Honyaki restoration project - Going to document my journey

[KasumiJLA]

It's the first time I'm going to tackle a honyaki and I've embarked on a big project. It is a blade forged by a blacksmith in Sweden that is made of 26c3 steel, which is very close to a shirogami steel.

Do I like this blade profile, not really. It's halfway between a honesuki and a gyuto. But here the goal was to find an affordable knife to do my learning on this type of blade.

There are a gigantic amount of irregularities on the surface of this knife that I will have to correct. The steel is extremely hard and even with coarse sic powder (60~90) I barely started to remove any material. I am very far from starting to have fun bringing out the hamon!

I will also correct the shape of the choil to give it a curve that will be to my liking. The spine and the choil will also be polished. I'll see if I put the original handle back or if I'll put a personalized one on it, we'll see.

I will document my journey because I love this kind of publication of people who share the entirety of a project. I've often found interesting stuff here dating from 2012 so I think it might be useful to someone later.

So this is it, see you in 2 years with the final polish

 

[Matt Jacobs]

I have a project heading my way in a week or so. I am looking forward to your updates

 

[KasumiJLA]

I have a project heading my way in a week or so. I am looking forward to your updates

Yeah! Feel free to share with us your progress

 

[KenjiF]

That looks like a workout. Look forward to seeing results!

 

[KasumiJLA]

That looks like a workout. Look forward to seeing results!

Oh yes it is, my fingers already hurt..! I estimate 2 hours on each side just to remove every imperfections with the coarsest grit I have. I hope that the dremel will be enough to change the choil shape too, otherwise it's gonna be a real pain in the @&# to do!

 

[KenjiF]

Oh yes it is, my fingers already hurt..! I estimate 2 hours on each side just to remove every imperfections with the coarsest grit I have. I hope that the dremel will be enough to change the choil shape too, otherwise it's gonna be a real pain in the @&# to do!

I know they make diamond grinding wheels for dremel if the standard aluminum oxide drums don’t work. I like the mesh grinding wheels for clean up…

 

[tostadas]

Oh yes it is, my fingers already hurt..! I estimate 2 hours on each side just to remove every imperfections with the coarsest grit I have. I hope that the dremel will be enough to change the choil shape too, otherwise it's gonna be a real pain in the @&# to do!

The dremel grinding bits will be decent at grinding choils on 26c3. You shouldn't need anything extreme there.

 

[KasumiJLA]

First update : Choil is done

First step done and I'm very happy with the changes I made. I particularly like the new geometry which is much more to my liking. Like @tostadas said the dremel was enough for the job but it took me a really long time compared to other projects I had done including yanagiba. I removed roughly 5mm at the deepest spot and it took me around 2h00 in total, including hand sanding.


I tried several variants before making my decision and it is with this profile that I decided to start.


I love redoing the choil on my projects so much and my dremel is only for that. It's super practical and above all much faster.


Most of the work is done and then I sanded by hand. The progression is : 180-400-800-1,2k-3k and 7k.


Like Rihanna said, shine bright like a diamond! I don't know if I'll keep the mirror finish, I'll see at the end if it's appropriate with the final polish. It is slightly rounded without sharp edges.


Here is a side by side to see the difference. A little more space for the fingers and it looks much more aesthetic to me that way. It's also much more comfortable on the fingers.

 

[levve]

Really digging the new choil geometry, already massive improvement

 

[KasumiJLA]

Really digging the new choil geometry, already massive improvement

Thank you sir! Yes I'm really pleased with it and the photos do not do justice to the feeling of it in hand. I will continue with the spine today before tackling all the craters

 

[KasumiJLA]

Seconde update : Spine is done

Today I continued with the simpler part of the project. Nothing major but there was some finishing work to do. Since this part is softer because of the clay, it was super fast. It took me about an hour from start to finish. Now the fun is over and I'm going to tackle the most difficult part of the project.


There were some irregularities on the spine, like this notch, which prevented me from sleeping well.


The finish was raw and you could clearly see the lines of the belt sander.


I used a file to see if the steel was going to be soft enough and it was. I redid the geometry and equalized the angles. Now the sides are a little curved and it's much more aesthetic.


