ROKUJURO

I don't believe this to be a YUMI YARI. There is no possibility to hook the loop in, and the long extension shows a hole, but nobody wants a screw or nail in his bow! I remember having seen a picture of a YUMI YARI which was quite small, so as not to reduce the performance of the bow. There is an old photo in my 'Japan department' showing my KYUDO teacher KAWASHIMA SENSEI in a fight demonstration with a 'palanquin arrow'. I am sorry not to know the technical term for it but it looked quite similar - a short but stout arrow, used for defense in limited spaces like palanquins. One could stabb with these arms but also throw them. Maybe the item is something of that kind.

Brian, your last purchase is really a nice one, congratulations! I like the shape and the overall appearance. Do you know how swords are stored in Japan? Have a look in the books! There is a reason why they don't have 10 sword-racks except for wooden training weapons in a DOJO. Presentation is not a matter of quantity. I know you like you weapons, but concentrate on quality, display one KOSHIRAE at a time with a TSUNAGI and leave your blades in SHIRASAYA in the TANSU!

If you proceed as given by the Japanese recommendations, there ist no danger. You clean the blade first, then apply A SMALL AMOUNT of oil and disperse it thoroughly on the surface, then remove all oil again prior to putting the blade back in the scabbard. Leaving oil on the surface (oil does not 'dry', but in most cases it will harden earlier or later, a polymerisation process) leads to dust sticking to the surface (which will cause scratches as you move the blade) and getting into the wood of the SAYA, thus preventing it to take up moisture. Preventing rust means keeping the blade dry.

Brian, as far as I know it is quenching, not drenching. Read, Brian, read books!

Never seen before. Could possibly have been made on demand for a lefty.

Yes, that ist the case with SHINKEN/GENDAITO.

Wow, what a wonderful collection! Thank you for sharing, very much appreciated! I understand now that you don't need to buy NEW arrowheads. As you are knowledgeable in this field, I'd like to ask again if you happen to know who forged these YANONE. In medieval times, European smiths had a tendency to specialize on a narrow spectrum of their respective craft, so we had up to 46 different professions in the vast field of forging, and of course we had arrowsmiths. Was it the same in Japan?

The same applies to me, but I will give it a try (arrow in the sky): Both are very skilfully made TSUBA (I don't want to go into details of the preservation). The details are very well designed and executed, and differ a lot from the many SOTEN copies on the market. Good original SOTEN TSUBA I have seen pictures of were finer in detail and displayed more SUKASHI. So if I said NARA, perhaps one of the more knowledgeable members here might tell us why it is not.....

Moisture is normal in humidity.

Congratulations! It is a very nice TANTO, and you can be proud of it! Without covering all aspects of preservation I only want to make a remark on oiling: never oil your blade and put it back into a SAYA as fine dust will stick to the blade resulting in scratches as you move the blade. Oil is sucked up by the wood of the SAYA preventing it to suck up humidity. As Japan is comparable in climate to Hawaii it might be best to follow the classical recommendations for sword care in that country.

'DAIMYO' Jean has already explained the criteria. Remains to add that in an altered NAGINATA you will not find a BOSHI (returning curve) as a lot of material of the tip has to be removed to create a blade of even width.

A long while ago I was lucky enough to purchase feathers from a big Chinese eagle from a falconer. This was quite cheap at that time, maybe there were no other KYUDOKA or arrowsmiths around. Also, you could try at a zoo or even at a traditional archery shop (longbow). If it was for private display only, big turkey or goose feathers may do the job as well - better than no feathers at all......As far as I know, not all SAMURAI could afford eagle feathers.

Anthony, thank you - that's what I understood from your previous post (.....I use original war heads only.....). I can only admire the artists who made them, and I wonder wether there were specialized arrow-smiths or wether they were made as a by-product by other smiths. Do you happen to know?

No, unfortunately I had to destroy the hilt in order to examine the NAKAGO. It was a long wooden hilt, I remember, at least twice the length of an appropriate TSUKA, and it was glued to the NAKAGO, secured with a kind of MEKUGI, and then wrapped with a relatively fine rattan in full length. A part of this wrapping was lost, the rest quite well in place but a bit loose. The shape of the hilt was typically wider at it's upper end approaching the blade. The hilt was kind of crude workmanship compared to Japanese work, so I did not care to preserve it. The find is about 30 years back - yesterday........

Chris, As you mention Burma in this case, I may tell the story about the purchase of a NAGINATA. I browsed a small antique shop in Germany and asked the shop owner for anything related to Japanese arms. When he said he had nothing of that kind, I asked for other Asian arms. 'I have got a blade that might interest you', he replied and took something long wrapped in textile out of a drawer. When he unpacked it, it looked absolutely like a NAGINATA to me. I said spontaneously: ' Oh, there is in fact something Japanese!' But he contradicted me and said it was a Burmese DHA. To make a long story short, it WAS in fact a NAGINATA in mediocre condition mounted as a DHA, unfortunately signed GIMEI. I did not try to convince the shop owner and bought it as DHA at a better price.

