drbvac

Just as a thought on form and function of course the length for actual use would HAVE to be able to be drawn quickly and for use on a horse or on foot. In era's of war I am sure the function would dictate the form for sure. My thought on this is based on what at that time may have been discovered by use is actual cutting ability of any blade being enhanced by using in a slicing rather than a straight hacking motion. The microscopic serrations not visible on a cutting edge are what makes the slice a very efficient way to get through a roast or a man. That said I would think a blade with more pronounced sori would make it easier to include a slicing motion in the strike and increase the amount of damage it could do?

It must be the sulphur in the eggs that oxidizes the metals into various sulphides that are often darker in colour - would probably be pretty unpredictable.

I nearly did the same thing after collecting blades for a long time. The dealer I was using at the time and I had a good , 20 year relationship but neither of s knew anything about armour. He bought a complete set and was sure it was OK but not "sure". I trusted him but as it turned out - we were both about to lose too much for what it was worth - mismatched, much later than was stated, many repairs, --it looked"neat" on the stand but then again - a Ferrari without an engine looks good as well. When in doubt - even a little "gut feeling" -- pass - much less traumatic missing something that is what it was stated it is because another will come along-- should you buy something not good - you will own it forever unless you give it away or rip someone else off. 2 cents in general.

Words to learn and live by - I bet that it took you all of 30 seconds to get them together :D

Considering that a toshigi like Bob says it "can" damage blades and "most use too much pressure" I am gonna stick with a method that I couldn't arse up if I tried - Murphy's laws come into effect on most jobs I take on and once scratched - too late then to say - shouldna used that stone powder. Many owners in the great north use old ripped cotton T - shirts :lol: :lol:

Its like he folded and hammered and turned it a bit and maybe even twisted and flattened. I should try and get a full length shot or run a movie down the length cause it is sort of weird - mumei as well so >?? Maybe its an "experiment" you know like when an artist goes from realism to interpretation. I know it almost religious process but - one may get tired of repetition :lol:

I believe when uchiko was first used to remove oil or anything else from a blade there was very little else available to take it off - water wouldn't work and some of the other stuff today was not around. For sure the routine with freshly polished blades would not be the same as for a sword used in battle and nowadays the preservation of swords dictate that once in fresh polish at the very least don't use anything abrasive or harsh chemicals to clean it. Older blades that may be not in full polish could possible be improved upon by using the uchiko. There are liquid polishing compounds available that will not scratch clear coat paint on 100 thousand dollar cars but I wouldn't use them on a blade. Is there not less chance of any damage at all with alcohol and sewing machine oil and well washed single use cotton ? Why would one even consider using anything that has any abrasive qualities>

THe welds are certainly not visible when in hand and although they appear like open rough ditches on the photos - there is no roughness apparent on the steel. I do agree that it is probably a mixture of different types of steel with differing hardness The hamon is a mixed bag for sure and I paid less than this computer cost for it so I am not too worried about it - I think it is prior to war time however, shin shinto is probably a good guess.

You got it - they are thicker folds but they are certainly welded tight and no openings at all - not a WW11 blade either I don't believe

Thanks for the comments - the hada in the main part of the blade is sort of odd in any event @

I read that as well Grey but I think what happened is exactly what Chris said - it is the only area on the shindig-ji on one side that is there. ai am almost positive it was not re-tempered but in terms of the clay falling off - agreed. I am not sure if that happened at that stage in the forging if the smith would bother re-doing from the start - I understand that even though it is a flaw it isn't a fatal flaw as far as I understand. I did think it was as I stated a hada similar to Gassan - asayuga - but no where as controlled and even as a Gassan and the hamon is all over the place

I have gotta learn how to take better pictures- even read all the posts and still can't In any case here is what I have

Have a Katana seem like Gassan school or at least similar hada and there are two areas where I have never seen temper and wonder what others experience is :> One I guess I have seen as it extends back from the boshi along the mune for almost 2" and ends in a square edge so it was probably intentional The other is on the shinogi-ji and is half moon shaped so I wonder if in this case the clay fell off the blade while tempering? Will post some pics when I get them ' B

Chris: Any chance you may take some outside blades for shinsa for a fee? I am not crazy about sending anything anywhere but as I have less than no chance to take them myself to anywhere ----/

Considering the mark ups on collectibles where you sell to a dealer for half and pay double there is a long - very long time for any returns UNLESS you find a treasure and pay next to nothing for it. I buy what In like - intend to enjoy for my lifetime and if my children don't want them = hope they can get what I paid for them - that said the stock market is no good either

Not so sure what the hell one would chop with it - maybe carrots - the blade is only 4 1/2 " long and I am sure that the precision made holder may even scratch the beautiful steel.

No arguments from here 0 rare finds indeed folks who share knowledge willingly over and over and over again

Nope but the arsenal marks on the kashira may help ?

Yep.

I bought a blade signed by Kanefusa and in cleaning the nakago found a showa stamp filled with dirty rust coloured wax - No idea who filled it in but not as advertised so seller reduced price if I wanted to keep it. These transactions are always "risky" in some way or another but surely two rational adults can come up with a compromise. This is probably a bigger problem than in some cases because the price is a LOT higher than would be realized on a re-sale. Hope it works out for both of you

Well I am a long way from an artisan but when one of my Tsuba was wobbling all over the place I made 2 new sekigane using a lost wax casting method using copper. Just fit the Tsuba on the blade - waxed up the small pieces in wax right in place - invested the wax and cast them using melted copper wire. Put them back on the Nakogo-ana - burnished into the under cuts so they would stay - put it back on. I don;t think - well I suppose if the tsuba were the right thickness and the nakago-ana close one could do this for appearance if you wanted to

I wondered the same thing - that said if you don't say what it there or try and call it a "Japanese wall hanging" or antique back scratcher and it gets lost or stolen - then what - and usually NO way to insure them for the true value.

Well if size does matter and length more than width - my koto tachi is 86.6 cm - 34" and probably not long for tachi but pretty good for a blade in general

Jean: No idea but it is lovely.

From all the posts he probably has a couple of dozen blades he doesn't own and God knows where he may end up if he decides to take off - Anyone have any buddies with the hells angels near his place that could drop in.