Katana straightening and sharpening

I have had my katana for almost 7 years now, I starting practicing when I was about 13 years old in a dojo I belonged to. Unfortunately time passed and school interfered so I had put my art a side and my dojo eventually closed. Now I'm looking to get back into the art of the samurai and have gone about looking for a new dojo, how ever my katana needs a few repairs before I can start cutting. My blade is slightly bent, the Habaki is slightly loose, the koiguchi does not fit tight enough so the blade slides right out, and my blade needs a good sharpening. I have been looking around for a repair shop around my me (I live in new jersey) but the only one I have found is in Florida which is way to far of a drive. I was wondering is you had any information of any shops in my state or even in neighboring states that can help repair my katana. I know I could fix the koiguchi, but I dont want to take any chances with straightening or sharpening/polishing my blade. I appreciate any help you're able to give.

-Joshua B.

Comments for Katana straightening and sharpening

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DIY: Not as hard as you might think..
by: Paul

I am afraid that there are very few services for sword repairs - it is a niche within a very small niche - and while there are a couple of companies that do it, which I will list at the bottom of this article, they are relatively expensive as you have to pay for a professional service and two way shipping - so in most cases, unless your sword is worth well over the $1000 price point, your options are generally limited to DIY repair or simply buying a new sword..

The good news is that, as the title of my answer suggests, DIY is not as hard as you might think. When I was training in Japanese swordsmanship a while back, the Shihan (who is internationally respected) had one of his students bend a sword on a bad cut on tatami. Shihan just took the sword, bent it over his knee, sighted it to make sure it was straight again - and we all went back to cutting..

As such, a katana that takes a set is no big deal - and by its nature can be bent back into the correct shape manually.

There are resources on our site for sword sharpening, maintenance, etc - but if your sword is expensive or you encounter problems trying a DIY fix, then here are two companies you can send it to:

Fred Lohman Company
Has been in business for many years and specializes in restoring actual Japanese Nihonto

Nihonzashi - Sword Repair
These are the ones based in Florida I believe you may have already found. Much more economical, the blade straightening service runs to under $50 or thereabouts including postage. But they basically use the same DIY methods described here on our site.

Hope this helps.

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