Japanese Art Sword Polishing by David Hofhine
davidhofhine@hotmail.com
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Fuyuhiro katate-uchi
Detail of a late Koto period katate-uchi signed Fuyuhiro.
Click here to see comments and feedback for this blade!


Nobutsura tanto with dragon horimono

13 5/8" tanto by Tachibana Nobutsura with extremely high quality dragon horimono. This was super tricky.  It has some of the most beautiful horimono I've seen.  Every scale is carved out and under cut precisely in three dimensions.  I had to clean and re-burnish each one.  Lots of hours with tooth picks and stone dust and tiny needle burnishers.  Click on the image to see online feedback and comments for this blade.

Nobutsura ura side with Fudo horimono

The opposite side of the Tachibana Nobutsura tanto.  Engraved with Fudo-Myoo "The Immovable".  He sits in flames holding a rope in his left hand to bind evil and a sword in his right.  Click on image to see facebook comments for this blade.




Wake Island surrender sword detail
Here is a detail of a sword that I was very proud to work on.
This is the Wake Island surrender sword, property of the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington, DC.  This is a WWII era Japanese Naval Officer's sword.  The tag attributes the blade to a Seki smith Kaneshige.  This blade was surrendered by Company Commander Tetsu Matsudaira at Wake Island and presented to Fleet Admiral William Leahy.  Click on the image to see live feedback and comments for this blade on facebook.
Leahy museum swordWake Island surrender tag 1Wake Island Surrender tag 2
Ujishige kissaki detail
Detail of the really great kissaki (point) on wakizashi I just finished. 21 3/4" length, signed Yamato Daijo Ujishige. Lots of activity!  For more on this blade including feedback and comments click here!



Detail Bizen Norimitsu dated 1487.
Close up detail photo angled to show the exquisite hada of this katana signed: Bishu Osafune Norimitsu. Dated 1487.
Naginata naoshi wakizashi signed Izumi no Kami Kanesada.
Another picture of the 15 3/4" naginata naoshi wakizashi signed Izumi no Kami Kanesada. Has strong itame hada (wood grain) going into mokume (burl). Lot of large nie crystals. A very attractive quality blade overall. Also VERY SHARP!  For more information including feedback and comments click here!




Bizen Kuni ju...
This is an osuriage katana signed Bizen Kuni ju...  It has a thick kasane and a extremely fine ko-mokume hada.  The hamon (temper line) of this blade is finished in a keisho style.



Kanenori tanto

Recently finished koto era tanto by Kanenori. It has a really interesting hamon with series of 5-6 gunome of uniform height separated by individual shorter gunome.  Feedback here!


16 1/2" mumei o-suriage wakizashi
This is a 16 1/2" mumei o-suriage wakizashi. This one started out in really bad shape.  Had to completely re-cut the groove.  More pictures of this blade available here!


En-po era (1673) katana signed Bungo no Kami Minamoto Masayasu. 27 1/2" long.

En-po era (1673) katana signed Bungo no Kami Minamoto Masayasu. 27 1/2" long, o-suriage (shortened). Finished in a sashikomi style.  See this page for more information on the difference between keisho and sashikomi finishing.




20 2/4" wakizashi signed Nagasone Okisato Nyudo Kotetsu
20 3/4" wakizashi signed Nagasone Okisato Nyudo Kotetsu.  The reverse is signed "ju to Azan Oshioka hen" which means "living around Oshioka in western Azan".  This blade has a ko-itame hada and an unusual gunome hamon.



Kotetsu full view with tsuka
Nagasone Okisato Nyudo Kotetsu, full view with the tsuka and tsuba attached.


Kotetsu mei and koshire details
Nakago and detail of some of the exceptional koshire for this blade.


NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho papers
It has NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho papers dated 1961.  There is some question as to the authenticity of this paper and the attribution of this blade.

Mumei naginata
This was a full traditional art polish on a huge mumei naginata,
one of the most difficult blades to polish!




Rex Says...
Rex says: Click on the BEFORE AND AFTER link for more pictures of newly polished swords!


Sorry, I can't update these pages more often, but it takes a lot of time and I'm busy polishing.  ^_^

See hundreds of swords and feedback from clients and fans around the world on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/swordpolish.  It is a lot easier to upload new photos to my facebook page, so it gets updated a lot more frequently with a lot more content.  You should be able to view all of the albums, even if you don't have a facebook account.  If you have trouble viewing, make sure your browser is allowing facebook cookies.

Before and After
Please note, the blades featured on this web site are not currently in my possession, do not belong to me and are not for sale as far as I know. An absolute minimum number of blades (usually just one or two unmounted and unpolished) are kept on hand at all times to minimize liability.  -David Hofhine

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