paulb

I agree with Brian. Both George and Tom have offered some interesting insights in to why one might decorate habaki in this way. Both seem reasonable propositions. In the case of the rat we will never know the reality. It is small as can be seen on from the images above and my thinking is that it was likely used on a small tanto used as art of a brides outfit. But again this is pure speculation on my part. Many thanks for sharing your thoughts

You are absolutely right Geraint but these diversions can be very informative, especially between two such learned members. Regarding the sword the answer is a very small one see images below. The other habaki is from a shinto wakizashi pretty standard size and form

Mark, I am sorry I read Grev's mail and responded to that without realising your question in the original post Yes I agree with you I think Gunome/toran is as good a description as any. What you cant see in the images is how broad or tight the nioiguchi is or what activity, if any is within the hamon

I am also a fan of suguha, or at least hamon largely based on suguha. In a really good Suguha hamon as seen in Yamashiro blades and later in good Hizen work there is a great deal of activity to see, it is just a lot more subtle and less obvious. It forces the observer to look more closely and therefore study the blade in more detail.

+2

ah sorry I was being thick!!!

sorry gentlemen, you have lost me. Am I being thick or is this something only the southern hemisphere would appreciate?

A while ago a friend, knowing I had a liking for illustrations of rats /mice in fittings ( some people go for dragons I just like mice/rats!!), gave me the habaki shown below. I have not seen one decorated in this way before and it seems a very strange thing to do. By its nature it would be worn down very rapidly. Has anyone else come across this type of decoration before?

Yes I agree I have seen it most commonly in Satsuma blades, usually the lower quality ones. As you say they tend to club together in to chunks which I find rather unattractive. Is there any research on how it's presence material effects the performance of a blade. I would think it might increase the chance of brittleness and cracking but that s a guess not based on evidence.

To be honest it depends where it occurs. As a general guide I prefer ko-nie especially in the ji-hada. Ara-nie is ok in sections of the hamon but it can start to clump together and become ugly. As with so many other features whether it looks good or not depends on how it blends and harmonizes with other activity in the blade. below some images of nie (I would almost describe as ara nie ) in an Aoe blade and some on a Soshu blade

Lets not get too carried away gentlemen, it is early days and yes there are some issues while people get used to the changes. I don't see any change currently regarding import duties or VAT on antique swords. I guess services such as restoration may be a different issue. Don't get me wrong I was very keen to remain part of Europe and hold Farage, Johnson and co largely to account but please don't forget the part Brussels played in this and the original problem which created the initial platform for Farage to perform on. They were also part of the separation agreement so carry equal responsibility for any disruption in the system.

only if they vote for independence or I should say get the opportunity to and then vote to leave. We all tend to get a very one sided view from the media and there is no doubt Nicola is a very good politician and is great at manipulating situations to her advantage (i.e. suggesting that an sudden increase in Covid in Scotland was seeded by the English crossing the border. ) But there is a large part of the community that don't follow her or trust what she says. It may be the Scots vote for independence but it is a far from given that it will happen. I truly hope not.

interesting blade Roger well done. I am fascinated by Yoridoshi. In effect they are glorified spike but the effort that went in to making them was every bit as great as for other tanto. I was wondering what additional challenges, if any, hardening the edge and boshi on a blade of this thickness might have> anyway that's two interesting tanto you have shared with us thank you

One of the first swords I got really excited about was a ko-Senjuin blade sold as part of the A.Z. Freeman collection. Interestingly when Professor Freeman bought it it had a gimei to Rai Kunitoshi but was told if the mei was removed it would obtain Juyo attribution. It did, to ko-Senjuin. I am not sure what this tells us about the quality of the sword or attribution but the blade itself was beautiful. Having said that I have subsequently seen several Taema works where the jigane was just outstanding and very beautiful. However I think a point Kirill makes should be expanded a little. In all of the Yamato traditions I have seen, with the possible exception of Hosho where I haven't seen enough to say, the quality varies considerably. Tegai blades by Shodai Kanenaga are outstanding. Later Tegai work mediocre. Some early Shikkake work from the first two generations signing Norinaga were also very high quality but later Shikkake work uninspiring. I find Taema the most consistent of the schools (but this is based on a relatively small sample base) and of the highest quality. I don't think their reputation is based on them being talked up or oversold I think they were just very good.

