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Hi and welcome, Sojy. pending more photos of the blade, we can already categorize this type of sword as a Kyu Gunto, à military sword from the Meiji period to the early 20th century. The blade will probably reveal other details, provided it is in good enough condition.

I’m not so sure Bruce. Yes, it is in the part of the article I gave you, but it is one of several things I added and borrowed from another source I think. Then again, I may have added it from another source and yet it could be in one of his articles I have overlooked. Actually, I wonder if this wasn’t part of a post by Kipu or Banbangsan.

Ah! Good question. I have gathered more than 100 pages about Mantetsu for varying sources: Ohmura, this site, everything I can find. There is a lot of redundancy and I’m still trying to make sense of some translations I have from the Japanese and that don’t seem to mean anything in English, so, I know I’ve read it, probably in Ohmura, but where?...

That is exactly what Neil says, although it seems that the first hundred swords didn’t exactly use this process. They were produced with that soft sponge iron but made not by swordsmiths but by regular employees. Those swords were offered to the army in a sort of publicity stunt occasion. with this success in hand, they hired at least two "real" swordsmiths to teach the employees and devise a cost effective and sure proof method that ended up being our Mantetsu swords. Interestingly enough, the whole idea of the perfectly centered iron core encased in a steel jacket came from the observation of the train wheels and axles which where made this way. A soft core to absorb shocks and an steel rim for durability. It was then transposed to the sword forging method, but so far, we’re still unsure of the exact methods. I have a diagram somewhere where the insertion of the iron rod int a steel casing is shown, but I have no idea if this drawing is original or if it was done by an amateur like us. I don’t know in whic file I’ve put it, but if I can find it, I’ll post it in this thread.

It could explain the Hada. We don’t know what the steel used was or where it came from. We only know its chemical contents, something which could be achieved by a combination of different steels. Everything I’ve read seems to point out that the inner rod was Manchurian iron, but it says nothing of the jacket origin. Over the years, some people have said it was Manchurian, Chinese, Swedish steel but what if it were a combination of those? The molten, then laminated steel could produce Hada, and the different people or machines laminating it would result in different Hada, more or less emphasized by the war time polish. As for the lack of uniformity, even if a power hammer deals uniform blows, it is still a manual process, guided by a person who shapes the sword as he sees fit, provided it sticks to established requirements. Again, this is all conjecture from my part. What we know (and that I’ll try to sum up in a few sentences later as I’m off to work right now) is scarce. We have the different stages, not how they were achieved. And we also have pictures of the machines they used. When Mantetsu published their book about their sword, they were careful to give just enough without betraying industrial secrets.

My belief is that the steel was laminated (by hand or machine) then, when still malleable it was probably formed into a pipe with just one opening. Then the iron rod was inserted into the pipe and, I quote, soldered through an electrical process, then the whole must have been heated again and shaped thanks to a power hammer delivering blows with an equal pressure. Of course, that’s the way I understand the process, and I could be 100% wrong.

That’s right! In my post I said I had a handachi with a Menuki reversed. I checked and was wrong. It’s actually one of my WW2 swords.

Interesting, though probably not universal. I remember an article by Markus about the kurikata and how handachi of the Sengoku period were on the opposite side than those of the later Edo period.

I have a handachi with this particularity. Not sure it means anything. Being right handed wasn’t encouraged, yet it seems some fighters using their left hand existed as seen with this famous Shinsengumi warrior: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saitō_Hajime The movie, "when the last sword is drawn" features him and he is also left handed in it.

Piers, I have a roughly related question. I didn’t want to create a thread just for that but was wondering since you live in Japan: Here, in Europe, our main roads and highways still follow/were built on or close by the original Roman roads. So my question: Do the 8 roads still exist today in one way or another? If so, have they been renamed?

Artur, you seem to improve every time you post something new. You are a true artist that I’ve supported since your first post. And I will continue! Keep the excellent work!

Even though both of you guys are more experimented than me, I’m with Tom here. I honestly don’t care if a blade gets papered or not. The gimei signature is part of that sword's history and I’m among those who think you should never try to erase history. Look at those statues thing with the BLM movement or modifying Hitler's birth house. Removing statues, whoever the guy was is trying to erase a part of what we are, warts and all. Same thing for a sword. Someone cared enough to carry it, probably knowing it was Gimei. Doesn’t change the fact he probably cherished it. I think erasing signatures even fake, are an affront to their memory. ... but then again, I don’t see swords as an investment, so when I get one, I never plan to resell it.

Yes, fake. Even the nakago is wrong, unbalanced in comparison to the blade. If you like it, it’s fine, but one thing is sure, it’s not Japanese.

Agreed with John. I think it’s worth a polish, but it’s an investment. I think it could be easily salvaged.

Congrats Jeremiah, it’s a real beauty!

Nice Stephen! I have only two Koi (yellow and black, like yours, and black and red) and about 80 goldfish (some red, black, yellow and yellow and red). My eldest goldfish sadly died three weeks ago. He was 22.

Is that 'Maegawa' Kanetsugu?

Looks legit and good to me!

Quite nice. That Hamon is gorgeous!

Ken, they are probably area 2 or all areas dvds. For area 2, you’ll need a multi area player or unlock yours that must be an area 1. Easily done, usually with your remote and the right code. Type in your model and the right keywords and you’ll find it on the web quite easily. Sebastian, a lot of great titles here, and an awesome price too. I’ve got all of them already, otherwise I would have definitely bought.

I’ve read many things in this book that left me perplexed when seeing real examples. I guess this is the limitation of a book. It only records the generalities and leaves aside the exceptions.

Wow, that indeed is a very nice blade, Robert!

What makes it a katana and not a Tachi blade is not the length but the side on which the signature is placed. A Tachi is worn edge down and a katana, edge up. The signature (except for Hizen blades) is always placed on the side that faces out the bearer's leg. Therefore, a katana is signed on the opposite side of a Tachi. Those sides are called Ura and Omote.

Never mind, Robert, post it! To be fair, I’m quite surprised by the posts of this thread. I was expecting few Satsuma and much more Kinnoto.

Any idea where they were situated? They have typical Seki yasurime.