Showa gunto by Yoshihisa

[Kim25]

Hi experts! I am eyeing this sword for my husband’s birthday :-) 

It was made in Showa 16-year August. The sword also has a common Showa Tang. Didn’t see any other mark. So far, I was able to decipher the followings (or so I think - pls feel free to correct me). Kanji that I cannot make out are marked as ( * ). The last four characters refer to “Yoshihisa made this”

 

紙和( * )安来( * )吉久作之

 

Appreciate your help! 
 

Thank you

[Nobody]

紙和鋼安来以吉久作之 – From 紙和鋼 of Yasuki/Yasugi, Yoshihisa made this.

 

I am not sure about the correct reading of 紙和鋼.

“和鋼 (wako)” might be another general name of Tamahagane.

Ref. 和鋼 - Wikipedia

[uwe]

Can’t figure out how 紙 (shi/kami) is fitting in this context. Special name of a certain steel type of Yasugi?

[Bruce Pennington]

Yes, made with Yasugi steel.  I have several blades made by Kanemichi with the same inscription, and one from Masatsune.  I don't recall the disussion of this steel, but there were a few forges during the war that specialized in their own steels, and sort of bragged about it in the mei.

 

Kim, the small stamp at the top is the Showa stamp.  You blade was most likely made in 1940-1941.

 

It was a civil stamp used by the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association, tasked to weed out poor quality blades that were hurting the industry's reputation.  All the blades I've seen with the stamp were quite nice and good quality.

 

Edit: found the discussion.  Posted by @BANGBANGSAN:

"Before the war, Kisaku Ibe of Yasugi Steel Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Hitachi Metal Yasugi Factory, and others developed high-speed tool steel with electric steel for the first time in the East with the cooperation of Matsue Electric Light, establishing a further brand in modern steelmaking.

Currently, it is developed at the Hitachi Metallurgy Laboratory in Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture and is defined as the names of all special steels represented by tool steels for high-performance machines, such as blades and molds that require the strength of materials manufactured using advanced technology. These are registered trademarks as "YSS Yasugi Speciality Steel" (YSS stands for Yasugi Speciality Steel)."

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