ROKUJURO

Don't feel bad for it.

Thank you Brian, stuff to read through for a while! I hope the 1925 research on KUJI SATETSU is no longer secret now!

My next project in this field will be the restoration of woodworking tools (NOMI). It will probably take a short while....

Forest NINJA (please sign all posts with at least a first name plus an initial. It is a rule here so we can address each other in a polite manner. You can add your name to your profile), I have explained this several times here on NMB, but again: TAMAHAGANE is a very basic form of metallic iron. It can have differnt amounts of impurities (= NOT ALLOY METALS !). The low temperature of its production process (around 1250 - 1300°C) is not high enough to reduce other alloying element oxides that may be present in the iron ore (there are always other elements like manganese, chromium, silica, copper, titanium, a.s.o.). You cannot "mix in" other metals into the process unless you throw modern alloyed steel in the TATARA. Another method would be the OROSHIGANE process where iron can be carbonized but also modern alloyed steel could be introduced. Traditionally, this is of course not done. Steel alloys can only be made in hot liquified state - roughly 1.600°C or more. The TATARA process does not produce melted (= cast) iron, at least not in considerable amounts but more as an unwanted by-product. Nevertheless, even these small amounts of cast iron are sold and used by some swordsmiths to increase the carbon content of their steel. The TATARA method (comparable to the early European bloomery furnace) produces a very pure iron as far as alloy metals are concerned, but it is not "clean" in hindsight to impurities like silica and metals that are attached to it like titanium. So even in the 'best' TAMAHAGANE, you will find very small amounts of impurities. The traditional swordsmith does not care for them; he is solely interested in the carbon content. Carbon is introduced into the iron by the charcoal used in the process, but is is not automatically distributed homogeneously. There are spots with higher heat in the TATARA furnace where the iron takes on more carbon than in "cooler" places. This is why repeated forging (= stretching out, folding and fire-welding) is required later for refining. From a metallurgical view of the subject, differences in the appearance of sword-steel and its properties are mainly due to the work of the swordsmith. How he treated the metal in the long process has probably much more influence than tiny amounts of a few impurities. However, it is known that some elements like titanium can have an effect even in very small amounts in an alloy. Since there are no actual comparative scientific tests on authentic Japanese sword blades, we will probably not know much about this subject. However, ASANO TARO, a swordsmith in GIFU, has executed final fracture tests on a blade (on YouTube under asanokajiya).

No, we would never do that!

....and light from the side so the chiseled KANJI can be seen.

John, not nehonto, it is NIHONTO, and again, this is the NIHONTO section which means it is for traditionally made swords. Yours would belong into the military section in case it was machine made. And in WWII, there were no SAMURAI, so it is probably a military sword, called GUNTÔ.

Max. early EDO JIDAI, I think. But age is not important in these items. Quality and condition make the value.

Yes, possibly KIRI KOMI. But I don't think the TSUBA is very old, early EDO max. You are posting this in the NIHONTO section, but it belongs into the TOSOGU section.

John, I am asking basics to help assess the blade. A signature does not tell all that might be necessary, and if you want competent comments, we need good photos in the first place. As we strongly object any DIY polishing attempts, the actual condition of a blade is of interest and importance. The little that I can see on the less than ideal photos (maybe due to my old eyes) lead me to suspect that the blade was not traditionally polished. Usually, this leads to severe damage and loss of value. So please excuse my critical questions, but I think they were justified to come to useful answers to your inquiry.

Hi John, this made me curious. The blade WAS in bad condition and had even SCALE? So how was that condition changed to its actual shiny state and possibly rounded SHINOGI? Scale can occur when a steel object is exposed to fire/heat which for a Japanese sword means, it is destroyed.

He certainly did not "etch" anything in his blades. Signatures are chiseled with a TAGANE.

Of course as Jussi says. A cheap iron TSUBA in not so good condition was repurposed as BOKUTO TSUBA. Not common, but not very rare either.

If this blade was really shortened by so much as it seems by a first look, I would have expected a considerable material loss on the NAKAGO when it was shaped to the actual new dimensions. This would have resulted in a partial erasure in the HORIMONO and the broad BOHI. Although I like the HADA, some details of the blade are suspicious in my opinion.

Grev, a) and b) are meaning the same. As far as I know, in written Japanese, there is no separation of terms, so you might write TACHIKANAGUSHI (style) or TACHI KANAGU SHI (style).

Justin, buy books first, and read them. Read a lot here on NMB and look at pictures of good swords. Learn the terminology (It is WAKIZASHI, not Wakazashi, and it is FUCHI-GASHIRA, not Fuchi-Koshira). Take your time and enjoy the journey! Coming back to your question: When you have more knowledge, you could decide whether to repair your KOSHIRAE or have one made. Quite expensive! But you won't probably find a fitting KOSHIRAE on the market. On the other hand, you could learn to repair the SAYA, and even TSUKA-MAKI can be learned (if you are motivated and have enough patience).

William, I would not try to remove or clean anything on a sword. In case you had the money, get it in the hands of a TOGISHI (= polisher). You can try to slow down the corrosion by applying a thin layer of low-viscosity machine-oil, but take care that NO oil gets into the SAYA!

William, the TS)UBA photo is upside-down, and the contrast of the blade photos is low due to the bright background so there is not much to see for identification. The corrosion is also not helping. I think I see a SANBON-SUGI HAMON, and as Erik states above, the NAKAGO looks like one of a more recently made (WW II) blade. A good photo of the NAKAGO without HABAKI and light frome the side (blade-tip pointing upwards), made on a dark backgound, may reveal more. Do you see a stamp somewhere?

Okan, can I borrow your door for a while?

Thank you Gordon, for this valuable information! I will add it to the file.

That is truly a TSUBA veteran!

Hi Okan, I take it as a good sign in this situation that you can be on the "hunt" acquiring two very nice TSUBA! At first, I thought of NOSHI motif with the NORISUKE TSUBA, but now I think that it is HOTEI's sack. The CHOSHU TSUBA is also exquisite! Congratulations!

If the blade is shorter than 606 mm, it is a WAKIZASHI. If you want to post some good photos here on NMB, we could give you a comment. Appraisals are usually made in Japan. For translations, we have a translation section.

A new HABAKI alone would not solve the problem. The SHIRASAYA will also have to be restored.