New camera/ shots of koto osuraige katana

Finally had time to get a new camera so I could take better shot of blade. Trying to decide which hada this would be called. Just when I think by a thousand pictures I know the difference, I look at this and in with not a good polish... The hada really stands out and looks like you could feel it with your fingernail, but totally smooth. Itame? W/mokume?

There is very little taper on the nakago from polishing, but from previous posts about it really early pre-suraige ones might not show.

Really low shinoji almost parallel on either side of bohi, but almost 7.5-8 mm kasane.

Any hints or guesses I can put with previous info would be greatly appreciated. Still no books, but lots of time on internet reading and looking.

With a 31.7mm motohaba and 25.4mm sakihaba, 16mm sori, 20mm nakago, 67.6mm nagasa, sugata-nambokucho/early muromachi? suguha hamon (very slight waves), very slightly kosi-zori?

The hamon looks like a small line of bigger crystals Nie? then maybe cloudy white to edge?

Any help would be great on how to proceed. Thanks Dan

Certainly up close and personal. Hamon doesn't show up well, at least for me. John

Well, that close in, you can certainly see nie, & possibly nioi, too. But I agree with John that the hamon doesn't do much for me, either, Dan. Perhaps just a bit further out & with lighting at a different angle...?

Ken

Thanks guys. I try it a little farther back and some different angles of light. The polish is not good enough to really see the hamon unless you are just right.

Any secrets for telling Nie from Nioi in this state of polish. Read everything I could find on which neki it would be. I think I just need to see more blades first hand.

thanks, Dan

Dan may I ask which camera you decided on?

Yes, seeing more blades will certainly help, Dan. And please look at as many GOOD blades as possible.

In general, nie are the particles you can see with the naked eye, while nioi appears as a "misty cloud," with no separately-discernible particles. Shooting a blade as close-in as you did, however, I think I could even make out some nioi, which is understandably confusing to you.

Ken

Yes, I got a Canon EOS Rebel for a really good deal. I still have to learn how to use it, but already better than my old little compact thing!

Dan

Ken,

With what you can see, would you say I should be looking for a school in Nie or Nioi deki. Even your guess is better than my figuring with my inexperience. Thanks,Dan

Dan, your question isn't really one that anyone can answer but you. From Masamune's time, nie & nie-deki blades became a lot more prominent because those swords worked better in battle. But choosing a blade with one or the other has honestly never crossed my mind. Once you get interested in a particular school (mine is Bizen, while my mentor's is Soshu), you can start comparing nie, nioi, & all the other activity in the school's blades.

Here is a photo that shows nie flowing into nioi in great detail:

But do you see the nioi in two different locations...?

Ken

Hi Ken,

That is an awesome photo! Is it Nioi on either side of the Nie Line? Dan

That's correct, Dan - very good! The nioi closest to the mune is called nioi-guchi. That might be something for you to look up & think about.

Ken

Dan,

In your IMG_1202.JPG (3rd picture from the top), the line of nie is a bit far from the cutting edge. Since we can't really see the hamon, I would venture a guess that this line of nie is above the hamon, in which case it would be called chikei, giving you another kantei point. When you view the sword at different angles & under different lighting conditions, can you see the hamon? If not, no camera can help you. Sorry! If you can, then you should be able to capture it. After all, the camera captures what can be seen optically with our eyes. Play a bit with the height of the camera relative to the sword, angle, lighting, etc. I find that even a minute tilt in the angle can mean the difference between seeing beautiful hamon and hataraki and seeing just a bar of steel.

Regards,

Hoanh

Hi,

I again feel like a blind man! I took the picture looked at it and didn't discern that line! That's great. I have to go back and look more carefully at all of the photos! I will practice angles and lighting. You guys are the best!

If you all see anything else that might help me on this road, please let me know. I want to be able to take some of them myself, but to get started in the right direction is really nice.

Thanks, Dan

Good eye Hoanh , I did not catch that first two times, looking to low.

Is that more in 1189 and 1189 as well? I feel like a explorer even though I didn't even know to look for it!

Thanks Hoanh, Dan

Dan,

Yes, I can see it in 1187 and 1189, but it is much more prominent in 1202. Have loads of fun taking pictures of your sword! It's an enjoyable journey.

Hoanh

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the push forward!!!

Dan