SAS

I could tell that one was staged just by looking at that stone......no way any useful work could be done on that, maybe sharpening a scythe, but swords.....no way.

Plenty of fish in the sea, Jason,,,,,Happy New Year!

That is a nasty looking stone, no one told him about flattening the stone?

I have big hands, so when I make a katana sized handle, 11 inches works well for me. The nakago of the sword is generally a couple of inches shorter.

Jason, it appears the kissaki has been reshaped less than professionally; is it possible to see if the hamon is still intact on it?

What is the estimated cost per volume? I am very interested.....

It looked like chu nagura, a middle stage stone used in polishing, to my eyes.

Man you are good Stephen!

Looks like deep corrosion to me, a questionable purchase even at 1/3 the price.

I learned to sharpen from my dad, who was a chef/baker and a whiz with a blade and steel; I learned to polish from observing polishers and doing my own work on the blades I forged. Polishing at the end stages is similar to stropping, in that the very edge is being reduced and smoothed for a very efficient cutting edge. Since few art swords are being used for cutting, I have heard that some Japanese polishers do not even make the sword edge very sharp. However, by having a polished edge and body, the sword is made very efficient for cutting, as was its original purpose.

Make sure not to touch the blade with bare hands, and wipe off those fingerprints right away as they will cause rusting. Blade looks like it has been cleaned with sandpaper, obscuring the jihada. For the price, I think you got a good deal.

Welcome to all of our new members, and happy holiday season.

I would like to have seen the entire nakago from the machi without the habaki to the nakagojiri.......sometimes suriage occurs just to fit a certain koshirae, as Stephen and Paul and Jean said. At any rate, an interesting sword.

Thanks Joe and Bruce!

Thanks for the reply, I think I confused myself and asked the question on the "wrong" thread. Blade I asked about is under consideration for purchase and not in possession. So Kanehisa hot stamped showato and gendaito? Sword has a Seki stamp and is signed Noshu ju Ozawa Kanehisa saku.

Is a Kanehisa signed blade with a kokuin considered Showato or Gendaito? Thanks, Steve

I think it is from the Haight-Ashbury School!

Love it!

Lighting artifact for me.

Photo of #8 please, PM inbound.

Hamon can be created without clay insulation, but hamon cannot be created without quenching. The hamon made without clay are formed by heating to a critical temperature, and the steam vapor jacket causes an insulating effect which creates the hamon.

That is very interesting, I have not seen anything quite like that.

That is an amazing flamboyant hamon!

Dear Santa, I will take 2 tons of blacksmithing coal, or 4 tons of charcoal, whichever is easier........thank you in advance!

The first sword in hand I ever had the chance to research/translate was a gimei Inoue Shinkai; a guy in Hawaii was trying to sell some swords, all of which did not give me warm fuzzies in the realm of authenticity. Studying helps.