Strange fragments on the tang?

[dominnimod]

Good evening,

I have a wakizashi blade i bought from the uk with strange fragments on the nakago. My first guess was Shrapnel? But i don't know,

Thanks

[O-Midare]

Rust?

[dominnimod]

Rust?

Could be just rust, but nothing on the other side

[dominnimod]

[O-Midare]

Looks like oxidation to me, Could be wrong but that would be my opinion.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Looks like fukure. Not sure I've seen them on a nakago, but there's no reason they couldn't be there.

[dominnimod]

That could be, blade shows some fukure on the opposite side, seems like an old blade who has lost a lot of meat

[Ray Singer]

Thickly caked rust. Tap the raised sections gently with the flat of a brass hammer (nakago nuki). You'll find that the corrosion dislodges and simply falls off.

[dominnimod]

I see, Dwayne was right 

Many thanks Ray, one question, if it falls, the metal underneath has same patina as the rest of nakago? or may be lighter? Is detrimentral to leave it like that or is aesthetic only?

[Ray Singer]

In my experience the underlying patina will be the same as the rest of the nakago. Some gentle work with ivory or bone may be needed to remove lingering areas of active, accumulated rust.

[dominnimod]

In my experience the underlying patina will be the same as the rest of the nakago. Some gentle work with ivory or bone may be needed to remove lingering areas of active, accumulated rust.

Great, many thanks!

[Peter Bleed]

It is rust. Leave it alone and it will either come off and stay like it is.

P

[Ken-Hawaii]

Ray, I always thought that "active rust" was red. Is it different for the nakago?

[Ray Singer]

Ken, from the second photo above this does look like active rust. Also from what I've seen, there would be active, ongoing rust underneath those entirety of those clumped areas. The Yasumitsu just listed on Aoi seems to show the cratering that is left behind after those raised areas of corrosion have been addressed.

 

https://www.aoijapan.com/img/sword/2017/17464-2.jpg