Old wakizashi identification

[Alex1984]

Hello. Merry Christmas! Help me please. Can you tell by the blade what kind of school it is and about a year of production? Yours faithfully. 

[Alex1984]

General form. Photo quality deteriorates due to compression. I don’t know what to do.

[Alex1984]

Made a better photo. No manufacturer name.

[Surfson]

Probably made between 1500-1700 is my guess.  Hard to guess the school in the current condition.  It is my sense that it has been shortened, so the tang has been altered.   Sometimes the shape of the tang can be helpful in determining the school when the steel and tempering is not visible.

[Alex1984]

7 minutes ago, Surfson said:

Probably made between 1500-1700 is my guess.  Hard to guess the school in the current condition.  It is my sense that it has been shortened, so the tang has been altered.   Sometimes the shape of the tang can be helpful in determining the school when the steel and tempering is not visible.

Thank you very much for your reply. The condition of the blade is not very good. Perhaps as you say, he was pointed.. 

[Geraint]

Dear Aliaksandr.

 

With an out of polish mumei blade and no measurements not a lot of information is going to be forthcoming.  Suggestion:  You have the blade in hand as it is now, looking at it, what do you think has happened to it?  What size is it now and what size would it have been when originally made?  Are there any indications of yasurime and if so what are they? How about the thickness?   Some of these things might lead you to a period but without hada and hamon information that is about all you can get.

 

Let us know what you work out.

 

All the best.

[Alex1984]

10 minutes ago, Geraint said:

Dear Aliaksandr.

 

With an out of polish mumei blade and no measurements not a lot of information is going to be forthcoming.  Suggestion:  You have the blade in hand as it is now, looking at it, what do you think has happened to it?  What size is it now and what size would it have been when originally made?  Are there any indications of yasurime and if so what are they? How about the thickness?   Some of these things might lead you to a period but without hada and hamon information that is about all you can get.

 

Let us know what you work out.

 

All the best.

The total length is 43 cm. The thickness of the tailpiece 6mm narrows down to 4mm. The hamon is not visible. 

[Geraint]

Dear Aliaksandr.

 

When measuring Japanese blades the nagasa is the distance from the kissaki, tip, to the machi, notches at the ha and mune.  With me so far?  At a rough guess your 43cms minus 11.5cms = 31.5cms.  If you think the nakago has been shortened as Bob suggests then try to work out from the position of the mekugi ana what length this would have been when originally made.  This is assuming the lower mekugi ana, the one nearest the end, is original.  Just for arguments sake lets say another 5cms.  If all this is the case then you have a sword that was originally a hira zukuri wakizashi of about 36.5cms.

 

Do you have references such as "Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords"?  If not then you need this and one or two other books.  They will tell you when hira zukuri wakizashi were made and as you get your eye trained other things will help you get to the period.

 

All the best. 

[Alex1984]

10 minutes ago, Geraint said:

Dear Aliaksandr.

 

When measuring Japanese blades the nagasa is the distance from the kissaki, tip, to the machi, notches at the ha and mune.  With me so far?  At a rough guess your 43cms minus 11.5cms = 31.5cms.  If you think the nakago has been shortened as Bob suggests then try to work out from the position of the mekugi ana what length this would have been when originally made.  This is assuming the lower mekugi ana, the one nearest the end, is original.  Just for arguments sake lets say another 5cms.  If all this is the case then you have a sword that was originally a hira zukuri wakizashi of about 36.5cms.

 

Do you have references such as "Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords"?  If not then you need this and one or two other books.  They will tell you when hira zukuri wakizashi were made and as you get your eye trained other things will help you get to the period.

 

All the best. 

Thanks for the answer. I'm just a beginner. Of course I really want to learn how to understand Japanese swords like many on this forum. Can you please tell me what available literature I could read to get more information? Sincerely, Alexander

[Geraint]

There are a few good starting point. https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/connoisseurs-book-Japanese-swords/author/kokan-nagayama/        and     https://www.waterstones.com/book/facts-and-fundamentals-of-Japanese-swords-a-collectors-guide/nobuo-nakahara/9781568365831

 

If you are just starting a library then something like this one is a fun read and has some good illustrations, https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780804847346/Cutting-Edge-Japanese-Swords-British-0804847347/plp

 

I am sorry that I have no recommendations in languages other than English, perhaps other members might help here. 

 

 

 

Trust me, this is the start of something big!  Enjoy!

 

All the best.