Unusual Nakago

[BenVK]

Has anyone encountered a nakago like this before?

Would the purpose be to keep some weight at the end to aid balance?

[Stephen]

more like to preserve the mei

 

would have loved seeing the blade ubu

[BenVK]

Ah, so you mean like gaku mei but just forge welded on top instead of inlaid into the nakago?

[Stephen]

looks like it was filed down to the mei i dont see a weld from photos, would like the rest of the story, or are you wanting it for yourself?

[BenVK]

It's a bit too much money for me.

[Okiiimo]

If it where filed down without a weld, wouldn't the shinogi of the mei section line up with the rest of the nakago and blade? My understanding of forge welding is there is some hammering involved to complete the weld. If it where welded, the weld would be somewhere between the lowest mekugi Ana and the mei section and possibly be masked by filing and patination Also, if unwelded, wouldn't the mei position be unusual relative to the ana?

[Stephen]

If out of your range how about a link??? 

[BenVK]

 Also, if unwelded, wouldn't the mei position be unusual relative to the ana?

 

Maybe there was more to the mei? above what's left now.

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Mmmm.. Yasurime ? An h*ck of a suriage...

[SAS]

I believe I can see where it was welded, but it was a good job, not intended to deceive.

[Stephen]

Yea i guess it would have been very thick huh? 

[Ray Singer]

Seems fairly straightforward, whoever performed the suriage was trying to preserve the mei and the beveling seems to have been an aesthetic choice on his part. This does not appear to be a type of gakumei and I do not believe that welding was involved, just some excessively fancy filework.

[BenVK]

Fancy filework?

[Okiiimo]

I'm not sure if this realistic or not and may not apply in this case, but a thought occurred to me that the subject of this post highlights a possible example of a potential use of nakago from cut swords that is discussed in another thread concerning the estimate of the number of Nihonto in current existence.

[Ray Singer]

My point being that the individual who did suriage was making an aesthetic (artistic) choice to file around the mei this way and make this type of visual, platformed presentation of the signature. During the suriage process you will see swords where there is a clear demarcation/height difference between the original nakago and the newly executed yasurimei above. This dramatic tapering of the nakago (looking at the difference in thickness comparing the two mekugi-ana) is unusual.

 

 

Fancy filework?

[Ed Harbulak]

Perhaps it wasn't excessive file work, but necessary file work to thin the upper part of the nakago to accommodate a new habaki after the suriage. It would be interesting to see the entire blade rather than just the nakago. Leaving the original surface also kept the original yasurimei around the mei. 

[Ray Singer]

BTW, I believe the only individual who used this particular mei of Morinaga was a Shinto Mino smith who also used the mei 盛永 (different kanji for Naga 長).

[John A Stuart]

It may be the pics, but, there is yasuri on the mei side of the inscribed portion, none on the reverse at the same point. It makes me wonder a bit. John

[Okiiimo]

Wouldn't the position of the bohi imply the lowest mekugi ana is the first ana? If there was an ana below the mei (since removed), the start of the bohi would have been originally well past the the lococation of the habaki. please understand, I'm not asking to be contrary to others but rather I'm trying to understand how one goes about determining the blade's modification history.

[Grey Doffin]

The hi are ato-bori, carved sometime after the blade was shortened.  But something else isn't right here.  Filing down the nakago above the mei to allow for passage of the habaki doesn't make sense because the bottom of the nakago with the mei is the sticking point.  Normally when a blade is shortened and the smith wants to save the mei and he doesn't do gaku or orikashi mei he removes metal from the back side of the nakago and bends the new nakago slightly to align it with the sword.  Doing it the way it has been done on this sword leaves a nakago that can't fit snuggly in the tsuka and a sword no one would want to use in battle.

Not sure what has happened but something doesn't add up.

Grey

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Nevermind...