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So I've inherited a Wakizashi (I Think)


Robin T

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Just a quick intro, I'm from Canada, BC to be not very specific :D , and my grandmother has left me a Wakizashi, in what seems like so-so condition. I've been browsing various sites looking at how to identify and evaluate it, and I've hit the point where I'm reasonably sure it's real, but nothing much beyond that. All I know is a vague story that it was given as a gift to a distant relative in the British foreign service, presumably in some sort of diplomatic exchange, probably around the turn of the last century, but for all I know this is a vague story and that's all.

 

My intention in doing this research is to see what can be done to restore it, how to care for it, and to understand some of the history around it. I have no interest in parting with this (maybe?) heirloom, so I'm not really worried about value.

 

Finally I apologize for my knowledge of proper terminology, I took Japanese in another lifetime, but besides some terms I've known for a while (like tsuba) I haven't absorbed it yet.

 

404337172_DdXZp-M.jpg

 

The ruler is 1 foot long. I've made a quite careful inspection of the blade, looking for "fatal flaws" based on an internet article or two, and can't find anything seriously wrong. Basically it has some chipping (doesn't extend past the tempered edge) and corrosion. But you don't need to take my word for it, photography is something of a hobby of mine, and HERE is a gallery of images of the sword.

 

When photographing I carefully removed the handle, and exposed the mei on the tang.

 

404336050_nZAzq-M.jpg

 

So I was a little surprised to see gold (?) lettering instead of a stamped signature or mark, so I wondered what the significance of this is?

 

Anyways, if you had the courage to read all the way to here, you know as much as I do about the sword! I look forward to hearing from someone who knows a bit more than I do!

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Wow! Thanks everyone for the quick replies!

 

John, you feel this sword could be Koto-era? As in pre-1596?!?! I won't hold you to it, but that's astonishing! I'm shaking in my chair...

 

And I went and rotated the tsuba rick ;)

 

As for pictures of the blade characteristics, if you guys let me know what exactly, I can get huge magnifications if required, and/or flexible lighting, perspective, hopefully enough to give you some more info. (I like taking pictures of insect eyeballs, among other things.)

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I think the sword has potential but doubt it is Koto. If it was one of the more famous (and expensive) Sukehiro it would be an early Shinto blade and he/they worked in Osaka.

As John says better pictures of the blade would be agreat help

However based on what can be seen so far it loks to be a promising piece.

regards

Paul

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Hi Paul, Don't forget Sukehiro of Sagami no Kuni, early 14th century. We need to see the whole nakago (hilt), the patina seems good for Koto, a nice hard black and is it not yoko yasuri? The hamon ( area of hardening) along the edge seems notare, the little we see. We need more of this to see properly. The kinpun mei may actually point in the right direction. Of course I'm an optimist. John

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Thank you for your input Paul! Thankfully I've calmed down a bit now :D . I have to admit, I expected just from the bit I know of Japanese history and the story I was told to explain this sword's origins, for it to turn out to be something quite ornamental from the Meiji, or I guess Gendai period, of no particular interest besides being genuine as opposed to fake, so I'm quite surprised and pleased at these assessments.

 

Based on your comments, John, I think I'll remove the handle to expose the tang, and try and give some complete images of the blade. The Hamon is fairly subtle, at least underneath the layer of nicks and corrosion, but in the right light it should be clearly visible. The brass (?) piece surrounding the base of the blade just above the tsuba, Habaki I believe, should I try to remove it as well?

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Some more pics have been added to the gallery I linked to earlier, which has had almost 300mb of bandwidth used so far!

 

404449173_X5wL5-M.jpg

 

This is the best I could do at exposing normally, and balancing for colour, so computer monitors notwithstanding, that should be pretty close to human eyesight for judging the patina on the tang. That said the flash I used makes it seems more reflective than it is, but couldn't be avoided. And that nasty white stuff is some corroded something that was under the habaki.

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Hi,

 

Considering the state of this blade it is impossible to say if the attribution is right or not. Only a shinsa can confirm or invalidate the kinpun mei, but not in this condition. This blade needs a great restoration. the question is: Is the blade worthy for a restoration.

