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Smaller blades thread


Bugyotsuji

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With a long thin shaft like that, the only thing i can think of is an exceptionally rare type of arrowhead, but what do i know

 

Edit to add. 

Got me curious this piers so started a look at the Stone Glossary book.

 

p673 , no 48, similar shape.

 

Perhaps something along those lines maybe, if not for a bow, maybe a crossbow.

 

Maybe be totally wrong, but interesting though.

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Haha, yes Brian, that would be nice. :Drool:

 

As to the arrowhead idea, Alex, this has to be a candidate. 

The dealer said he didn't know what it was, but I bought it anyway. I was discussing it nearby with two friends when I heard the dealer shouting, "It's a pole weapon for soldiers in an old Hina Ningyo set!"

"What, like a Naginata?" I asked. "Yes" he said.

Surprised, I asked him why he had said he didn't know. "It's a dealer's trick to make a sale", he said. You look at the customer and decide what to say or what not to say."

 

Some trick. Pretty pointless, if you ask me. But I cannot imagine a retainer holding a naked steel shaft like that. It would have to have a miniature haft, surely. 

 

This led me to the arrowhead thought, that perhaps the point of an old arrowhead, back when such things were still cheap, had been hammered out to make a rough representation of a nagamaki/naginata. (?) Many did have long nakago like this.

 

And on that note, it's time to hit the sack once more.

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2 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Bruce.

 

You can't leave it like that. It will only get worse. No choice now! You are the custodian, so roll up those sleeves. Gently does it... :glee:

Right!  So, no further speculation as to it's true meaning in life?  Letter opener?  Souvenir?  Re-purposed kozuka?

 

I'll start with the deer antler method and go from there.

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刀子 

Bruce, see post in previous page about ‘Tōsu’, or traditional handy knife. Whadja reckon?

 

PS Good luck, and keep us updated. I’d soak that in a mixture of white spirit and boiled linseed oil for a while before starting. Much of the red rust will then just mop off, and it will love the touch of your deer antler.

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1 hour ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Fukushima South NBTHK, 日刀保 "Nit-to-ho" for short. Love it. Just the blade, Dan, or the whole package with the lovely kozuka handle too?

 

That last character looks like 平 ...hira? Do you know what the first Kanji is?

Smith is Fujiyasu Masahira. Still alive and still working.

 

https://youtu.be/rPQn9DsDcWg

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I have put this one up quite some time ago, but here it is just for this thread.  The blade has a short, wide groove with gold characters in it.  It is not polished, but on that side I can see the ko nie of a hamon with a full-tempered point area.

 

BaZZa.

1319678539_Irondragonkozuka.thumb.jpg.d88cb70d1e66c2692f619b6b1a01d7ad.jpg

 

548737730_4022closeup.thumb.JPG.ca9be683f6d595a0c99c68d65f9ba9d6.JPG

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On 1/16/2022 at 9:23 PM, Bugyotsuji said:

. I’d soak that in a mixture of white spirit and boiled linseed oil for a while before starting. Much of the red rust will then just mop off, and it will love the touch of your deer antler.

Just for clarification, I’m going to boil the linseed oil first and then mix it with the white spirits?

 

Never mind! I found it, it’s called “boiled linseed oil”.

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Bruce,

buying the boiled linseed oil ready-made is recommended as it will produce a lot of oil smoke in the production. You do not want to do it inside a house!

There are different qualities available. For outside use you can work with 'normal' boiled linseed oil from the DIY store. This can contain so-called siccatives which are mostly cobalt and zirconium compounds. These are added to speed up the hardening (polymerization) process.

For items that get into contact with food it is better to use linseed standoil that has no additional chemicals.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/16/2022 at 6:45 PM, Bugyotsuji said:

Bruce.

 

You can't leave it like that. It will only get worse. No choice now! You are the custodian, so roll up those sleeves. Gently does it... :glee:

Ok, Piers, had my way with her!  Lot of hard rubbing with the deer antler and multiple soaks in the Mineral spirits/ lindsead oil.  Hard to see them in these photos, but the blade has fine yasurime-like lines diagonally across the full surface of the blade.

image3.jpeg

Polished Knife 2.jpeg

Polished Knife1.jpeg

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  • 1 month later...

Box of handmade tools once used by ‘K’, a Buddhist statue carver in Kyōto. The dealer told me this guy used to carve the Inro used as props in the Mito Kōmon TV series.


Five fine saws.

Two spiked gimlet/awl drills.

Four round files.

One… rounded blunt spike.

