Polishing
A good polish gives the blade back its shape and lets you see what it is: the steel, the hada and the hamon. We polish modern blades in Europe and old nihontō in Japan.
Modern blades
Shinsakutō (新作刀, shinsakutō) and cutting swords are polished in Europe. For a blade that is already in Europe, shipping goes customs-free within the EU.
It serves to refresh a tired polish, remove the marks of use or restore the edge of a sword that cuts.
Old nihontō
An old nihontō is polished in Japan, not in Europe.
The traditional polish, the togi (研ぎ), is done in Japan by a professional polisher. The blade travels to Japan and back, and the work takes months.
We assess the shipping and the formalities there and back case by case, and we tell you about them before starting.
Polish only if needed
Every polish removes steel from the blade, and that steel does not come back. A blade with papers is polished only if it needs it: because of active rust, a nick, or because the polish no longer lets you see what the blade is.
If in doubt, send us photos and we will tell you what we see.
How it works
- You write to us with the form: which blade it is, from what period and in what condition.
- We ask you for photos by email and tell you whether it is worth polishing.
- We send you a proposal with its price. Nothing is started without your approval.
- The blade travels insured and comes back the same way.
- We deliver it to you polished.
Enquiry
Tell us which blade you have and what condition it is in. We ask for the photos when we reply, by email.