Sorry Michael but I for one must dissappoint your desire for debate. I agree with the widely held view that Taima was the finest of the five Yamato schools. The jigane, the ji-nie and general high quality hada means the best taima is often mistaken for the work of the famous soshu Smith Yukjmitsu

Welcome to the NMB Tomas When you are starting out eBay is not the best place to look. There are some good sellers there but there are also a lot of less than good ones and it is a minefield. You would do much better making contact with some local collectors/dealers and there is a strong Australian contingent on this board. Talk to them about what you want and take their advice. The sword you are looking at has some major issues. It may be that it would polish, it depends how deep that heavy rust goes. The cost of doing it would be far more than the current bid price and the results far from certain.

Excellent work Jussi. Thank you very much. This is a fantastic reference and a great effort

Hi JP I think we are entering the grey realms of interpretation. This is opinion rather than fact but I think all of these features are created by nie amalgamating into liner structures. Possible exception being potato vine which I think is different quality steel. If they are nie based the colour will depend on the polish and viewing orientation so all can appear black, white or bright and sparkling

Hi George, Happy new year Potato vine, Imozuru, is as far as I have seen, been used to describe a feature almost exclusively seen in Satsuma blades. It is a very dark, almost black line running within the hamon. The Oshigata you posted shows an almost continuous line (or lines) running parallel to the hamon. Personally I would call it sunagashi. Inazuma and kinsuji tend to run more randomly through the hamon or in the case of inazuma outside as well. Sunagashi tends to follow the linear weld lines of the ji running in the hamon. Potato vines seem to do whatever they want but are generally noted as being very dark/black.

I have had the pleasure of working with Ray on a number of projects and can safely recommend him as a very safe pair of hands, a gentleman and someone very easy to work with. Good luck and I wish you success here

Hi Bruce I think JP is right it looks to have elements of early sanbonsugi which was originated made famous by the Seki smiths in the Kanemoto lineage. Later generations tended to make a more contrive pattern sticking to rigid 3 peaks grouped together but the earlier ones were more natural. The Mino school had great influence on many other later schools so it is seen in a lot of Shinto and later work.

For what it is worth Roger I like it to. All sits together nicely and is an interesting piece. Don't get too put off by the "run of the mill" type comment. Everyone's perception of quality is different and often influenced by whether they like a particular decoration or style or not. Your piece looks well made of good quality and in good condition. I also think the blade has more to tell you when you have it in hand well done Paul

I guess one of the factors that caused people to question whether modern smiths could reproduce real utsuri was whether one believes it is a result of forging and hardening technique alone or whether the composition of the steel played a part. Many references discuss different characteristics within jigane being a result of differences in regional manufacture of tamahagane. I know this has been questioned more recently, not least on this board, however it was often referred to and might explain why utsuri produced by different schools varied so much. If this was the case then the purist might argue that modern smiths, lacking the raw material available to past masters were able to something that approximated original utsuri but wasn't actually the same. If utsuri is purely a result of technique and not influenced by the chemical composition of the steel then there is no reason modern smiths couldn't create it.

The majority of the Church collection is in the Ashmolean. we were fortunate to be able to see pieces from it at our first Token of GB study day there in 2016. Hopefully we will see more if our planned visit in October next year goes ahead.

Not sure of your timing but don't worry too much. One of two things may happen: 1. Things will settle down and as people become familiar with the new situation it will be easier. 2. Nicola and her team of independence enthusiasts will leave the UK and apply to become part of the EU again Not saying which would be best but either way it should not prevent you from fulfilling your dream