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Hi all,

Big bump down to earth maybe but.....I am probably wrong again but:

Won`t the removal of some of the chips in the ha and the kissaki change the sugata of this Kinpun mei Blade?

I mean, some of those are quite deep really 2mm+.and the kissaki in order to become "whole again" will change as well by a few mm to take in the tip missing.

I think a reshaping may be possible because the hamon looks wide enough, but what will it do to the blade,make it several mm thinner than it is?Is its cost warrented?

I have an old blade that has had chips and had them removed ,it now has chips again and the hamon is now so close that the new chips cannot be removed,But more importantly the blade now looks "thin and Reedy" anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

I am not a togoshi so i am in no position to properly judge,But i have many blades that just wouldn`t go through a polish that were similar to the damages on this one or better.True they were not Kinpun Mei but one is a 3rd gen Tadatsuna/Munetsuna and one an early Koto blade in soshu style.

Again i might be wrong but it looks like a lot of work and Money to me.

Its also possible that the mei can be added at any given time and does not entirely indicate that it is an accurate. appraisal.It could Merely be that the appraiser or customer desired it to be so.Its a catch 22 situation.

But again i am probably well "off base" here.

regards

Shan

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Kin pun mei (lacquer) or kin zogan mei (gold inlay) are attributions, supposedly made by an authority of some sort. Normally, but not always, the person making the attribution would sign his attribution, which isn't the case with this sword. The lack of a signature doesn't mean that the attribution is wrong, just that it is somewhat less likely to be correct.

The only way you'll be able to know if the sword warrants restoration is to show it to someone with the knowledge to tell. A classically trained polisher would be a good bet.

Grey

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Great looking sword Robin.

JMHO very late koto if so. Does look a bit soshu though. Great looking fat nie running all along the blade. I feel it may have been shortened as well???

It does have some mighty chips, and a broken tip. I would think that it could all be fixed. The hamon is a mile wide, and it looks as though there is plenty of boshi to fix the tip.

I'm sure you have gotten many offers from the 'pros' already for this nice sword. If the attribution holds up, you could likely trade it for a nice sword in full polish, or have it polished yourself, and have a great sword.

Or just keep it as is, with a bit of oil on it and enjoy. Great get, Thanks Grandma!!!!!

Mark G

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Shan, I'm almost afraid to ask why the sword "again has chips" after they were removed, especially since the sword exhibits the traces of cutting activity on it. We see far too much activity of folks cutting with antique swords as it is, please tell us that this was an assessment rather than an experience. :|

 

Chip removal is not dependant on one dimension. Removing the chips is merely one aspect, followed by and co-dependant on, an entire sequence of events that balances the swords dimensions, and very importantly, the niku (convex geometry supporting the cutting edge). While the sword may have enough depth of yakiba to remove the chips, there may be other factors in the sword that may not. For that matter, the restoration and *conservation* of a sword blade does not dictate that chips must be absolutely and completely removed. That is a professional judgement, not a mandate. Indeed, some chips or other damage that were results of period combat may be left as a gentle sign of provinance and proof. So the answer is; the only way to know if they can or should be removed is to allow a professional to make the judgement.

 

Having said that, and getting back to the original posters subjects;

 

Robin, what all the advice really comes down to is that the gold lacquer makes an attribution to the sword's maker. However, like any any art, the work must confirm the attribution. The fact that "someone" thought it to be the work of Sukehiro, does not prove it conclusively in the face of no other supporting documentation, or the personal mark of the person making the attribution. The sword will have to be compared to known works by a person knowledgeable enough to establish the conformity and consistancy of your sword to those known works. This process is called a Shinsa, or appraisal, which should not be confused with the context of an appraisal for valuation. The sword must be in a state of condition that will allow it's features to be studied and compared. If is is not, then preliminary procedures can be done to make the features visable to allow this. Additionally, the present state and condition of the sword has to be assessed for it's candidacy for a long and expensive process of restoration. Not every sword is a candidate, and the scale is balanced between artistic merit (importance) and present condition (health).

