goose710 Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 Gentlemen I 've just gotten a kazuka with my latest sword purchase (Kazuka was free) and the blade is real rusty . Would i be committing sword sacralige in polishing the blade only??? I really don't think it is of any great value except to me. Your thoughts are greatly apreciated Thank You Goose710(da Gooseman Quote
drbvac Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 Its yours to do as you wish but make sure its really no good first cause when your done it may be worthless :? I have tried to polish some very rusty worthless blades just to give me an idea of how hard it is and how big a mess you can make of anything in 2 minutes that may take a month to fix! Kozuka may be no big loss so do whatever you like! Quote
Bungo Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 but usually we only clean the other side ( that is the side not with the mei ) p.s. same side as back of the koz milt Quote
goose710 Posted October 22, 2008 Author Report Posted October 22, 2008 A big thank you ! goose710 Quote
shan Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 If you wish to see the hamon on a kozuka a bit better,the trick i was taught was to use some 360 -400 grit wet and dry with a mass of choji oil and rub the paper towards the tip in one direction. If you do it with some "feeling" you can get the hamon to appear without taking off too much of the steel.In some circles the collecting Of the Kogatana is a big thing and after a togoshi has polished one they can look stunning,as Milt sugested the Mei side was the filed side and would not have been polished. Some or all of These started life as polished blades. watch your fingers as these can be wickedly sharp. regards Shan Quote
Brian Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Charles, Some (the majority?) of kogatana are not forged or folded, and don't have hamon and hada. Then again, there are some that are indeed forged and show wonderful workmanship. These can go upwards of $500 on their own in that case. So I would be very hesitant in doing any work on it until you know what you have. As stated, only one side gets polished (opposite side of any mei) Btw, please could you post a pic or 2 of the kozuka, maybe both sides? I don't think you should be writing it off just yet..looks interesting. Iron? Brian Quote
goose710 Posted October 22, 2008 Author Report Posted October 22, 2008 The kozuka is iron, was a add on from aoi art sword when i bought my latest. This is why i felt it had "little" value. I will take some more careful pictures as these were only an after thought. Thank You for your considerations goose710 (charles) Quote
Henry Wilson Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 Please don't do anything yourself that may spoil something that has been doing fine for the past while, regardless of value or not. Pass it on to a professional or leave it a lone. We are in the business of stabilizing and preserving and I am dead against people with good intentions having a go at fixing things up. Quote
goose710 Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Posted October 23, 2008 Gentlemen I was suprized to find it was signed! As requested here are a few more pictures If anyone off the top of their head can read it i'll be one happy camper. Is it odd that it is made of iron? Good or bad? Also how should it take care of it? lightly oil and wipe with a soft cloth? All advice is apreciated. goose710(aka Charles da gooseman) Quote
Bungo Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 first impression............... Shinkai Doubt it's the real deal.................... milt Quote
Brian Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 Yep, the signatures on kogatana (blade) are rarely anything of value. They are often gimei and not of much consequence. Many/most are signed. The kozuka (handle) is quite nice though, and I think I may be correct that it is probably worth more than the kogatana. Iron may be earlier than the soft metal ones, and harder to produce. This one is quite nice, and worth finding out more about imho. Brian Quote
Ford Hallam Posted October 24, 2008 Report Posted October 24, 2008 The kozuka looks very much to be in the technical style of the school of Sugiura Joi. He was one of the famous Nara San-saku...the 3 famous makers of Nara. The other 2 being Tsuchiya Yasuchika and Ichinomia Nagatsune. The type of sunken relief, where the figure is outlined by a chiselled line and then the modelling done within the line and below the surface of the plate is called "shishiai-bori" ( we'd call it Intaglio in English...and Italian :D ) and is almost uniquely associated with this school. Occasionally you will find the face, or focal point of the design, done in actual raised inlay but with the Joi school that is not typical. Unfortunately it's impossible to accurately judge the true quality of the work due to the rust product that encrusts the surface...it may well surprise . The subject, Shoki, is also common for this group. Quite a decent piece imo....far more interesting to me that the pointy bit that came with it It just needs a bit of tender loving care. regards, Ford Quote
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