Restoration of a WW2 Katana...

[MAP]

Nicely done and displayed

[26Intrepid]

Thank you Map...

[ghp95134]

...I added two photos.. the project Katana will be the third one down (Actually 4th if you count the one on top of the rack)”

Reminds me of this:

[26Intrepid]

Hahaha ooops.... OCD!

[RussM]

Great job, a lot of work!

Very nicely displayed too!

[Mitsu]

nice work indeed and especially very nice collection.
I see that you too have a little bit of everything !.

Congratulation

Regards
Mitsu

[DaveR]

Opinions differ, some would rather see a blade turn to rust rather than have it dealt with by anyone other than a Japanese polisher.... Always a conundrum, is it sensible to put a $2,000 into a blade that will never be worth more than a few hundred.
The reality is that many of the blades on the trade tables have been "polished" in the West. I think you did good, but don't tell anyone on the NMB that I said that.

[toot]

could the pitting have been done by/from blood?

[26Intrepid]

Could the pitting been from blood? I guess anything is possible... the only way to truly know the history is to talk to the person who brought it home. Unfortunately, he passed a few years ago. The only history I have on this sword is that it was found in an attic with a type 38 rifle and bayonet (The family had no idea that he had these items). I purchased all three pieces. I initially cleaned all the rust off of it and exposed all the pitting. I personally think the rust and pitting was from poor storage... as you know, these swords have high carbon content. If you don’t take care of them they will rust and pit.

Restoring a sword the way I did isn’t a thing I would do... however, the condition of this sword was horrible. I’d rather roll the dice and restore it rather than let it continue to degrade. I think the post before yours from DaveR touches a bit on it (By the way DaveR, I appreciate the post).

Hope this helps... D

[Alan M]

I too think you have done the right thing in saving the blade that was on it's last legs , to being a nice display example , well done with your efforts .