Sword Care: Sharpening

Before we proceed, it is absolutely vital that you identify what kind of sword you have. Is it an antique or is it modern made? If you sharpen an antique, you risk damaging its intrinsic value. This would be a loss not only to yourself but to future generations whom otherwise might have been able to enjoy the sword after you.

Let's also first establish that a sword is not a knife. Many of the automatic or mechanical systems are good for kitchen knives but not swords, because a sword has a different sectional geometry than a knife. Most mechanical systems impose a bevel on the edge.

If your sword has a bevel (which most likely means it is a decorator sword made from stainless steel) then sharpen it all you want. A sixty-degree edge should do fine if you have a manual sharpening system that allows you to specify the edge angle. Otherwise a knife sharpener might ruin your decorator sword.

If the decorator sword is without a bevel and you still want an edge on it, be advised that decorator swords are not heat treated for performance like real swords and thus you will find that the edge-holding capabilities of your stainless steel decorator sword will suffer greatly. (In my experience, the 440 stainless steel Taiwanese swords have somewhat better edge-holding than 420 stainless steel swords from Spain.) In this case, a high grit diamond hone file will work/

With swords like the Hanwei katanas (mass produced in a factory owned by Chen Chao-Po, distributed via C.A.S. Iberia) a high grit diamond hone file will do.

However, with antique and traditional Japanese swords - or modern custom swords exceeding US$800 in value, none of the above is recommended - again you are now dealing with a historic relics or blades of intrinsic value, and anything less than a proper polishing job will devalue the sword.

Why is that? With Japanese swords, the sword is polished, not only to remove scratches, oxidation or imperfection, but also to sharpen. In other words, restorative polishing and sharpening are the same single process. These should only be done by a trained professional, as a bad polish can devalue a sword severely and cause permanent damage - polishing is the process of finely removing material, whereas bad polishing means too much material is removed, or material is removed from the wrong places!

Thus consult any of the polishers on this website if you do have an antique. There are some who claim to polish but be sure they have the proper Japanese training before you hand your antiques over to them.

Japanese-style polishing can be applied to swords of different cultures, but check with SFMO's antique experts as in most cases you should leave the patination of a sword intact.

Summary

• Never sharpen antique or expensive swords by yourself. With stainless steel decorator swords, it is okay.
• Avoid mechanical sharpeners as they override the sectional geometry of your sword and impose a bevel to the edge which is suited mostly for kitchen knives.
• With antiques - especially antique Japanese swords - the process of sharpening and polishing is one single process.
• Consult a trained Japanese sword polisher for Japanese swords.
• With swords of other cultures, it may be advisable to consult with an expert; in most cases, leave the patination intact, as this protects the blade steel already.
• Do not needlessly sharpen antiques lest you destory the intrinsic value of the sword.