Gifted Sword

[ROKUJURO]

.....Since I see it mentioned, is there any difference to quenching a blade in oil versus water?...... 

Omar,

 

of course there is! It is a part of the basic metallurgical knowledge to be able to differentiate between low alloy carbon steel, TAMAHAGANE, and industrial stainless steel and their respective treatments. And there are other steel alloys which still need other hardening methods!

[Greg F]

When using modern steel as I believe this is, a lot of smiths quench for a few seconds in water and then in oil which can give some of the details in the hamon of a water quench while greatly reducing the risk of cracking. The first knife I tried to produce a hamon with I used water and it had many cracks (over heated too) and since then Ivd usec the water to oil quench and no problems since while also getting some nice detail.

 

Greg

[Ryubiken]

The blade has typical chinese factory polish, hence the whitish line following the highest parts of the hamon's peaks.

 

Mekugi is quite crude, like most repro-swords (acceptable on old blade, but not in modern one)

 

2x mekugi is somewhat rare on Nihonto. Chinese tends to prefer them on almost all blades (easier to get tight fit with misfit tsuka)

 

Same is coated with black paint (lacquer preserves same's texture better and has less gloss) and made of panels (you can see the tsuka's wood on certain spots).

 

Tsukaito's texture and mostly gloss finish give it away as rayon (synthetic silk alternative). Also tsukamaki is quite off compared to professional wrap.

 

No hada and hamon/nioiguchi is typical on mass produced blade, although bit better than an average wall hanger.

 

Saya's koiguchi is unbalanced and cut oddly. Also kurikata is way too far from koiguchi. Saya's wood texture is quite far off (rough texture and color) from modern honoki saya.

 

Fitting seem like modern cast fitting (better than chinese copper dangys), Same ones that are used in iaito / mogito.

 

All in all, good example of about 150$ chinese repro. If nagasa is really 33", then it may be special or custom work (33" is 83,8cm or 2.77 shaku, making it almost an odachi).

[raynor]

Kimmo, your post oozes "sisu"! I like it. For those not in the know, it is a Finnish term we other Scandinavians translate into something like having grit.

 

Thanks for all the info, I agree with most of it. I actually raised an eyebrow at the mekugi first time I unpackaged it, and am still skeptical in applying force if I were to take it apart. 

I realize now in hindsight I might posted in the wrong section - I never thought this was a real folded tamahagane nihonto, but pherhaps a decent modern reproduction.

 

Hence there is no hada, as its made with modern steel and I know the polish is not what one should expect from a taken care of antique or gendaito.

However the $150 blade assessment I have to disagree with, (not that it removes the possibility of me being wrong!) lets chalk it up to another reason why I'm not out shooting photos for National Geographic..

 

I will try go get some proper better shots of the blade up any day now soon that kids are getting down from their Halloween highs, but it does look a lot better then some of my sharp form practice swords in about that price range.

Again, if anyone has any tips for capturing the hamon on a blade I'm all ears. Sunlight makes it all nice and shiny, but maybe a dark room with a single light source is better?

 

The ito being rayon is a good call, for me that is a let down. Rayon is terrible for any practical use as it does not recover from any stretching.

Blade is indeed 33" or close to 84cm... been living almost a year in the US now and still cant do the conversions easily.

 

Jean and Greg, thanks for the info. The blade is clearly carbon steel, as I've been told it is fit for use and it is sharp, plus when I unpackaged it I had to eliminate a couple tiny spots of rust from trapped moisture under the plastic and oil wrap.

[Greg F]

Omar to capture better hamon pics try as you said a dark room with a single light. While playing around with different angles with the light its a good way to really get a good look and appreciate hamon. Enjoy.

 

Greg