SAS

I have had a number of strange issues with electronic devices, still trying to get better photos; last photos revealed some issues that still needed to be addressed, so I have gone back to chunagura stage to address them. Here is a shot from the last series. Still hoping for some ideas about school/period; I am leaning toward Soshu or Mino, early to mid Shinto. Hope for more responses, please.

PS as far as removing a glued on tsuka, I have (once) used a heat gun very carefully to degrade the glue to remove the tsuka on my Paul Chen Hanwei sword for the purpose of checking the structural integrity of the "nakago", followed by judicious tapping with a mallet against a wooden block on the tsuba.

Quote…" Any guesses at what might be under the handle before reveal?" My first reaction was "Greetings From China!" but I held back in case my ignorance was revealed. However, this type of grain structure is composed of alternating layers of higher and lower carbon steel. This is not a traditional approach to blade making in Japan. Also, as was noted, the layers show the effects of acid etching, a technique rarely used in Japanese polishing, and certainly not in this way. This is a nontraditional polish, as stones would result in a different appearance. Aside from the strange China-esque hada, the whole package just looks too "newly aged." I stand ready to be corrected if wrong.

Looks like saiha in some of the photos.

New photos, sorry for poor quality, will try my other device ASAP. Any ideas as to school/period? Thanks, Steve

I didn't say it WAS Chinese, only that it could seem that way due to the koshirae and the lack of sufficient detail in the blade. I mainly was making the point that far better deals are available from members here who have established good reputations, which in the Nihonto world, is invaluable. You will save a lot of time and head scratching that way if you are intent on purchasing your first sword.

Answered on other post.

I think you will do far better to buy a sword from a NMB member instead of looking at all the dodgy stuff that is for sale in the big world. This sword is unimpressive to me and makes me think it was made in China, I could be wrong.

Too many strange things there for me, I would look for something better; there are a ton of nice wakizashi available for sale.

All uchiko is not equal in my humble opinion. I have only used Bob Benson's uchiko as it is made from the finest powder of the finest stones after polishing, drying, etc. Cheap uchiko is a car crash of enormous proportions.

Better, but photos of the whole sugata and nakago would help more.

Perfect, thank you gentlemen! Exactly what i was seeking, arigato!

Greetings to all; I am curious as to the method that sayashi use to create the pockets for kogai and kozuka to fit into….can anyone enlighten me? I have not found this method in my web searching. Thanks, Steve

I think you will have better luck with more even lighting.

I got so bombed with ads and switched to another page, couldn't figure out how to navigate back, didn't even have a chance to really look at the sword. Thanks a bunch.

Very good article, you sound as obsessed with perfection as I am, perhaps an unobtainable goal but one must try, eh?

Don't have my books out and kantei is not my forte, but it looks Koto to me.

Sorry, can't help on the mei, but the koshirae looks like Imperial Court wear. Nice patina on the nakago…..I always wonder why they drilled so many ana instead of making a new tsuka from scratch and using the old hole.

I can't speak to the mei, but I would definitely try to clean off that thumbprint ASAP.

Upon further reflection, my opinion is that this is a real traditionally made Japanese sword, most likely cut down (broken front end) from a katana, either shinto or shinshinto. It seems to be a well made sword as there are very few openings in the steel. The hamon is nioi in notare form and is present from machi to kissaki. Boshi form is Jizo (Buddha head"). I am open to being corrected and any information or opinion is valued; thank you. I will probably take this to Bob Benson for an opinion when I go to Hawaii this fall.

Ah, thank you, I guess I misunderstood what Satsuma age is…..I thought it was when a sword broke near the nakago and another nakago was formed on the broken end. Hmm, been away from my books too long. Can anyone tell me from the photos if this even seems to be a Japanese blade? What remains of the original lines seem to be better than the average Chinese fake, but I have not eliminated that as a possibility.

There are numerous grinding marks along the entire length of all surfaces including the nakago. I added a couple more photos but what is there is probably representative of what there is to see.Secondary bevels have been heavily ground into the ha and kissaki. One photo shows what looks like kizu from lamination during welding.

Last photo was the hamachi, I meant to post the munemachi, trying again.

Thanks for the reply; I expected that response, but as a Japanese style smith who polishes my own work, and is familiar with what trained Japanese polishing is and what it costs, this blade is unlikely to benefit from either the cost of evaluation or restoration by a Japanese trained polisher. It is not even clear whether this is even a traditional Japanese blade. Specific feedback is appreciated. PS Don't worry, my grinder is still in storage just kidding, I am not jumping off the cliff with this.

There is some indication that this blade was laminated as per traditional blades; I am unable to determine the hada but it seems very fine. If this is a real Nihonto, could this be an example of Satsuma- age suriage?