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TomBell

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    Fishing with double handed fly rods, fermenting cider, earth science, pre-history, foraging for mushrooms, fixing anything that breaks

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    TOM BELL

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  1. I will to get it through interlibrary loan first.
  2. To return to my original question, I was skeptical of the identification of medicine rust based on pinholes and the statement that "Natural rust will always be smooth". After examining the image of a rusted wakizashi, which has a nearly identical corrosion texture to that on my nakago, I feel certain that the expert's opinion is in error. Based on the opinions above and this comparison, I am relieved. Finding a polisher has been a challenge.
  3. Thank you all. The second authority also had this to say regarding alteration of the original blade: "Your sword is an ubu sword just reworked to make it look older. If it was suriage then the temper would go back into the nakago. It actually stops with a downward turn about ¾” after the ha machi.....Then the signature was added Moritsugu below a hole lower on the blade. This is all done to make a mumei sword easier to sell. It is a fake. Natural rust will always be smooth." If the original mei was lost by suriage might the second smith have added a new mei in sosho using the original smith's name to preserve the attribution but signaling that this is a new mei? I had committed to having the sword polished but this controversy makes me wonder if it is worth it. NTHK_Worksheet.pdf
  4. Hello again, Since my post on this forum last year seeking help with the translation of a mei, my katana has been examined by two highly respected authorities. One found the blade to be genuine and "attributed to "高田守次 Takada Moritsugu - he worked in 豊後国 Bungo no kuni during the 大永 Daiei period (1521-1528)". This quote is from second person who translated the opinion for me. The other believes the blade is a mumei. His opinion is based on the corrosion pattern on the Nakago "a large portion of the rust on the omote is all pock marked with small pin holes. This is caused by using chemicals to make a forced rust. This is called medicine rust." My question: Is there a corrosion pattern that is definitive of this practice or process? I hope my inclusion of a photo of the Nakago will help.
  5. If this helps, here is a side by side comparison of the last two characters on the sword Peter shows above and my sword. The first characters look very different but the last character looks pretty similar to my untrained eye. I am not suggesting these were done by the same person, only that the last sosho characters look similar. The last two characters on the sosho mei (http://www.nihontocraft.com/Izumi_no_Kami_Kunisada_mei.html figure 4) have more than a passing resemblance to the other three swords. If so, is it more likely to be sada than sugu or tsugu?
  6. Thanks Steve, The second character of the mei on my sword is a little smoother than the last character on the Shinkai mei but they are similar enough to be a convincing match. I found this section of Wada and Massey's article particularly enlightening with regard to use of Sosho assuming Yoshida is correct. I wonder if my sword was made by an apprentice or journeyman. According to Yoshida, Shinkai Kunisada started daimei for his father in the second year of Shoho (1645) with a sosho mei ("grass" or running/cursive style mei) ( Fig.4, 5) . Yoshida said that the reason for starting with a sosho mei may be as follows: Since this daimei was still unofficial, Oya Kunisada did not want Shinkai Kunisada to put the same kaisho-mei (normal or "block letter" style mei), written by an obviously different hand, on the daimei products. Because sosho mei was new, nobody would immediately notice that this was daimei. This may be a reasonable guess. Now if I could find a match for the first one. I am speculating that the first character is 邘 (the radical⻏ looks about right) and if the second character is 貞, can this be translated to Kunisada?
  7. So much to learn about this beautiful art form.

  8. A sword I recently acquired has damage to the ha, muni and ji. Most of the damage is from the middle of the blade increasing out to the kissaki. Of these, a straight cut in the ji with a very steep V cross section is the most intriguing. I don't think this is the result of bushwhacking. The maximum depth were it terminates at the shinogi is ~0.3 mm. It's maximum width at the shinogi is ~0.4 mm. It's length is 6 mm. A distinctive splatter pattern of fine rust on both sides of the blade radiates from the ji. As a complete beginner, I am trying to learn the names of the sword elements so please forgive me if I have mislabeled anything.
  9. TomBell

    Mochi Tetsu

    I ran across this excellent narrative of the tatara smelting process. My interpretation of the use of akome iron sand is partially wrong. It seems it was used exclusively to produce pig iron. My points about the origin of mochi tetsu however still add context to the original question posed by piryohae3. The streambeds below Kamaishi must have been of great value to the local economy.
  10. TomBell

    Mochi Tetsu

    Magnetite is commonly the primary iron mineral mineral in black sands around the world. In the geologically recent terrain of Japan, skarns would be a significant but not exclusive source of magnetite for iron sand. Masa iron sand which contains magnetite appears to be the feed stock for tatara production of small batch steel. From what I can tell, akome iron sand which has a bit of titanium in the magnetite was used as a flux to start the initial melt in the tatara or was used to produce pig iron. There is another potential source of iron that has been recognized since the Iron Age which is known as bog iron ore. This forms when ferrous iron in oxygen depleted groundwater is subsequently oxidized to ferric iron by bacteria in a swamp. This is a low grade source of iron but was widely used to make pig iron in antiquity and even during colonial times in North America. The primary iron minerals are hydrated iron oxides which when dehydrated form hematite (Fe2O3). Self fluxing hematite ores are now the primary feedstock for modern steel production.
  11. TomBell

    Mochi Tetsu

    Mochi Tetsu is high purity magnetite (Fe3O4) ore. It's origin is from a skarn deposit formed where an intrusive igneous body ("granite") makes contact with limestone. The Kamaishi mine in Iwate Province is the largest known copper-magnetite skarn in Japan. This deposit has been mined from the Tokugawa shogunate until the mine closed within the last couple of decades. Alluvial mining in the surrounding drainages probably predated the underground mining. Mochi Tetsu ore originated from these deposits as they were eroded. The magnetite ore fragments were tumbled into rounded cobbles, gravel and sand in the steep drainages that surround these deposits. The larger pieces could be easily recognized in the alluvium due to their density, color and magnetism. Smaller magnetite grains can be separated from less dense mineral grains by gravity methods like panning or sluicing. Like alluvial diamonds or gold, impure lumps of magnetite ore would be more easily broken up during sediment transport resulting in a natural beneficiation process that raised the grade from the 30% iron in the ore body to ~60% iron. Satetsu ore probably originates from skarns as well but has been transported farther from the source. This reduces the magnetite ore to its constituent crystals by abrasion and collisions with other grains in the streams that carry it to the coast. Wave action on beach fronts works as a gravity separation process concentrating it into thin black layers in the beach sand.
  12. Thanks Mark, It does make sense. I have some Asian calligraphy art so I am somewhat familiar with it though cannot read it.
  13. Are calligraphic inscriptions common on swords? I have been looking at images of tangs and have not run across this style yet.
  14. I found this character ⻖ which seems to mean hill but I can't find a Japanese name that is linked to it. If you take into account that all of the characters are stylized, it looks like a plausible match. If the second character is 次 I think you could make the phrase next hill or second hill. When combined, it yielded this 陸 Readings Common reading: りく Riku (male given name) Additional readings: あつし Atsushi (unclassified given name) おか Oka (surname) おく Oku (unclassified person name) くが Kuga (surname) たかし Takashi (unclassified person name) のぼる Noboru (unclassified person name) る Ru (surname)
  15. Thanks to all of you for sound advice and your efforts to identify the mei. Grey, I agree completely that nothing should be disturbed on this sword until more information has been gathered and a qualified person has been found to polish it if at all. I have attached some photos. I don't have a light stand so the composite of the blade is crude but I think you can zoom in to various sections and see some detail.
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