- Joined
- Mar 15, 2001
- Messages
- 2,450
I have a Paul Chen Shinto Katana. While I like the fit and finish quite well, I've never been particularly enamoured with the edge. Now, I know that swords don't need to have a scary sharp edge, but dangit, my sword does (I'm kind of particular that way 
).
So anyway, I was a bit apprehensive to sharpen this baby, given the beautiful finish on the blade. What I did was masking tape the entire blade, with the exception of the last 1/8 inch by the edge. I then took my sharpening setup (basically the same as a Sharpmaker -- two ceramic sticks in a base), taped the sticks in the base, clamped the base to an old coffee table (scored big points with the wife for this one), and started sharpening.
I undertook the actual sharpening process in two steps, first the lower half of the blade (midpoint to tsuba), and then the upper portion. I took it nice and slowly. BTW, the sticks were at about 25-degree angles.
I have to say that I really didn't need to make too many passes to get a scary sharp edge on the katana. It now shaves my arm hair with any portion of the blade. I have a clear case of "monkey mange" on my left arm.
Anyhow, I just wanted to let others know that is possible to sharpen a Chen katana with a little care.
- Mark
).So anyway, I was a bit apprehensive to sharpen this baby, given the beautiful finish on the blade. What I did was masking tape the entire blade, with the exception of the last 1/8 inch by the edge. I then took my sharpening setup (basically the same as a Sharpmaker -- two ceramic sticks in a base), taped the sticks in the base, clamped the base to an old coffee table (scored big points with the wife for this one), and started sharpening.
I undertook the actual sharpening process in two steps, first the lower half of the blade (midpoint to tsuba), and then the upper portion. I took it nice and slowly. BTW, the sticks were at about 25-degree angles.
I have to say that I really didn't need to make too many passes to get a scary sharp edge on the katana. It now shaves my arm hair with any portion of the blade. I have a clear case of "monkey mange" on my left arm.
Anyhow, I just wanted to let others know that is possible to sharpen a Chen katana with a little care.
- Mark