The polish

Thirteensteps

Seven stones set the shape and take out the rust. Six finishing steps with slivers of stone, iron oxide and steel needles bring up the grain and the hamon.

4-9 weeks on the bench
Waiting list: about 5 months

As received: Old polish, rust and handling marks. We photograph and measure before anything touches the steel.

Kongō-dō: Coarse stone. Removes rust and sets the shape: shinogi, niku and the line of the back.

Binsui: Takes out the scratches of the first stone. Every surface is checked against the light.

Kaisei: Refines the geometry. The hardened edge starts to look different from the body.

Chū-nagura: Scratches turn fine and even. The worked angle changes with every stone.

Koma-nagura: The grain of the steel and the outline of the hamon begin to show.

Uchigumori hato: A soft natural stone for the edge. The hardened zone clouds to white.

Uchigumori jito: A harder natural stone for the body. The hada comes up, the surface turns matte.

Hazuya: Thin slivers of stone under the thumb, worked over the hamon section by section.

Jizuya: Harder slivers for the ji. The grain sharpens and the chikei begin to catch light.

Nugui: A paste of iron oxide in oil darkens the ji to blue-black so the hamon reads.

Hadori: The hamon is traced and whitened with hazuya. Skipped for a sashikomi finish.

Migaki: The back and the shinogi-ji are burnished with steel needles to a mirror.

Narume: The point is polished on its own and the yokote line is set crisp.

As received

Old polish, rust and handling marks. We photograph and measure before anything touches the steel.

(b.)The finish

Hadori orsashikomi

The last choice is yours, and it changes how the hamon reads.

Hadori whitens the hardened zone with a slightly coarser stone, so the hamon stands out as a white shape against the dark steel. It traces the real line closely but not exactly. The style is about a hundred years old.

Sashikomi leaves the hamon as the smith made it: a nugui paste darkens the steel and the hardened line itself shows, softer and exact. It suits blades with a clear hamon and grain.

Same blade, both finishes. Drag the line.

Sashikomi finish: the hamon shows as a soft bright line inside darker steel.

Hadori finish: the hardened zone is whitened and stands out against the dark steel.

SashikomiHadori

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(c.)What we will not do

Some steelstays as it is

(i.)We never polish the tang. Its patina and file marks date the blade and carry the signature. Cleaning it destroys both.
(ii.)We take off only what the condition needs. Every polish thins a blade. A sword can take a limited number in its life, so a window or a light finish is often the better answer.
(iii.)We don't reshape a blade to look like another school. If an old repair or a shortening changed the lines, we say so in the record instead of hiding it.
(iv.)We don't polish factory-made swords. Only blades forged and hardened the traditional way have a hamon and grain for the stones to reveal.

(d.) Next

What would your blade cost?

A full polish is priced by length: €150 per sun (3.03 cm). The studio page works it out for you.

Prices and calculator