How to Sharpen Samurai Swords

Soak the sharpening stones in water and 1/4 cup of baking soda for approximately 30 minutes.

Shape the coarsest stone in your sharpening kit with the next finer stone. Shape the stones so they have a slightly convex face and are round at the corners. Look for straight edges or convex shapes and smooth those out with the next stone before sharpening. Repeat this process with all the stones.

Take apart the sword before sharpening it. Place the awl that comes in the sword care kit on the pins in the blade. Use a regular hammer to pound the pins out of the blade. Pull the handle off the tang and remove the guards.

Secure the stone of the coarsest grit in your set in the jig. Carefully grind the sword against the stone. Go slowly and try to follow the natural lines of the sword as you polish. Cover the entire length of the blade before moving on.

Polish the sword with each successively higher grit stone in your set until you have used the finest one.

Wipe the sword down carefully with a sheet of the rice paper from the polishing kit.

Tap the powder ball lightly on the sword until powder starts to release. Then, tap the blade several more times along its length. Use the paper to polish the sword carefully using the powder. Continue until you have polished all the powder off the blade.

Squeeze a few drops of the oil onto the blade and rub it in slowly with a lint-free cotton cloth. Rub it in until no runny oil is visible.

Reassemble the sword by reversing the method you used to disassemble it.