 

 

F4DBA353-2C9B-46CC-8DAC-40D2C0EDE69A.thumb.jpeg.1d9358b925d4838a2ba924dec63d4581.jpeg
 

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On 12/11/2020 at 7:41 AM, EdWolf said:

Here is my contribution to the small knife thread. The saya is well made and the arrow is painted by someone with good skills. The blade length is just under 11 cm.

Regards, Ed 

20201211_163456.jpg

20201211_163331.jpg

20201211_163243.jpg

20201211_163204.jpg

20201211_163051.jpg

 

 

onna-bugeisha blade, but a lot smaller then mine. I have a few around the home somewhere Koto and Shinto. 

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7 minutes ago, Baba Yaga said:

 

 

onna-bugeisha blade, but a lot smaller then mine. I have a few around the home somewhere Koto and Shinto. 

 

7 minutes ago, Baba Yaga said:

 

 

onna-bugeisha blade, but a lot smaller then mine. I have a few around the home somewhere Koto and Shinto. 

 

oopps called a  Kaiken. Wouldn't want the Nihonto auto correct after me.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thread drift maybe, but antique, Japanese, smaller, blades, check, check, check, and check.

 

Still not sure as to their original purpose but possibly making furniture for Hina Ningyo sets? Planes, various. Probably red oak, akagashi 赤樫.

鉋かな?Kan-na, ka na?

 

FB4BE8D4-F1E6-4B6B-B63F-081315868B08.thumb.jpeg.01e9ec3bc7882356831486616a84e0e5.jpeg

 

79E87F66-53F9-4307-889D-1D45E367D0A9.thumb.jpeg.8a1ff3a5df2c1452bc6bcb6af8080d2f.jpeg

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

I have some more candidates for this old thread. 

 

The first is what I always thought was a flower ceremony knife. I've had it for so long now that I've forgotten where it came from.

Anyway, to give thanks to the guy who has gone out of his way to polish some blades for me, I decided to give it to him at the Kurashiki sword display over the weekend.

"No thanks", he said, handing it back. 

Well, I've had this before in Japan, so I managed to hide the little hurts of disappointment. 

"So, what do you think it was?" I asked, to change the subject.

He reached for his smart phone and trawled the internet. "It's barber's razor!" he announced, making delicate shaving motions on his chin. He showed me some examples of antique razors. "See?" he said.

They were close, but no bananas, I thought to myself, still rather shocked.

Anyway I showed it to the folks inside the display room, and they all came up with different opinions. One guy said "Nata". Some noted that it had a hardened edge to it, a kind of hamon. "Mr N says it's a barber's razor!" I said, half laughing. Mr K the sword sensei seemed quite interested in it though, and turned it around several times in his hands.

 

Anyway I took it back home with me and last night started to search the internet. Under 華道 Kado, flower ceremony, I discovered 花鉈 Hana-nata; some of the illustrations were the spitting image. It’s got a flat muné to accept hammering. I sent the link to my Togi friend and colleague Mr.N, without comment. Today an answer came back. "Makoto ni shitsurei shimashita."

"Nani nani!" I replied, as in "it's nothing", and added a big heart mark.

 

So..................... I still want to give him something that he will like. Hmmm... but some of these old folks don't like the pressure of accepting a gift because it means that they will have to give something in return. Perhaps I will wait until after the Uchine blade comes back from him.

 

Photos of the offending blade below! :laughing:
 

IMG_0371.thumb.jpeg.018804a5d2bbc1f0c32769b18e2cccbc.jpeg

 

IMG_0370.thumb.jpeg.48198ae78d9027bfeea67e3ac2a03b35.jpeg

 

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Hi Piers,

it is a cute little knife (what are the dimensions?), and in my opinion the shape calls indeed for its use in KADO or more generally plants care. 

May I ask what "Makoto ni shitsurei shimashita" means?

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Jean, it is 22 cm overall, the blade being 10 cm long.

As to the Japanese, the simplest way of expressing it in English is “I am truly sorry.”

A more complicated answer might be, “Please accept my rudeness (bad manners) in doubting you (in front of others).”

The problem is that he is a real gentleman, and I would hate to think I may have offended him somehow in my clumsy Western ways, such as causing him to lose face in return. Aaaarrrrgggghhh… :bang:

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Ah, just had a message from him that the Uchine blade is nearing completion. :thumbsup:

 

He's on the same local steering board of the NBTHK committee, so I would like to keep him as an ally in any future difficulties. You never know when you might need a friend to vouch for you. Although Japan is peaceful on the surface, there are strong currents down below. (Speaking from past experience.)

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