- Joined
- Mar 25, 2001
- Messages
- 48
Did something interesting this afternoon. I've got an Ontario katana which is basically a wak that's been dipped in black paint. I've wrapped over the existing full-tang wrap with another wrap of 550 black paracord. This was done about a year ago. Great fit and feel. I figured since I accompished this why not go further! So I went ahead and broke out all the sharpening stones and files I had and did a very amateur polish. Took about 5 hours. Now the hollow grind very unevenly applied was somethng I never liked but for $100 what can one expect. Filed down as much of the bevel ground as I could then broke out a coupl of arkansas stones and a Buck washita stone and began polishing first perpendicular to blade then lengthwise. Used water as well as motor oil and WD40. WD40 worked best, but very messy with the black paint coming off. But useful in noticing how the polsh was progressing. Finished off with 600 grit sandpaper and WD40. Nowhere near perfect, with the vertical grind marks still visible near the edge but an interestng experience none-the-less. Seems to me that if someone were interested in this art, one could not go wrong with such an endeavor with an inexpensive and unevenly ground piece of 1095 carbon steel! I enjoyed it and maybe someone else looking for a project of this sort might give it a try. Just wish I could produce some before/after pictures, but I don't have that capability.