Wabisabi-Ken
Well-Known Member
Hey guys! Got this usuba today, and look at the state of it! Looks like the previous owner had tried to give it a tidy up but maybe the Corona got to them and were unable to finish the job... Anyway I thought I'd freshen it up along with the sheath that came with it..
Low spots galore
Hmmm pretty sure that should be flat, champion I think not.
Anyway spent some time sorting it out with a king 300 and atoma 400 then onto a king 800 for a quick geeze at how it would look with a bit of kasumi.. a lot better than it was before at least.
So with first rough tidy up of the blade I moved onto the sheath and handle which is new territory for me.. well all of this is new territory really.
I went at it with 240-400-1000 and finally 2000 sandpaper, pretty happy with the finish so far, wouldn't mind getting a bit more sheen to the wood, should I seal it with something? I don't want it to change the colour much and just want it to shine a bit better, after 2000 it has a slight sheen to it (hard to see in photos) which I like but want more not like crazy glossy or anything though. Any suggestions? I also noticed after sanding the buffalo horn it seems to be dry, do I need to keep going up in grit above 2000 or do I need to rehydrate it with something? Would whatever I use on the wood work for the horn too? Suggestions welcome!!
First stage tidy up complete! Looking forward to finishing the blade up as I am hopefully going to buy some jnats and further polishing/sealing the wood and buffalo horn.
Should be fun to see how this turns out, it may end up going on and on as I play with different finishes on the blade... Let's just hope the Corona doesn't get me before I can finish it too...
Any input welcome!
Low spots galore
Hmmm pretty sure that should be flat, champion I think not.
Anyway spent some time sorting it out with a king 300 and atoma 400 then onto a king 800 for a quick geeze at how it would look with a bit of kasumi.. a lot better than it was before at least.
So with first rough tidy up of the blade I moved onto the sheath and handle which is new territory for me.. well all of this is new territory really.
I went at it with 240-400-1000 and finally 2000 sandpaper, pretty happy with the finish so far, wouldn't mind getting a bit more sheen to the wood, should I seal it with something? I don't want it to change the colour much and just want it to shine a bit better, after 2000 it has a slight sheen to it (hard to see in photos) which I like but want more not like crazy glossy or anything though. Any suggestions? I also noticed after sanding the buffalo horn it seems to be dry, do I need to keep going up in grit above 2000 or do I need to rehydrate it with something? Would whatever I use on the wood work for the horn too? Suggestions welcome!!
First stage tidy up complete! Looking forward to finishing the blade up as I am hopefully going to buy some jnats and further polishing/sealing the wood and buffalo horn.
Should be fun to see how this turns out, it may end up going on and on as I play with different finishes on the blade... Let's just hope the Corona doesn't get me before I can finish it too...
Any input welcome!
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