Quick question

I would like to learn how to sharpen katanas, and thanks to some research I have conducted, I think I have a pretty good idea of how to do it. What I need now is practice. The problem comes from the fact that by "practicing" sharpening on a katana, I will most likely ruin a few, and that is quite costly. I came up with a solution to this problem though, but I was wondering if it was a good one or not. The following is my plan:

Buy a few 440 stainless katanas off of ebay and practice on them.

I'm sure I can land a few off of ebay for $10 or so, which solves the cost dilemma. My question is whether or not a 440 stainless katana would sharpen like the 1060 folded one I have, or if it would just be a giant waste of my time and money to practice on 440 stainless at all.

Thanks for reading,
Retro

I'd suggest heading over to the forums at http://www.swordforum.com There are several bladesmiths and a few polishers that hang out in various fora there.

Retro

The quick answer is that it would largely be a giant waste of time.

But as Charles mentioned, ask the guys/gals at Sword Forum

There has been a recent thread on this. The very shape of a Japanese weapon is that of a wide plane that actualy tapers to an edge that is hardened rather that a weapon that has a sharpened edge like a knife. A number of "very" expensive stones are used for this purpose. A good polish in Japan can cost anything up to ¥15000 an inch. Its not a matter of utting an edge on things. The whole thing has to be worked on with various stones according to the hardness and workability of the metal.

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There has been a recent thread on this. The very shape of a Japanese weapon is that of a wide plane that actualy tapers to an edge that is hardened rather that a weapon that has a sharpened edge like a knife. A number of "very" expensive stones are used for this purpose. A good polish in Japan can cost anything up to ¥15000 an inch. Its not a matter of utting an edge on things. The whole thing has to be worked on with various stones according to the hardness and workability of the metal.

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I am aware of this, thanks for the info though. I know how a katana is supposed to be sharpened, and it is something I'd like to be able to do myself. I am aware of the basic technique, I just need some practice at it before I'd dare to touch a blade of any quality. This is why I was wondering if sharpening a 440 stainless katana would be valuable experience gained, or just a waste of time. Sorry to restate my question again, but it seems like some people are missing exactly what I'm asking.

Thanks to everyone who replied, I appreciate it.