DoTanuki yokai

I cannot see much of the Hamon or Hada but from the shape and it’s size I would think it is a Muromachi piece around ~1500 made by one of the Bizen Sukesada smiths. Now a little explanation why i came to this conclusion. Actually I can imagine it is katateuchi and also a Kazu-uchimono. The unshortned size of it would fit blades for one hand use. The Nakagojiri and Yasurime fit for Bizen unfortunately the shape and lines does not look well executed. Also the Hada Ware and the lack of a signature fits Kazu-uchimono in my opinion. A blade like this won’t be an artistic masterpiece but they are not worthless. The Shinogi looks a little high for Bizen but it’s hard to see on pictures.

I think that the temperature is more then high enough for Carburizing when forging swords. I don’t know if the carbon can go through the welds but I can imagine this if it can on the surface. https://www.efunda.com/processes/heat_treat/hardening/diffusion.cfm?search_string=Diffusion hardening

Hi I think your blade could be made by the younger brother and later successor of Kôzuke Daijô Sukesada. Read this https://www.nihonto.com/sukesada/ Can we see more of the actual blade ?

The pattern of the folding and welding won’t change but what we see is more then only the layers. http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/nashiji.html http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/jinie.html I did not had the time to check in the Modern swords and sword smith book yet. But from memory I can remember that they tried different homemade Tamahagane and the Opinions where broad. Some say it’s the material some say it’s the quench and ofc some say it depends on both and more.

Isn’t Konuka a (failed) attempt in recreating nashiji hada ? Edit: I want to add that my conclusion about the appearance of Hada has less to do with the Tamahagane used but more with the quenching process after reading the interviews with the masters in “Modern Japanese swords and swordsmiths”.

https://nihontoantiques.com/project/katana-kanehisa-fss-685/ Kashu KaneHisa Kinoshita Jintaro 木下甚太郎

I would like to see the bent over part from the side but from what I see it does not look legit.

Matsuyani is hard black/brown stuff made from pine tree resin, it gets soft when you make it warm and very hard when cold. I have seen it used to make a better fit for Kashira and the wood or holding Kogatana in the Kozuka and other things. I have no pistons in my arms i think circular motions are easier for the human body. Making it easier to draw is one of the advantages Katana have because of the curve.

Sounds interesting Colin but i whould think that the lacquer in the tsuka could be Matsuyani instead as it would be more common in my opinion and one more thing, i think it is easier to draw a curved blade.

The Tanto looks like Made in Longquan China. I have one similar without the Hamon but they offer different options. I think the tang was butchered to put it in the Koshirae. Edit: I added a picture of my one.

It breaks but I think they are not weak if used right.

I dont get why someone see Shinto in this blade ? Suguha Boshi ? It look Hakikake/Kaen to me. Masame in the Shinogi ? Looks like Mokume to me. I can not say where the shape points i think it is Suriage. And forget the shape of the Nakago, for me it looks clearly modified. This could be because its Suriage what my opinion is. I would place it somewhere in Muromachi.

https://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/wakizashi/672/00.html

I want to say that i love what i see of the blade but what i dont like is the Mei. (just if it was unclear in my last post) Could be made for an event but i have never seen this style of signature, maybe someone with a better library then me or the NBTHK can tell.

It should be Sukenaga i think, isnt the other side signed ? Hamon looks promising to be shoshin and they made some long swords. The Kikumon and bishu osafune junin looks suspicuos to me but it could be special. (I dont like it but still a nice find )

More pictures could help, try to take off the habaki. I think I can see Fumbari ?

But for the first time the Uchiko opinion got some reasonable arguments from an expert. To be honest in most of the threads on microfiber and Uchiko I felt alone with my Opinion without any information to support it. But now this shows that Uchiko still got a place in the modern Nihonto world and is not only used on old polish.

David, I mentioned in my first post that this blade got no papers and I don’t want to influence study with wrong information. Every identification thread is some kind of Kantei thread but by going this route I can sort out the influence of a possibly fake signature. Also even the NBTHK is sometimes wrong.

Alex Nailed it with Sukesada but everyone were also close. Maybe i should have hidden the Nakago This blade does not have papers and maybe im a little biased because i own it so what are your opinions on the Signature ?

There is very much that i would want to say about the "poor quality" of Japanese steel or their armor but i will only stick to the Japanese sword polishing. A Japanese polisher will not remove more metal then neseccary and will do his best to remain the original shape. The polisher also must be an expert in the identification of the swords manufacturer, only if he knows who made the sword he can chose the right stones and process for the polish. Professionally polished blades will not just have a flat polished surface but will have a microstructure with higher and deeper parts that result from polishing stones that are softer or harder then different parts of the blade. Most polishing pastes for metal use corundum (aluminum oxide), this stuff is harder then any steel and will make a nice flat mirror polish that is not what we want for a Nihonto. The place where you can enjoy the Patina is the Nakago (tang) of the sword as this part isnt oiled or gets polished. The blades shape look for me Kanbun Shinto style with not much curvature and the tangs patina could fit to this i think. (Mid 17th century) But i dont put that much weight in my opinion of the patina because this is the part that can be easiest influenced by many factors like how it was preserved or if someone tried to make it look older with different methods. Also the color of the Nakago patina can be very different on photos and light conditions. I cant really say more about the blade because the condition of the polish does not allow to see more. If you want to learn more and dont want to spend on books yet you can find many informations here http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/information.html & http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/terms.html. I would start with http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/treatment.html and http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/appreciate.html.

The appreciation of Japanese blade did not begin with „wow this looks cool“, what we see today as good quality is what made this swords good weapons. I think that numbers and statistics do not change quality neither can I see the value of this approach.

Just another opinion on microfiber vs uchiko http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/uchiko.html

Yes it is Urushi and it’s kind of nasty, like painting with maple syrup But the actual painting is the easiest part, most of the time you clean brushes and prepare the urushi before you spend hours sanding if your humidity and temperature did not ruined the colors while curing.

Another Kantei i hope you can again excuse the dust and other things on my camera lens. To be fair i want to say that the blade got no papers but a signature and this is for fun i think. Also the polish looks old but i think this is a more fun way to ask if the signature could be shoshin. Nagasa: 45,6cm Sori: 1,45cm Motohaba: 2,7cm Sakihaba: 1,99cm Kasane: 5mm Edit: Forgot to say that the Shinogi is low and the Kissaki is 2,85cm Long