Guys - Please check/guide my figuring so far-koto o-suriage.

[jensen6865]

Hi all,

I posted a few months ago a blade my Dad brought back from Japan. Since then I have asked questions, looked unbelievably stupid, viewed thousands of pictures, read everything I could find etc.

May I first list dimensions etc and then short version of conclusions and see how far off I am. I am beginning to understand decades needed to really know......

 

Overall blade length- 38cm.

Nagasa-68cm.

Nakago-20.3cm.

Sori-16mm.

Motohaba-32mm.

Ji-20mm, shinoji-12mm

Sakihaba-25mm.

Munimachi-1.5mm.

Hamachi-1mm.

Kissiki-40mm (Chu?)

O-suriage probably about 8.1cm( from rust line and polishing thinning).

Nakago sori-1.5mm.

Motokasane-8mm.

Sakikasane-6mm.

Hamon:at hamachi-8mm, at yakote-9mm. Suguha, w/small choji/gnome? sometimes, looks like ashi. Nie along the hamon. Cloudy white to ha.

Ji- Itame/mokume, strongly standing? really shows up like grain. Chekei or maybe just jinie some places. Lots of Jinie.

Boshi: sugu hamon continues around kissiki same width. Even curve with edge. Ko-maru. Short kaeri. Fits kissiki perfectly.

 

Maybe- Bravely- Here goes: Suguta with suriage and polishing taken into account late Kamakura/Nambokucho period. Yamashiro almost parallel low shinoji planes. Nagasa without suriage probably about 76cm. Thick kasane-8mm which does not taper to almost half like in Muromachi period. Itame/mokume hada really with jinie. Hamon small curved choji/gnome with ashi. Place along side of blade that looks like a Rai steel patch. Deep breath-O-suriage tachi and not katana? Kunimitsu? the ones on Sho-Shin Koto schools look just like it. No Ryokai looked right. Nobukuni hada looked possible especially with chekei, but nothing else looked right. Haba/kasane so different than most others of Yamashiro. Hasebe looks good in a lot of ways especially hada and nie along hamon, but masame along ha makes us move on. Kunimitsu's blades that I have looked at look really close. Color of blade-blueish?

 

Please let me know what you think and what I have missed. Really have learned a lot, but I realize now how little I know. Thank you all, Dan

[chrstphr]

my uneducated two cents

 

if you imagine the rest of the curve as it would have been if not shortened, the curve is in the middle of the blade. Kamakura/Nambokucho era blades, the curve is much lower and not in the middle.

 

 

I would say late Muromachi to later when the curve of the sori was moved up the blade to be more centered.

 

I think this was made as a Katana. The sori doesnt look right for tachi.

 

Chris

[jensen6865]

Hi Chris,

 

Appreciate your input and time. I thought it was later as well, but then I couldn't find anything with low shinogi that fit and when I overlay the blade outline onto even a Kuniyuki of Yamashiro Rai from Shoshin it matched perfectly. So i went back to a initial thought/guess Marius had about slightly earlier.I wonder if the nakago angle was changed slightly at suriage, there is a spot on it that the bohi is bent down like it was hit to reshape curve. Do you know if they ever did that? Anything else you see I have totally missed please do not hesitate to say, "hey dumby that can't be" ...

Thank you, Dan

[chrstphr]

Hi Chris,

 

I thought it was later as well, but then I couldn't find anything with low shinogi that fit and when I overlay the blade outline onto even a Kuniyuki of Yamashiro Rai from Shoshin it matched perfectly. Dan

 

 

that will only work if both blades are EXACTLY the same length down to the millimeter and same scale. Otherwise, camera angle, perspective and distance will make any measurements off.

 

 

Chris

[jensen6865]

Hi,

 

Thank you, I see what you mean!

 

Dan