Finishing
There are two finishing styles, a modern style, Hadori ), and the classical style, Sashikomi,.
The modern polishing style makes the blade to
look boldly aesthetic. The classical polishing style shows the quality of the
blade honestly.
The modern style creates on the blade white pattern along
hamon, black shining steel and mirror finished shinogiji. It is so aesthetic
that it is good for display.
Sometimes a proper makeup can cover some flaws of the
blade, but too much of it makes difficult to see many interesting appearances.
Therefore the modern polishing style is not able to show
the real face of the blade.
"Bishu Osafune Norimitsu" with the modern polishing
style.
The classical style leaves the colour of the steel
natural. So it looks dimmer than by the modern style.
But when you look at the blade under a good light, you
can see the true colour of the steel and also every appearance in the honest
view.
Such honest polishing is necessary for study of the blade.
This work must be done with only natural stones.
One example of the classical polishing.
style
"Kaneyoshi"
has a fine steel, very bright nioikuchi ( hamon line
) and a nice blue colour inside the hamon.
Every effect is brought out naturally.
The other example of the classical polishing style.
"Fujiwara Kanemoto"
This blade has a fine steel and a good signatured tongue.
But unfortunately, it has a little dark hamon.
The hamon is wide enough, so the colour is original,
not coming from being tired.
In the classical style polishing we can not make hamon
attractive, anyway a true colour.
This dark hamon means a little lower cutting power than
the bright one.
Exactly looking at the hamon means seeing the hardness
of the cutting edge.
On such blade, modern style polishing may be better to
make BUSINESS.
Once upon a time there was an old polisher who was very famous for his
modern style polishing work.
When a blade was polished by him the look of it changed
so much, it has shining steel surface, visible layer pattern, mirror finished
shinogiji and attractive white pattern along hamon.
His thumb brought a miracle.
It seemed that the blade rank has stepped up one or two
grades.
He always leaded the fashion of polishing style.
Still now, many polishers are afraid to re-polish the
blade that was polished by him.
Because, the attraction of its looking must get down
by any polishers' skill.
His polishing system included many secrets.
But, the old polisher had some number of masterpiece blades
kept deep in his room as his collection.
And they all were polished in the old classical style.
I don't know if this story is true or not.
But it illustrates the meaning of polishing style clearly.
HADORI polishing is good for business, SASHIKOMI is good
for loving.
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