Quote:
Originally Posted by VydorScope
Stich... you might know this... if I was a MASTER swordsman that would never EVER think of letting someone else touch my sword. What would I use to sharpen / maintain it? What would I refer to it as? Its for character in my next book... thanks!
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Good question! But easy to answer.
As a religious man, are you familiar with any of the laws concerning the Hebrew 'Torah' and who may touch it and when? Same sort of things applied to the Samurai and their swords. Even Miyamoto, the founder of the two-sword school and author of 'The Book of Five Rings' had someone else sharpen his swords. Japan recognizes several living (or past living) 'National Treasures' as Master Sword Sharpeners/Polishers. It would by guys like this that the real masters would send their tools to be worked on. That said, the ordinary Samurai would sharpen their own tools, using water stones (Japanese water stones of course,) usually mined in the
Arashiyama area just north of Kyoto. (About 5k north of the station along Rt.162.) These family-owned mines produced the very finest sharpening stones in all Japan, and did so until the mid-1960's when commercially viable stones ran out. I've bought several
odd-shaped pieces over the years out the back doors of these families. Arashiyama lies on the main road leading north-west out of Kyoto on the way to the Sea of Japan, and we would go bike touring along that road (Rt.162) often. We'd sometimes see hand-written signs on some of the houses offering a few stones for sale that Grandfather had dug up and smoothed out in his retirement. Today, one can purchase "Man-made" Arashiyama water stones that are really excellent quality, but not even close to the natural stuff that was simply cut out of the ground.
Does that help? I've lots more if you need it.
Stitchawl