[winstonsmith]

My friend has this beautiful wakizashi and he and I don't know how to sharpen it.

Should we do it the same was as we do a knife? And what way is that (just to make sure we're on the same page) ?

[Gordy Wesen]

How did his beautiful Wakizashi get dull? Have you thought about sending it back to the manufacturer to be re-sharpened?
Many knife stores that sell swords will sharpen them for a small fee....but if you 2 are driven to do it yourselves you need to find out if it is a right handed or left handed sword. Having discovered this, call Lanskey Sharpening Systems and ask them where to buy their sword sharpening kit for the (left handed or right handed) sword. If this seems like too much trouble then I would probably sharpen it like you would your knife by carefully working up one side then the other until you achieve a hair scraping edge.

[MrAcheson]

Is it a good wakazashi or a gaijin wakazashi?

A good wakazashi will have the convex "moran" edge to it. The edge will be curved. If you sharpen it improperly (bevel it like a knife), you will have just ruined your sword's edge geometry. These types of swords need to be professionally sharpened by someone who knows what they are doing.

A gaijin beater sword will have a different blade profile. They don't have a true curved edge, they just have a straight triangular cross section or a stepped bevel grind. You can sharpen these like a knife and not hurt them.

[hso]

How old is this waki?

[CWL]

First thing I have to say is DONT!

Is this thing real? If so, you will want to retain the value of it by either sending it to a legitimate sword polisher here in the USA or Japan (cost is $30/inch & up) -OR- if you can't afford this, don't touch it at all since it is too valuable to try yourself -leave it alone.

I have seen about a dozen real Japanese blades ruined because some idiot has decided to take anything from a hone to cheap files on the blade. As C.R. Sam would put it "rubbing away money".

If it is a hi-quality repro, then try visiting sites like bladeforum.com to ask your question; or search for martial arts sites where they have sharpening stones you can buy.

If it is an 'el cheapo' then a hone/file probably wouldn't do much to decrease value.

[CWL]

Just noticed that you are in SF.

If this is real, visit this site and contact them for appraisal.

http://www.ncjsc.org/

[winstonsmith]

Unfortunately, it is a gai-jin waki. Bought for $30 in Chinatown. It has a straight edge. So I will hone it like a knife.

[MrAcheson]

$30? Hmmm. You can sharpen it but I would advise caution if you intend to use it on anything. A lot of those cheap pieces are wall hangers. They have such flimsy tangs that they could be dangerous if actually used to hit anything. If the rat tail snaps, the blade could bounce back and...

[Don Gwinn]

What they said. I may or may not have once sent a cheapie Spanish wallhanger blade flying through the, thankfully, open window of my parents' garage as a careless youth. I didn't even hit anything with it--just swinging it around with gusto as young boys will, and once when I changed direction, the blade didn't.

[Sunray]

You don't have a real sword. You have a piece of cheap metal made into the shape of a sword. You can try sharpening it until next month and you'll still have a wall hanger decoration piece. You don't get a real blade for 30 bucks. It's likely soft and won't take or hold an edge anyway.

[Don Gwinn]

Aw, cut him some slack. Anything will take an edge. Everybody starts somewhere.

[Bruz]

It's likely soft and won't take or hold an edge anyway.

I cut myself with a piece of paper yesterday, I think you can get bout anything sharp...if it is a softer metal it will not hold the edge very good but you should be able to get it shaving sharp.

If you are going to sharpen it yourself you should get compentent sharpning smaller knives before moving up. Not an expert but seems it would be easier putting the sword in a vise and moving the stone across the edge.