kissaki taisho

[sencho]

I mentioned this item in the Auctions Forum before...

 

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a badly beaten up tachi on ebay, that on first glance seemed like an obvious fake... however on closer inspection of the pictures, I became more and more convinced that the article was genuine.. blade and fittings... I was never 100% though

 

After 4 days of watching this peice at the 40 dollar mark, I actually noticed that it was in a consignment shop in Ft Lauderdale, literally less than 5 minutes from my house.

 

With 26 hours on the auction to go I drove up there and inspected it. They would not let me remove the (broken) tsuka to inspect the nakano, but I was able to get up close and personal with everything else.

 

Immediately I was 100% on the sword being genuine nihonto and koshirae being equally as genuine.

 

One strange thing I noticed that I have never heard discussed before was the view of the Kissaki from the perspective on the mune.

 

When I held the blade kissaki up mune towards me I noticed a difference in the symmetry of the kissaki... Is this a common thing? The sword had not been abused by a grinder or anything like that... from the side veiws the ko shingoi and yokote were perfectly formed - lines that only a togi could produce.....

 

Looking at the kissaki from one side and then the other you would never know... only looking from the perspective of the mune

 

I drew a crap diagram so people cand see what I mean "from the perspective of the mune"

 

Any comments on this... bad togi?.. or just multiple polishes at which time this cannot be avoided?? Is this common??

 

By the way I did not win the sword... DOH!!!... however I know who did, and know it went to a very good home...

 

cheers!

[Mark Green]

If the sword was in WW2, it could be the results of a quick 'broken tip', fix. Or just a bad polish. I talked to an old Japanese marine, who said you were lucky to have 2-3 stones in the field. If the CO's sword snapped a tip out in the boonies, it likely got fixed in a hurry, with whatever they had.

Or just a bad tip fix period. That is not an easy task. Most, if not all, the steel to be polished away it hardened. It destroys polishing stones.

That is why a broken tip will normaly add 2-300$$$ to the cost of a polish.

Mark G

[sencho]

Thanks mark...

 

This is an older sword I think and it is in tachi koshirae.... I do not know that much on koshirae, but it is not WWII.... however this does not mean the blade did not see service then..

 

However the lines of the yokote and the ko shingoi are pretty muxh perfect... it doesn't seem like a quick battlefield re-shape....

 

maybe after a bunch of polishes the blade need a little more one side than the other????

 

I am out at sea right now.... but when I get home in a couple of weeks I am going to check all of my blades!!

[Grey Doffin]

Below is a picture of the kissaki in question. I think the togishi (polisher) just made a slip. I see no evidence that the kissaki has been reshaped.

Grey

[Jean]

Interesting item.

 

I had this experience a few years ago with an Eikyo Bizen Kozori Yoshimitsu wakizashi papered by Fujishiro.

 

When it arrived from Japon, I noticed that the Koshirae was not the original one. I had to have it adjusted, rewrap the tsuka and to my surprise the Yokote was assymetric and this was due to a bad polish.

 

In Japon, you have a lot of polishers with different skill from low/medium to top.

 

One of the most difficult thing in polishing is to obtain symetry and crisped lines (Shinogi, yokote ..) and believe me (I have a friend who is a chujo polisher) not every layman can become polisher.

 

I shall never try, I am too clumsy:oops:

[sencho]

Me too Jean...

 

I am going to examine my swords closely on my return home...

 

this one has the signs of of a good polish as the koshingoi and yokote are very crisp and fine.....

 

Just that small symmetry as view from that angle..

 

cheers...