gtstcactus Posted February 27, 2011 Report Posted February 27, 2011 Hi people, Well I auctioned off my "uninteresting" (as one member put it) Satsuma wakizashi. It sold for more than double what I paid.... So I've put the money in for another wakizashi, this time with a nice polish, it's in shirasaya It's Mumei has a 523mm nagasa. Overall length 669mm 2 piece copper habaki Some small staining on kissaki and mune. Shirasaya has some minor dents. I will put up the best pics I've got for now... Any info / comments appreciated... Jason G Quote
Marius Posted February 27, 2011 Report Posted February 27, 2011 Jason, Well done with your sale As to this wakizashi - what strikes me is the unusually wavy hamon and broad yakiba, the fact that despite the sword having been shortened, the hamon starts above the hamachi (yaki otoshi) Also, the condition of the nakago is not good (I cannot see yasurime, the patina looks dry). Difficult to judge from photographs, but maybe this blade has been retempered (saiha). Quote
gtstcactus Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Posted February 27, 2011 Jason, Well done with your sale As to this wakizashi - what strikes me is the unusually wavy hamon and broad yakiba, the fact that the hamon starts above the hamachi nut does not look like a yaki otoshi on, say an Osaka shinto blade. Also, the condition of the nakago is not good (I cannot see yasurime, the patina looks dry). Difficult to judge from photographs, but maybe this blade has been retempered (saiha). Sorry I'm not the best with all the terminology........ I think I get what the hamachi / machi is. yaki otoshi is when the hamon starts an inch or so above machi, so a tiny bit of blade has no temper line??? What do you mean by an osaka shinto blade? Do you mean it could be from the osaka shinto school? I googled osaka shinto school and it came up with lots of swords by the school and it seemed they were reputable. Have I understood right? Could you put a guess on an age? An american smith looked at photos and best he came up with is it appears to be of quite some age. Does the end of the tang look to have once had a mekugi hole? is this a shortened blade perhaps? My limited range of books only mentions osaka ishida group / school... So do you think I've done better this time? Quote
pcfarrar Posted February 27, 2011 Report Posted February 27, 2011 Echizen Shimosaka school might be a possibility. Quote
gtstcactus Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Posted February 27, 2011 Echizen Shimosaka school might be a possibility. Could you help me learn.... are you able to tell me what makes you draw that possible conclusion? or is it just a case of having seen heaps of nihonto you "just know"? Did you mean the smith or the school? thanks for your input! Quote
Marius Posted February 27, 2011 Report Posted February 27, 2011 What do you mean by an osaka shinto Sorry about that, I have confused two simple things. Apologies. I have edited my post accordingly. What I wanted to say, was that one would not expect a yaki otoshi on a shortened sword. Hence my suspicion it has been retempered. A wide yakiba (tempered part of the edge) in connection with a worn hamachi is an additional indication of a possible saiha (retempered blade). Quote
pcfarrar Posted February 27, 2011 Report Posted February 27, 2011 Sword looks ubu to me, I don't think its been shortened. The notare hamon, wide nioiguchi, and shape look like some of the Shimosaka swords I've seen in the past. I'm not sure on the the yakiotoshi though Quote
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