Beginner's Question On Blemish

[peter k]

hello, i'm a beginner in this world of appreciating the nihonto and while studying the various flaws of a nihonto i've run into this pic of

what looks like whitish squiggly lines that resembles roots of plants and can't figure out what it is called and how severe it is considered;

rather it is a blemish or a metallurgical fatal flaw. is it surface white rust?  thanks in advance.

 

[J Reid]

Looks like shinae "wrinkles" (from being bent).

 

Edit: If it is Shinae.. it isn't too bad. They can be severe deep vertical wrinkles.. these could also just be hada-ware.. the blade seems to have a very loose and tired jigane.. But my bet is that the blade was bent. Either way.. not good visually, or functionally.

[peter k]

are shinae open or closed cracks? there aren't many pics on the web and knowing this is what they can

look like is informative. thanks

[J Reid]

Shinae are vertical(ish) wrinkles in the blade. The hada gets crushed together when the blade bends and when the polisher straightens it out, the hada tears open ..wrinkles are left in the steel. The more severe the bend, the worse the cracks. They can be shallow or deep. It is a case by case thing.

[Grey Doffin]

I think a better explanation for the plant root appearance (I've never seen shinae that radiate out from a center) is faint spider rust that has been treated with uchiko.  Spider rust is fairly common on Nihonto; it often looks like what we see here, spreading out from a center like a spider's web.  Uchiko would be responsible for the white color.

But, of course, I may be wrong.  Grey

[peter k]

wow, that's a great view point. i've once seen white-ish rust on caste iron skillets that looks milky and had a pin-like point of origin  (an open skin)

this may be just that considering the web-like appearance. thanks for the input!

[Stephen]

+1 with Grey

[Ken-Hawaii]

Yes, that's spider rust, & it will disappear with the blade's next polish. If the blade is yours, then please be aware of what uchiko will do to an existing polish, Peter, & use accordingly.

 

Welcome to the forum.

[peter k]

thanks everyone, and no, it is not mine; just a pic that made me wonder what it could be.

this is a wonderful place to come and just read, read and learn from the experts and the amateurs.

 

thanks for the welcome,

peter

[J Reid]

Hey guys.. sorry to disagree.. but I see cracks. I think the white-ish appearance is the flash from the camera (which daimyou54eb is notorious for). I found this pic from KSKY and it looks pretty similar.. but it's shinae. I then found this old discussion here discussing the exact picture... http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/11269-pic-of-shinae/?hl=shinae .. now I'm not sure what this is.. but I really don't think it's spider rust.

[Marius]

What I see in daimyou's pic is spider rust. Shinae are indeed cracks, but they run parallel to each other. Take a good pic and we'll take it from there. If you don't have the sword in hand, nothing we can do, but you can safely assume spider rust.

[peter k]

found another one that looks similar. i think this is what grey was hinting at:

 

 

 

 

[SAS]

Spider rust and ware in the jigane in my opinion.