vitamin

So what I did was to take a "Magic Eraser" (fine sponge from Walmart that's good at removing grit from objects without scratching—I use these for removing yellowing from my 1980s Apple Macintosh collection) and some rubbing alcohol, and scrub the tang for a minute or so, until the red dust (which was covering most of it) was gone and some of the underlying brown/gray buildup was visible.

I didn't scour it all the way down to the bare metal, or anything. Also, the Magic Eraser was literally red after the cleaning. 

 

I can accept that I might have gone overboard and used too harsh of a method—lesson learned.

5 hours ago, Mark said:

From looking at the other thread my explanation for the kanji would be that the blade has always been viewed as a "utilitarian" blade. It may have been part of a castle or arsenal's "stock" of weapons, something stored and issued to someone when needed. The markings may be something used to organize, inventory, track etc the blade.  You see kanji like that on blades used in the Satsuma rebellion in later 1800's

 

Very interesting. Any idea which characters these are? I have no working knowledge of Japanese characters, but I found a website where you draw what you see and it lists possibilities. Problem is, this is some kind of shorthand, a real doozy.

 

This makes it difficult because it would seem that the direction of each stroke matters, but on this size the direction isn't possible to indicate via the normal brushmarks. Then there's the order in which the strokes are made, another factor.

 

I've always wanted to learn Japanese but it was never offered at a school I attended, so I studied German, Greek, and Latin instead. Then in my career, programming languages took over and I kinda forgot about learning Japanese.

 

Until now :D What an intricate and complex form of writing, this. Now I won't stop until I can read it. Thanks, sword.

12 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

They are on the back edge (mune) of the nakago right? 

 

Correct.

16 hours ago, MHC said:

Well, you just committed a cardinal sin, NEVER EVER CLEAN A NAKAGO!! You just reduced the value of it considerably.

 

The patina on the Nakago helps determine the age and authenticity, and should never be altered.

 

Prepare yourself for what others will also tell you about this dastardly deed that you have done.

 

Mark

 

Looks like I misinterpreted some advice. Well, that sucks.

 

Now excuse me while I go drink the rest of the rubbing alcohol then find out if it's too dull for seppuku...

 

Sigh

12 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

The second kanji looks like "9".  Someone else will have to help with the first one.

 

They are on the back edge (mune) of the nakago right? 

Yeah. Maybe it's just a serial number on a mass-produced type sword.

Making a new thread since the original thread had a ton of images but I just want to ask about a specific new image (see below).

 

When cleaning rust off the nakago, on the back edge of the nakago I noticed what seems to be a small inscription there.

 

What do you make of this:

 

 

 

 

 

Original thread:

 

Thanks for any tips. 

On 12/21/2021 at 12:43 AM, Bugyotsuji said:

Can we please see a shot of the overall section where the blade emerges from the Nakago tang?

 

Please see the below images, thank you.

 

I've also attached a video from my iPhone that does a better job showing what the polish looks like to the human eye. (The macro shots from my Olympus E-M1 tend to overemphasize the defects.)

 

Thanks you for taking a look!

 

 

 

 

 

Please help identifying/dating my unsigned wakizashi. 

 

The seller provided the following information:

 

• blade is from 1700s to 1800s (?)
• no papers
• tsuba/tsuka/saya came from other items, so not including them in the shots

 

Measurements:

 

• overall length: 22 3/8"
• nagasa length: 17 5/8"
• sori curvature depth: 1/2"
• kissaki length: 1 3/4"
• please ask for further measurements

 

Any information you experts might be able to provide about this would be greatly appreciated. I'm curious what the hamon style is called, what period it's from, any links to further historical context, whether it's worth getting papers for, etc Thank you! 

 

Please see the below photographs that I took of the sword:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An interesting dark eye in the steel:

 

 

 

 

Closeups of the hamon and hiraji with an extremely bright strobe setting and tiny aperture reveal interesting details:

 

 

 

 

The proximity of the strobe can bring out some of the imperfections quite clearly, which to the naked eye are quite subtle (as you can tell from the video):

 

 

 

 

Whether the hamon looks brighter than the hiraji depends on the incident angle of the strobes. Varying the angle brings out some interesting tonal variations that look quite different from the typical way that most sellers present their swords online:

 

 

There is a small chip in the cutting edge of the blade:

 

 

Some interesting wear patterns:

 

 

 

Closeup of the above image:

 

 

Some dark "eyes" in the steel:

 

 

 

 

Additional imperfections (perhaps from carbon deposits?):

 

 

 

The kissaki:

 

 

 

A crack in the shinogi-ji (evidence of a past repair?):

 

 

 

Additional photographs: https://imgur.com/a/t1eS9CY

 

These photographs were taken with an Olympus OM-D EM-1 and an EM-1 Mark III, FL-50R and FL-36R flashes, and OM Zuiko 50mm f/2 lens for FourThirds (plus the FourThirds to MicroFourThirds adapter).

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

21 hours ago, Wah said:

There was an exhibition a while ago. The actual Koshirae of HM was displayed. 

https://tsumugu.yomiuri.co.jp/special/桃山展「本庄正宗」の刀装初公開/

 

Stephen T.

 

Thanks Wah.

 

Does this mean that when they turned it in to the police, it was not in the koshirae pictured here and described by in text by earlier posts? 

 

Thanks for the info. Just curious about this interesting mystery.

Check out the Katana in this video: 

 

This koshirae reminds me of some of the descriptions given previously in this thread of the Honjo Masamune. Not that I think this is the Honjo, but maybe it gives an idea of what level of sword we are looking for. 

 

Of course if I was the owner of such a sword, there's no way I'd turn it in to the police in such a Koshirae. I would put it in the plain wooden holder with my name on it. I doubt if the Honjo is out there, it also has the same Koshirae as the descriptions. 

 

Anyway, does anyone know what sword this is, that they are showing here? 

This morning in the shower, I realized something.

 

There's a fact, which we have all been forgetting. This fact is something we all know to be a fact. Yet somehow in all of this, we did not think of it. 

 

Have you ever spoken to a soldier who is in uniform whilst he was on-duty performing some task, while you yourself were a civilian or a higher-ranking officer? 

 

If so, then, you will undoubtedly know that, without fail, every statement out of his mouth will be finished with the word, "sir," or "ma'am."

 

What's your name?

 

"Coley Davis, ma'am."

 

コリー  = Coley

ディバイ, = Davi(s)

モ. = Mo(m)

 

Coley could also be short for Malcolm, so I'm tossing you a Malcolm also. 

 

These guys were both Cavalry, not sure if 7th though. 

 

Good luck.