Good old hand sanding! I used grit 180-400-1k and 3k. I'll leave it that way for now and see if I push the finish further in the end. For now it's a migaki finish and it looks nice. (Sorry for my dirty fingers )


Now everything is smooth and there are no more notches near the tang.


I put the original handle back to see the look it would give. I'm not going to reuse this handle, it's big and bulky. I have a lilac and blonde buffalo horn handle that I'm going to use instead.

 

[KasumiJLA]

Third update : No more factory scratches, pitting and low spots

This was the part I dreaded the most and in the end it went really well! There were many imperfections and in one place there was a notch about a millimeter deep. How long did it take me to put the perfect geometry back? 3 hours, 5 hours? Actually no, only one hour for both sides..! I will explain my method in the description of the photos.

I will continue to refine everything until the mirror effect and then I will see the direction I will take. Since this is my first honyaki project, I'm wondering if I'm just going to do the stone finish? Does etching is mandatory? I looked at a lot of everything that was done on KKF about the subject and there is not much outside (website, youtube, etc.). I may need your advice at this stage, friends!


This is the technique I used to correct the low spots. Working on the side of my Shapton 120 the stone does not burnish and more pressure can be applied without worrying about a banana shape. The cut is super fast and it's easy to work the desired section. I was also able to retain the convexity of the knife. Obviously the shape of the stone will take a weird shape but I only use it for this kind of work.


I present to you the magnificent low spots in all their splendor!


Both sides are done in about an hour, myself I'm surprised! The Shapton 120 leaves quite deep marks so I will have to progress slowly on my coarse stones. I will continue with 220, 320, 400, 800, 1k before I get out the sandpaper and diamond pastes. I tried as much as possible to keep the blacksmith's stamp but there are parts that fade away. I'll see later if I'm able to redefine it.

 

[KasumiJLA]

Fourth update : I will have to be patient

I have to admit, I thought it was going to be easier. Way easier. After removing the low spots relatively easily, I got carried away and wanted to progress too quickly on my other stones. Classic mistake...

I did remove the low spots but I made so many marks with the shapton 120 that the work is now very laborious. I tried different techniques and the steel answered me with a nice "it won't be that easy Julien". I know now that I will have to be patient with this project because I want to approach perfection. At least, to the limit of my abilities!

Contrary to my old way of thinking, I find that this challenge and this lesson in humility gives me even more motivation. So I'm starting again with the 180 grain size and I'll give some news after the mirror finish with 200k diamond paste


I did a quick test up to 4K and here is the monstrosity with the light showing off the scratches the most. I knew it was going to be awful but it gave me a good look at the scratches and the work that needed to be done.


I also tried different techniques: sic powder, king stone, coarse diamond paste, diamond paste and sic etc. Since I am aiming for an impeccable mirror finish (the beautiful impossible challenge) I will simply continue with the sandpaper. Very slowly from 180 to 10k and then I will continue with different diamond pastes.


I started the work again with the 180 grain and for 2 square inches, it took me 1h30. It's going to be the longest stage but I know everything will be faster afterwards.

 

[KasumiJLA]

Fifth update : the marathon continues after 16 hours!

The project is progressing slowly, but very well! I told myself to take my time to carry out my most beautiful project and I follow the game plan. So far 180, 240 and 400 grit are completed. It's a total of 12h15 of hard work to get to where I am now. It's downright a marathon, both mentally and physically!

I'm finally at the end of the coarse grit and tonight I'm going to start with 800. It's starting to go a little faster and it's more and more motivating! I can't wait to have fun with my diamond pastes..


This is the kind of view I've had for 12 hours, erasing the previous lines. Here it is the junction of the grain 240 and 400.


As soon as I finish one side I look closely with at least 3 different light sources to find the places that need to be done and I mark the scratches. This is the most important step because it's so easy to miss them. Then I go back to work on the sections and repeat the check until everything is perfect. Sometimes I can repeat this process three times before I'm satisfied.


They are so subtle that even being 10mm from the blade taking this photo, I had trouble photographing them. The toughest place is right near the cutting edge and the tip.


Finally seeing the reflection of my sharpie on the blade, man it's so satisfying. It's still very raw but it's really encouraging!