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Museum Forge Shiageba
As part of the 2022 artist in residence project a temporary shiageba (finishing area) was set up for carving handles and scabbards for the knives forged earlier in the year. This was the first time that the finishing stages of traditional knifemaking were demonstrated at the museum. Later in the season a full-sized traditional togi-dai […]
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Photo Essay: Polishing an Antique Tanto
Some views into the steel of an antique yoroidoshi during restoration polishing, on a day and stage when the light and the surface were showing interesting details of the hamon and hada. Thank you to its caretaker for allowing me to contribute to its care and preservation. In a private collection in Vancouver.
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Building a Togi-Dai for Polishing
Togi (研ぎ) is the process of using several stages of abrasive stones to refine, smooth, and sharpen a blade. The word togi does not differentiate between the action of polishing and the action of sharpening, in the Japanese concept the operations are one and the same –an integral process. A togi-dai (研ぎ台) polishing platform is […]
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Repair broken Natural Waterstone with Urushi
Repairing a broken natural Japanese waterstone using urushi lacquer. Natural urushi lacquer is strong enough to repair the stone but will not interfere with sharpening and polishing as some glues may. Carving a cypress base to hold the stone together as well as using urushi lacquer to reattach the halves provides a double solution. The […]
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Sharpening a Nata (variation of a Japanese brush knife)
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Sharpening a Kama (Japanese farmer’s sickle)
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Making a handle for a small pick