David, did you notice the price?

Sorry, I cannot contribute to the 'feather' subject, but I know that it is difficult and expensive to buy KYUDO arrows with eagle feathers (even without closer specification) from your standard KYUDO shop in Japan. Nevertheless, a real specialist might help. What I am interested in are the arrowheads. Do you use old and original items or do you really buy NEW ones? As a smith I am interested in this subject, I have forged a small number of these and would like to see some pictures of original heads if you have.

Although this is not related directly to KANEZANE swords, I would like to mention that martensite has a slightly higher volume than the same amount of steel that it is produced from. In quenching, this expansion mainly causes the bending of the blade, resulting in it's SORI. If the balance of expansion of the HA area and the shrinking of the MUNE is not well, the blade may develop HAGIRE immediately or at a later point of time. So the construction of a blade plays an important role and experience and skills of a smith are crucial for good results. Generally speaking, industrially produced steel (even when called 'carbon steel') is likely to contain different amounts of alloy metals, while TAMAHAGANE is very pure and does not contain any additional elements except carbon. Industrial steel in small cross-cut dimensions cannot be hardened in water without the risk of cracking, TAMAHAGANE on the other hand will not produce the features Paul described above when quenched in oil as this is a very rapidly transforming steel which requires a rather 'brutal' cooling.

Jacques, as I pointed out:....' a YAKIBA will always go through the material of the blade as long as the cross section has a sufficient carbon content to be able to harden.....' Chris said the same in other words. In most cases the SHINGANE will not harden because of an insufficient carbon content. I don't have correct measurements of the blades in question, but we know that the MUNE rarely exceeds 8 mm, YOROIDOSHI excluded. Even if one or two millimeters of the steel core of a very thick blade should not harden, you will not get down to that point by polishing (hopefully). The hardenability limit of steel is 0.22% carbon.

The cross section pictures quite clearly show that the hardening can reach into the steel more than 1,5 mm (the darker areas), as far as I have learned it is about 4 mm. These very clean steels used by Japanese smiths are able to change their molecular structure very rapidly which is the reason why they should be quenched in water. Modern industrial steels - even if they are called carbon steels - contain small amounts of alloy metals besides carbon and are likely to crack when cooled down rapidly in water, so they are quenched in oil. From the technical point of view a YAKIBA will always go through the material of the blade as long as the cross section has a sufficient carbon content to be able to harden. A HAMON may change it's appearence if polished many times but as long as it is not polished away from the HA side because of age or chipping or damaged by fire or heat it will be visible.

If my old eyes are still working correctly, the TSUBA shown is not the same as pictured in the KANSHOKI. Nevertheless it is pleasant.

Curran, please be so kind as to explain what you mean. I am capable to differentiate between visible lamination in a steel, TEKKOTSU and a seam caused by casting in a mold. I can reproduce these effects in my forge. But there is no such thing as a 'forge seam', and that is what I wanted to point out.

David, Being a smith myself, I have never heard about 'forge seams' except in 'drop forged' items (tools) which means they were press-molded in an industrial production process. If you should find any kind of 'seams' in a TSUBA, this could well be hints for a cast TSUBA. TEKKOTSU is definitely not a 'seam' but in all probability a sign of inhomogenous steel base material. It shows up in the chemical treament after the forging process. If you really find forged down TEKKOTSU on a TSUBA then this must have been made after the manufacturing process, and certainly not by the TSUBAKO himself. We have been discussing this subject here in the forums.

Pete, thanks for you comment. My statement was partly based on my experience with IAIDO, and I learned about the placement of the SUKASHI from a SASANO pupil, so it is nothing I invented. Instead, I always thought it to be quite logical, the more as I was shown some TSUBA with slight but visible wear or rubbing on that contact spot with the knuckle. Maybe others here in the forum made the same observations?

In the manufacture of a TSUBA of that kind, there are only very few tools needed. An experienced KAJI would have no problem in forging a small lump of steel down to a flat plate with a fine and even surface (TSUCHI-ME JI) as needed for TOSHO-type TSUBA. Filing may only be necessary on the MIMI for some minor corrections of the circular shape. The slightly 'bellied' shape on the URA side found in some TOSHO TSUBA is not at all difficult to produce, but it is always intentional, and of course you need an anvil for it's production. The outward taper may have to do with the comfort in handling the weapon, comparable to the position of the KO-SUKASHI which in almost all cases is located in a way that it does not interfere with the knuckle of the sword-hand. Fire or heat on a thin TSUBA plate will not cause two different surfaces unless the affected side is exposed for a longer period of time. This has to do with the rapid heat transfer in metals. On the other hand corrosion could occur on one side only if the TSUBA in question was positioned flat in a damp place or on something moist.