How to kasumi y. tanka?

[TSF415]

I picked up a Y.Tanka Suji from JNS and want to put a nice finish on it. It has some really interesting clad lines but they are very faint. I would like a little help on how to do a full polish/kasumi on the knife. Is it necessary to sand down the whole blade first before hitting it with fingerstones? What progression should I do with stones? Is it necessary to start off at a sg500 to remove what looks like a hairline finish? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Carl Kotte]

I tried some fingerstones on my Tanaka (with the same plan in mind) only to discover that I messed up the finish. I didn’t understand the grind - and there appeared to be several low spots - so my attempt with the fingerstones made the blade look like a spotty animal (and not in a good way). I then considered doing a kasumi or something but the knife is so thin I was afraid using coarse stones. So I gave up and sanded it back the way it looked originally.

 

[soigne_west]

I’ve experimented a little with this in my mazaki. What I did was use finishing stones to polish the core, and stone mud and some micro mesh pads to polish the cladding. The more polished and scratch free the knife is in general the nicer it’s going to look. I had a bunch of rough uchigumori I got from eBay for really cheap and ground it down using a mortar and pestle but I’ve seen guys do it with mud from synthetics too.

 

[TSF415]

I’ve experimented a little with this in my mazaki. What I did was use finishing stones to polish the core, and stone mud and some micro mesh pads to polish the cladding. The more polished and scratch free the knife is in general the nicer it’s going to look. I had a bunch of rough uchigumori I got from eBay for really cheap and ground it down using a mortar and pestle but I’ve seen guys do it with mud from synthetics too.

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Did you do a progression of sandpaper before the powder or did you just go over the existing finish?

 

[soigne_west]

You could go over the existing finish but the cleaner the finish initially the better it will look in the end.

 

[Mikeadunne]

I’ve experimented a little with this in my mazaki. What I did was use finishing stones to polish the core, and stone mud and some micro mesh pads to polish the cladding. The more polished and scratch free the knife is in general the nicer it’s going to look. I had a bunch of rough uchigumori I got from eBay for really cheap and ground it down using a mortar and pestle but I’ve seen guys do it with mud from synthetics too.

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That looks really nice. I want to mess around with finger stones and finishing but am slightly intimidated. Grinding them up and using pads to apply sounds more accessible than splitting and gluing stones to some kind of paper(?).

 

[soigne_west]

I initially tried to polish with fingerstones, on the need up coming out super streaky, I followed that with the stone powder/mud. Later realized that skipping the finger stone worked just fine, it’s a nice easy way to temove the petina. Is it the correct way? Probly not, but more experienced stoners don’t ever seem to comment on these type of posts.

 

[nutmeg]

Finger stones should be thinned almost flexible and then cracked. Using them that way can't make appear any low spot.
Roughly, finger stones whiten the surface and turn mirror into matte. But they don't have the grinding power to erase deeper scratches from a knife in original condition. It can give a pleasant result but you will need many finger stones for this.
I haven't done it for years so take it with a pinch of salt but if a bench stone is not usable because of the blade geometry, sandpaper may help.

 

[Carl Kotte]

Yes, @nutmeg is right. The fingerstones I used weren’t that thin and definitely not flexible enough. I should have said that originally.

 

[nutmeg]

This in not the most informative video but the thickness is something you can work with

 

[Carl Kotte]

This in not the most informative video but the thickness is something you can work with

Yeah, I’ve seen this one. Great stuff! I just have to get my feet off the ground. I’ve made some fingerstones; they’re small and thin, but they aren’t glued to paper... and they aren’t smurfed

 

[Carl Kotte]

My ambitions have changed slightly. Not going for kasumi. Rather, I’m trying to replicate @MrHiggins perfect Swedish flag patina. I’m getting there, little by little.