Question on Ware

[PKDA]

Good Evening Everyone,

I've been stopping by the NMB over the past year or so, finally joined last August. I've learned alot (which means I have much more to to go) and have been fairly amused at the wit and banter around here. Hopefully my questions will interest you without getting me too roasted for my Newbie status. So here goes.

 

Attached are some pictures of a katana made by Tohihide in 1930. The omote mei marks it as being made with some of canon steel from the battleship Mikasa. It is a graceful blade with a bit more elegance (IMHO) then you see in some of the typical WW II katans. Now the bad news. The person who listed the sword flagged it as having kitae ware. His photos did not highlight it as much as mine. My question is this... How bad are these flaws? Fatal? Not fatal but a definite deal breaker? Unfortunate but not the end of the world? You get the idea. I am considering trying to sell this blade and I want to be sure to represent it accurately. I have read Brain's "caution statement" on not quoting any answers received here as facts and I will follow his guidlines. Any assistance you can provide will be apprecited.

 

Thanks,

Kevin P.

 

 

 

 

[David Flynn]

This looks like, Fukure(blisters) to me. Probably not fatal, but the positioning, on the hamon in the monouchi area, is certainly a worry.

[sanjuro]

Hi Kevin.

 

These do look like slag inclusions as David has already said, and yes in this position they are of concern. They will of course impact upon the value of the blade. If however you make it plain to a prospective buyer that this is a flaw, then the onus is on the buyer to accept or reject the blade on that basis. That said, the blade has nice bohi and an attractive sugata which can be a very desirable features. As a study blade this may be of interest also. If priced well I should think there will be little trouble in selling it, but the price in the light of the flaws will be the final consideration (as indeed it often is).

[cabowen]

Horii Hideaki (Toshihide) made roughly 200 tachi from cannon steel from the battleship Mikasa, which is what this is.

 

The flaws are unusual for Horii, though keeping in mind he had to bang out 200 of these probably more or less in a mass production mode, with a lot of student help no doubt, it is to be expected.

 

Yes, they decrease the value. There are people who appreciate the rarity and historical importance of such blades and who are after the artifact more than the art. I sold one of these blades, badly out of polish, with no koshirae, for about $3500 some years ago. I would think you should be able to get nearly that, if the blade has its original koshirae, today.....

[Alan Morton]

Hi Kevin,

I would say that these are deep rust holes left by some ones fingers

many years ago. This is often seen in varying degrees when swords come

out of vets homes after being put away dry after being handled by novices

thumb on one side 2-3 fingers on the other side, even after gun shows.

They are often called carbon spots but I believe they are what is left of a

rust area when the majority of rust has been cleaned or scraped off

I would suggest speaking to a polisher who can tell you with a degree

of certainty what can be removed when polishing

 

Alan.

[PKDA]

Thanks for the information gentlemen. I had never thought to consider the idea these had been caused by rust. This theory would tend to be backed up by the fact that this blade is in a new (relatively?) shira saya. The shira saya is very well made and has an almost vacuum seal on it when closed. It struck me that someone obviously still considered the sword valuable when they made it. Possible scenario... the blade was polished down to the furthest extent deemed reasonable by the polisher and the new shirasaya was made for it?

 

BTW, please excuse my mistake in double posting this question. New to the boards, I didn't realize that this posting actually made it on. I thought I had messed something up when it didn't show in the Nihonto section. Is this section more appropriate for this blade even though it is a gendaito?