 

There are certain elements that initially might point to the sword being correctly attributed, but not all the elements that pinpoint the work are visible in the photos. Regardless, a proper appraisal to establish it as a genuine work of Sukehiro and it's restorability, will require the sword be examine in hand by a respected professional. We can merely speculate on it from afar with fondest hopes that your sword is indeed work of this classic swordsmith, but I think everyone will agree that it is certainly worth the steps to have it examined.

 

Welcome and Good Luck!

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Thank you all!

 

From what it sounds like, we've reached the limit of what photographs over the internet can do, but what they do suggest is that this sword would be worth a proper appraisal, which should be able to determine if it is worth a full restoration.

 

So the next question is, where and to whom would someone in western Canada be well advised to go to?

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Don't we have a member or 2 from BC Canada? I seem to recall that.

I am sure we will be able to hook you up with someone who can guide you and show you to a sword group. Bit of patience as lots of guys heading over to Japan now, or they might check in in a few days. That would be the next step imho.

 

Regards,

Brian

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You are right Brian, there is an active Nihonto community there. BC is a big province and I don't know where Robin lives but he could check out; The Vancouver Japanese Sword Appreciation Society, Board Room, Vancouver Museum, 1100 Chestnut St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, John Berta, President John

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Hey gang, just my two cents. I don't know if I am the only one to notice this but the hamon seems to have a yakidashi and a long one at that, curious I think in a suriage (shortened for those learning the lingo)blade. Also the mei seems a little superficial and sloppy to my eyes. The nakago patina looks good though which leads me to think that maybe this was an altering of a sword by a contemporary of Echizen Sukehiro working in this toran-midare. Just my thoughts, that said the work seems very solid but myself I would be casting an eye toward leaving as is. I think with oil and uchiko it could be made to look very presentable and as it is not being marketed the expense and effort to maintain an art polish don't strike my as being worth it. Just my random thoughts. Robin, thanks for sharing your sword with us by the way, very nice pictures.

 

Doug

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Hi Gang and Robin,

Now that I have had a chance to look at all your pics, I'm with Doug. It matches very well with Shinto Sukehiro. That fat ji-nie is SO nice!!!!!!!

Even in the very out of polish state, it comes crashing through.

Get up with some people in the know Robin. This sword could be a gem. I for one, would love to see some more pics of the blade close up.

Best of luck with this one mate!!!!

Mark G

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Chip removal is not dependant on one dimension. Removing the chips is merely one aspect, followed by and co-dependant on, an entire sequence of events that balances the swords dimensions, and very importantly, the niku (convex geometry supporting the cutting edge). While the sword may have enough depth of yakiba to remove the chips, there may be other factors in the sword that may not. For that matter, the restoration and *conservation* of a sword blade does not dictate that chips must be absolutely and completely removed.

 

:clap: :clap: :clap:

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Shan, I'm almost afraid to ask why the sword "again has chips" after they were removed, especially since the sword exhibits the traces of cutting activity on it. We see far too much activity of folks cutting with antique swords as it is, please tell us that this was an assessment rather than an experience.

Whilst in danger of straying slightly off topic,

The sword i refered to was indeed purchased from a Dealer as it is seen in the images i posted.

1 to save it from further neglect and 2. because a blade (even a poor one) is better than Tsunagi IMHO.It was £185 so not so bad and thats as far as polishing goes with it,It has the almost perfectly executed Gunome i have seen and would have been a fantastic blade,with the effort and skill used to create the hamon,i cannot see why the smith would have left is "so close" to the Ha,Its chipped a lot and easily by the looks of it and has a relativly thin motohaba 2.3cm (6mm Motokasane)so the assumption is, it has been dechiped before or its just a thin blade.My guess for reasons above is dechiped.On the plus side it had no openings at all that i can see.

regards

Shan

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Looking close at the pics, I feel that a couple of these chips in Robin's sword may be part of the blade forever. That one in the monouchi, looks very deep, and the one up from that doesn't look very good either. The hamachi is a mess too.

Still, I would bet this sword is worthy of a full polish. If it has no fatal flaws, and it looked like it is a REAL Sukehiro, and a good polisher would take it on, and you can afford the $$$$$$$.

I just want to see all that ji-nie in all it's glory!!!! :D

Ok I'll shut up now....

Mark G

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