JackDo Posted October 21 Report Posted October 21 Hello everyone, I recently acquired an old tanto blade from a flea market in Japan, and I would be very grateful if the experts here could help me better understand its origin and purpose. Here are some measurements and details: Nagasa (blade length): 23 cm Nakago (tang length): 8.5 cm Mekugi-ana: two holes, the first located about 3.5 cm from the machi, and the second about 1 cm apart from the first. The tang shows natural dark brown patina, not artificial rust. The blade edge is not sharp, and the kissaki (tip) appears to have been either intentionally ground flat or perhaps never sharpened. The overall geometry still follows the traditional tanto shape with a visible shinogi ridge. According to the seller, the blade had been stored wrapped in newspaper for a very long time, and some paper fibers seem to have fused into the rust on the surface. I would really appreciate your opinions on a few questions: Does this appear to be a genuine old nihonto blade , or could it be an unfinished ? How should I safely clean or stabilize the surface, especially the rust mixed with old paper residue, without damaging the patina on the nakago? Thank you very much for your time, patience, and for sharing your knowledge with newcomers like me. I really appreciate any guidance and feedback you can offer. Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Best regards, Quote
Zoglet Posted October 21 Report Posted October 21 1 hour ago, JackDo said: Hello everyone, I recently acquired an old tanto blade from a flea market in Japan, and I would be very grateful if the experts here could help me better understand its origin and purpose. Here are some measurements and details: Nagasa (blade length): 23 cm Nakago (tang length): 8.5 cm Mekugi-ana: two holes, the first located about 3.5 cm from the machi, and the second about 1 cm apart from the first. The tang shows natural dark brown patina, not artificial rust. The blade edge is not sharp, and the kissaki (tip) appears to have been either intentionally ground flat or perhaps never sharpened. The overall geometry still follows the traditional tanto shape with a visible shinogi ridge. According to the seller, the blade had been stored wrapped in newspaper for a very long time, and some paper fibers seem to have fused into the rust on the surface. I would really appreciate your opinions on a few questions: Does this appear to be a genuine old nihonto blade , or could it be an unfinished ? How should I safely clean or stabilize the surface, especially the rust mixed with old paper residue, without damaging the patina on the nakago? Thank you very much for your time, patience, and for sharing your knowledge with newcomers like me. I really appreciate any guidance and feedback you can offer. Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Best regards, I find it incredibly suspicious, especially looking at the condition of the nakago and the fact that the blade appears to be shinogi-zukuri, that the blade would be anything over 200 years-old, if even that old or unaltered. So far, I've only seen one example of a short blade in that shape, being a shinshinto Kaifu ko-wakizashi with a nagasa of 34.85 cm. I'm sorry to burst your bubble on this one. Best regards, Zoglet 1 Quote
JackDo Posted October 21 Author Report Posted October 21 Thank you very much, Zoglet, for your insights — I really appreciate your time and expertise! I’m not disappointed at all — I mainly collect these old blades out of curiosity and fascination, rather than for value. Here are a few more photos of the full blade (both sides and the spine) for better reference. The nagasa is about 23 cm and the nakago is 8.5 cm. The blade edge and tip are not sharp — it’s hard to tell if they were ever sharpened or intentionally left blunt. The blade has been kept wrapped in newspaper for many years, and some of that paper seems to have bonded into the surface rust. I’d really appreciate any advice on how to deal with this properly without causing further damage. Thanks again for your time and kind help! Best regards Jack Quote
xiayang Posted October 21 Report Posted October 21 The sugata does not suggest tantō to me – it rather looks like the fragment of a longer blade (wakizashi or katana) where someone crudely attempted to shape a new "kissaki". 4 1 Quote
Brian Posted October 21 Report Posted October 21 Almost certainly a real Japanese blade, but clearly broken off at the front and reshaped into a shorter blade. What you have is the rear half or 2/3 of a longer blade. 1 1 Quote
JackDo Posted October 21 Author Report Posted October 21 (edited) 2 hours ago, Brian said: Almost certainly a real Japanese blade, but clearly broken off at the front and reshaped into a shorter blade. What you have is the rear half or 2/3 of a longer blade. Thank you very much for the clarification! That makes a lot of sense — I did notice the kissaki looked unusually blunt and the overall sugata didn’t quite fit typical tantō proportions. I really appreciate everyone’s insights. If it’s not too much to ask, I’d be very interested to hear any thoughts about the possible period or school this blade might have originated from, based on the remaining nakago shape or yasurime. I completely understand that a reshaped fragment like this makes it difficult to determine precisely — I’m just curious from a learning perspective. Edited October 21 by JackDo Quote
ROKUJURO Posted October 21 Report Posted October 21 Jack, as mentioned above, this seems to be a broken-off piece of a longer blade. The tip has been ground by an amateur, and all features - HADA, HATARAKI, SUGATA....) are lost. It even might have been in a fire, considering the surface, or have served as agricultural tool. Just looking at the NAKAGO, it might have been a WAKIZASHI of some age, but in this condition, there is little chance to determine the exact age or tradition/school, I am afraid. 1 Quote
JackDo Posted October 21 Author Report Posted October 21 19 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said: Jack, as mentioned above, this seems to be a broken-off piece of a longer blade. The tip has been ground by an amateur, and all features - HADA, HATARAKI, SUGATA....) are lost. It even might have been in a fire, considering the surface, or have served as agricultural tool. Just looking at the NAKAGO, it might have been a WAKIZASHI of some age, but in this condition, there is little chance to determine the exact age or tradition/school, I am afraid. Thank you very much, Jean. I really appreciate your time and the knowledge you shared. I’m very excited to learn from everyone here and to understand more about the piece I have. Thank you again for helping me gain new insight — and I’m sorry if some of my questions sounded too naïve or curious. I’m still learning, and I truly enjoy the process. Quote
ROKUJURO Posted October 21 Report Posted October 21 Jack, we are all learning! No sweat! The question is what you can learn from items like yours. After a while, I think you will want to "upgrade" a bit to be able to get more information out of your treasures. That is basically the fun in collection items like these: We want to know who made them and imagine/speculate who might have carried them. 1 1 Quote
JackDo Posted October 21 Author Report Posted October 21 6 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said: Jack, we are all learning! No sweat! The question is what you can learn from items like yours. After a while, I think you will want to "upgrade" a bit to be able to get more information out of your treasures. That is basically the fun in collection items like these: We want to know who made them and imagine/speculate who might have carried them. Thank you, Jean. You’re absolutely right — that’s what fascinates me the most. Every time I hold a blade, I can’t help but wonder about its past — who made it, who carried it, what kind of life it had before ending up in my hands. That mystery is what makes this hobby so special to me. I really appreciate your kind insight! Quote
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