Ken-Hawaii

Thanks, Jean. That's very interesting, & I'm surprised I hadn't heard about it. So the Muromachi tosho used these Oroshigane Gama to create Shingane for Nihonto, right? I assume that Kawagane would require better control of the steelmaking process (i.e., Tamahagane from a tatara). Can this process be tied in with the Kazu-Uchimono that appeared during this period? There were a lot of factors that led to the demise of Kamakura blade techniques, & this sounds like one of them. In other words, since Kamakura tosho techniques were passed down through word-of-mouth, I'm hoping to eventually write a paper on how & why these techniques were lost in time, because there was so much else going on (like Daimyo demands for more blades, at any cost!). The quality of steel (or lack thereof) from this "field experient" process would certainly seem to be inferior to Tamahagane, & I'm getting a better handle on why several of my Muromachi blades have inconsistent jigane.

I understand the repurposing, but I'm thinking about early/mid Muromachi, when tosho were scrambling to make as many blades as possible. The tatara process isn't true smelting, as I recall, so would broken blades just be dumped in with the masa satetsu? That wouldn't allow for much control of the tamahagane. That may be the answer, based on sheer need, but I'll bet there was some type of processing after a battlefield was cleaned up.

Swords & other weapons broke, but how was the material reused? Tamahagane was too precious, a few hundred years ago, to just throw it out, but I've never seen any discussion on how it was reused.

Agreed that it's worth $750, but why buy a blade with unknown features or provenance?

Mike, right now is a good time to stop doing anything to your blade. There is a huge gap in your knowledge, & you need to fill it with some studying. I suggest heading over to Amazon, where $20 will buy you https://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Sword-Handbook-John-Yumoto/dp/4805311347 which is a good primer for this very complex field.

Quite impressive, Piers!

That would have been an interesting weapon to fight with. Pole or sword?

John, please note that if you send the blade to NBTHK, it will need a quality polish PLUS a new habaki & a shirasaya. You can't send it in koshirae. My guess is that you're looking atb $1500-$2000 before the shinsa. Are you that curious?

It's interesting, Peter, that my wife & I have agreed to start selling off items that no longer interest us, which includes a large art collection, Sterling silverware, & the like. But neither of us are interested in selling our sword collection. Of course, that may be because we're both still active martial artists, & after 30+ years, we're still learning the correct ways to use a sword.

Welcome aboard, Joshua. Grey is exactly right. We've all been in your position, craving our first blade. Most of us grabbed the first thing we could find, & a few months later, wondered what the hell we were thinking! Grab some reference books from Amazon, instead, & spend some time learning before you buy. You'll appreciate that advice, later on.

Still drooling over that Yoshiro/Heianjo tsuba!

Paz, please take a look at the sixth photo here, https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/39816-tanto-yoroi-doshi-unmounted/ That angle tells us a lot, because the nioi-guchi highlights the real details. It does take some practice, though.

Roger that, Piers! I waited 6 weeks for a tsub from Hiroshima back in March, so this is a big step in the right direction.

A shinsakuto can also be a shinken. Just how the blade is used. Can't be an iaito, because those blades aren't sharpened.

Very nice collection & stand, Jiri. Surprised it hasn't already been snatched up.

Paul Martin shipped a book to me on May 8, & it arrived in Hawaii on 5/11. That's about as fast as I've ever seen. I guess we can place orders now.

Pretty place to live, Gary. Welcome aboard, & you should find quite a few other tosogu collectors.

FYI, some of the latest Windows updates are not playing well with Firefox's updates. Known problems, but no idea when things will be fixed, by either of them.

Our small local shows only have 10-12 tables with sword related items. The other 300 are firearms, mostly. But even that small amount takes awhile to go through, especially since Bob Benson is selling. Haven't had the opportunity to hit Chicago or San Francisco, but I'll leave my credit card locked up, & just carry the cash I can afford to spend.

You had your eyes open, & weren't sidetracked by all the eye-candy. Thanks for posting the photo & hope others do, too.

Photos, when you have a spare moment, guys. And if you meet another NMB member, shoot photograph him, for sure!

Yurie, I bought both PDF & hardcopy, & the slightly-offset cover doesn't bother me, at all. It's what's inside that I read & study. You did good! Now, quit worrying about it.

We see tamahagane as "precious," because of its final form. I've seen Rolexes made from an iron meteorite, but the metal has to be acid-etched to show the Widmanstatten pattern" https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/watches/article/rolex-daytona-meteorite-2021

This should answer your questions: https://markussesko.com/2015/06/10/kantei-3-hamon-boshi-3/ One quick note is that when the hamon changes abruptly at the boshi, the blade is Shinto or more recent. Also, what happened to the tip of your blade?

George, if you only pick up one thing from this forum, it should be to "Buy the blade, not the mei." The Internet gives you lots of ways to determine whether a blade compares physically to one you're interested in buying. Is the sugata the same as a TH or juyo example? How about the hamon & jigane? If all of those match, THEN start checking out the mei, not before. Let your brother know, too.