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Product Description
Product Description
To understand Japanese sword polishing is to understand the sword itself. Through the centuries, the great connoisseurs have been polishers. A swordsmith can spend much time forging a classic sword, but refining and bringing out its final shape, colour and texture so that all the details of the steel and hamon (temper line) are clearly visible is the skill of another craftsman: the sword polisher. An experienced polisher can instantly tell provenance, so distinctive is each smith's work and so vital is such knowledge to the skilled polisher. This is the first book in English to examine in detail the polisher's techniques: skills that take 10 years of apprenticeship to master. It illustrates the methods, materials, and tools used for this process, but its true aim is to enable the reader to fully appreciate the beauty of a well-crafted Japanese sword. As readers learn both how the sword polisher enhances the beauty of the blade and how he handles the problems of coaxing out its finest qualities, they will come to a deeper understanding of this fine art and will be able to purchase or collect swords with greater pleasure and deeper knowledge. It is vital to a true understanding of the Japanese Sword.
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Japanese swords have long been prized for their aesthetic beauty as well as their functional properties. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Japanese swords have long been prized for their aesthetic beauty as well as their functional properties. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A superb publication, that confirms some of the "cheats" that the Japanese have long denied they use e.g. the use of Copper sulphate and mild acids. Apart from this, it superbly demonstrates the final stages of polishing and differences in different polishers schools and techniques.
An absolute must for anyone interested in Japanese swords, and at the price a snip.
An absolute must for anyone interested in Japanese swords, and at the price a snip.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
A very good introduction to sword polishing
2 Jun 2006
Format:Hardcover
I wish I had this book 20 years ago when I first started to investigate the art of polishing. This book provides a wealth of information on the technigues, the material and the different ways that can be used to get a sword polisihed. In fact, the diversity of the art is highlighted by the book and certainly dispells the notion that there is only one way to restore a blade. The section on foundation polish discusses how to achieve the proper shape without removing too much material. The different stones are described and how each is used to establish and refine the shape. The finishing section covers the range of materials and tools used to bring out the grain and tempered edge unique to the Japanese sword. It also shows the burnishing and how to highlight the boshi.
There are sections that talk about the history of polishing, the schools of polishing and interviews with several modern polishers. As always there is a note warning about the perils to the blade that can be inflicted by an inexperienced person. The book doesn't reveal all the secrets to the art, such as the various forms of nugui (other than the basic hadori and sashikomi formulas),what types of stones work best with each school or era, etc. But it certainly does provide a well documented, well photographed look at this art form. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Japanese swords.
There are sections that talk about the history of polishing, the schools of polishing and interviews with several modern polishers. As always there is a note warning about the perils to the blade that can be inflicted by an inexperienced person. The book doesn't reveal all the secrets to the art, such as the various forms of nugui (other than the basic hadori and sashikomi formulas),what types of stones work best with each school or era, etc. But it certainly does provide a well documented, well photographed look at this art form. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Japanese swords.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Review of "The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing"...
9 Jan 2007
Format:Hardcover
After reading the book entitled "The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing" I now have a much clearer and detailed understanding of the process used by traditional Japanese sword polishers. The book takes the reader though all of steps from the foundation polish, used to shape and sharpen the blade, to the finish polish, which is used bring out the details of the steel and shape of the temper line, using good text and a fair number of detailed photographs. It includes some Japanese sword polish theory and how Japanese swords have changed over the historical periods. It also explains how the age of the sword can affect how the sword should be polished and what damage can and cannot be repaired by a polisher. In the last section of the book it contains a few profiles of professional Japanese sword polishers the authors of the book had interviewed which I enjoyed reading.
As someone who studies and appreciates the Japanese sword I found the book very helpful in educating me more about the process of how a Japanese sword is polished. I would recommended this book to anyone interested in learning in detail how Japanese swords are polished.
As someone who studies and appreciates the Japanese sword I found the book very helpful in educating me more about the process of how a Japanese sword is polished. I would recommended this book to anyone interested in learning in detail how Japanese swords are polished.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Traditional techniques very different from ours
8 Aug 2006
Format:Hardcover
Men have always decorated their weapons. The main items being decorated in the United States have been guns. But in Japan it is the traditional Japanese sword. Being more of a land of tradition, the Japanese sword became more or less standardized in shape as long ago as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and polishing the sword had to have followed shortly after that.
There are many books that describe the techniques of polishing and blueing guns. But this appears to be the first book available in English that discusses the polishing techniques used by Japanese craftsmen.
The Japanese practice is a strikingly different process than that used here. Polishing stones, not unlike whetstones but in far more diversity are used. A shop selling such stones is pictured with what appear to at least a couple of hundred different types of stones. And unlike here where stones are simply given numbers to indicate coarseness, in Japan they are given names.
The polishing area used with Japanese swords is a traditional form as well. It sits on the floor, and the polisher typically sits in a traditional position that most of us would find difficult to get into, and impossible to maintain for any period.
All in all, a fascinating book on techniques very different to those commonly used here.
There are many books that describe the techniques of polishing and blueing guns. But this appears to be the first book available in English that discusses the polishing techniques used by Japanese craftsmen.
The Japanese practice is a strikingly different process than that used here. Polishing stones, not unlike whetstones but in far more diversity are used. A shop selling such stones is pictured with what appear to at least a couple of hundred different types of stones. And unlike here where stones are simply given numbers to indicate coarseness, in Japan they are given names.
The polishing area used with Japanese swords is a traditional form as well. It sits on the floor, and the polisher typically sits in a traditional position that most of us would find difficult to get into, and impossible to maintain for any period.
All in all, a fascinating book on techniques very different to those commonly used here.
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