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Absolutely outstanding! Hoanh

Eric, Do you have further specifications: price range, nagasa, koshirae vs. shirasaya, school, smith, etc.? Regards, Hoanh

This would be the fascinating historical period to which Stephen and Jean referred. http://www.to-ken.com/full.php?article=p00029&type=home Regards, Hoanh

Thank you gents for making it clearer for me. Warmest regards, Hoanh

Hi Paul, I agree with you that the blade illustrated by my pictures is not what we think of as hitatsura, but comparing it to Marius's just-sold blade http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17620-hitatsura-wakizashi/(which I clearly see as hitatsura), I see so many similarities, and it is these similarities that prompted my question. Note that in Marius's blade, the hitatsura is not so overt, but does show island of activities. However, in many of the pictures, you do see a lot of ara nie covering the ji, not unlike what is illustrated in my two pictures. Regards, Hoanh

Peter and Arnold, In my overly simplistic thinking, nie (especially ara nie) are formed by sufficiently high temperature in the metal and a sufficiently rate of cooling as the metal is quenched from its high-temperature state. This is how the yakiba is formed, is it not? If this is the case, and my thinking is not erroneous, then in the presence of uniform and ample ara nie in the ji, the entire sword may be thought of as a giant yakiba. As Peter pointed out, this is also the case with hitatsura. Then, what sets hitatsura apart? Is it the Swiss-cheese appearance? Is the "full temper" term we use interchangeably with hitatsura not quite correct, then? Below are a couple of pictures to illustrate my point. Keep in mind that the entire sword has the appearance depicted by the pictures below. Regards, Hoanh

Thank you for your insight, Paul. Regards, Hoanh

Greetings, I have a question that may be naive to most people, but I am going to ask it anyway. Where does one draw the line between hitatsura and having (relatively) large jinie that literally cover the entire ji surface? The extremes are easy to recognize (overt hitatsura versus subtle but evenly distributed ko nie on the entire ji), but when hitatsura is subtle and the jinie are large and overt??? What got me thinking about this is the wakizashi Marius just sold today. Any discussion is appreciated. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17620-hitatsura-wakizashi/ Regards, Hoanh

My personal preference is A. Hoanh

Dave, The polish on your sword looks OK, so I would not recommend having it polished. Polishing a sword costs a lot of money and removes precious metal from the blade, hence shortening its serviceable life. Hoanh

Thank you Ray! Hoanh

Do I see "Sukesada" at the very end of the mei? Regards, Hoanh

Just great...For the samurai who was afraid of gettin' mugged. Hoanh

Yes, it looks like the same sword. Hoanh

John, You have not gone senile. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17381-sword-for-sale/?hl=tadaaki Hoanh

Thank you Paul and Ian for your insights. Regards, Hoanh

Greetings, Why are daito in hira zukuri shape rare? Is it technically more difficult to forge and/or quench in this shape? I have searched in my reference books and on the web, but to no avail. Any insight is much appreciated. Regards, Hoanh

Very nice blade indeed, but a little rust is already forming just above the habaki. Please take care of the rust before it gets worse (and it will if left untreated). Regards, Hoanh

Hi Marcos, It's hard to tell anything remotely definitive from the pictures, but it's quite a nice sword. My observations: 1. Yes, most likely shinto. 2. Very nice hada and hataraki, no in-your-face coarse nie. It doesn't look Sue Seki to me. It looks to be much better work than Sue Seki. 3. The kissaki and boshi look OK to me. I can see the full turn-back on the (healthy) boshi, so there is no worry there. 4. I don't see evidence of shintetsu showing (as far as the pictures show), so I am inclined to say it's not tired. On the contrary, it looks to be quite healthy to me, but I am wrong more often than not... Nice sword! Regards, Hoanh

Chris, The fukure has already opened up. I don't think there is anything a togishi can do for you at this stage. If I were you, I would enjoy it for what it is in its current state. Warmest regardsm Hoanh

Chris, Is there something on the blade that makes you wary of fatal flaws? If so, a picture and description would be helpful. Also, fukure might open up when you polish a blade, unless the togishi knows how to handle it. So, I would tread lightly for this reason. Warmest regards, Hoanh

I admire your fortitude and self-discipline, Jean. The results speak for themselves. Warmest regards, Hoanh

Many, many thanks to all who helped me and pointed me in the right direction. Tassel found! Regards, Hoanh

Thank you Thomas. Bill does not have one in that price range, though. I'll have to be patient. Hoanh

I go with Stephen's original reading of Hiromitsu. I don't see Yasu at all. The date is May 1945. Showa period starts in 1926, so Showa 1=1925+1=1926, Shows 2=1925+2=1927, etc. Your sword says Showa 20=1925+20=1945. Stephen was giving you a hint to read the date. He was not giving you the date of 1925. Hoanh