ROKUJURO

Florian, no it would not, if the iron is really red-hot when punching. It is only one blow or two from each side. In the contrary, the iron can show a slightly proud "cushion" around the hole instead of thinning out the material.

Well Justyn, could you imagine a living person who buys as cheap as possible, who does not believe they made mistakes, and who does not learn from the items?

Jason, this seems to be a black and white photos, so I think it is difficult to see what the SEKI-GANE are made of.

Jack, the photo of the underside of the MENUKI is not good enough to make a guess if they are hammered into this shape or cast. Make some nicely focused photos on a dark, non-reflective background, this will enhance the contrast. Then post the photos as cut-outs.

Mike, you almost had the type of blade correct: It is MOROHA ZUKURI.

This ad was obviously two different blades, both not Japanese. No big loss, but yes, amateur restoration never enhances a sword.

Simon, only very good photos will give us an idea of what an item might be.

After re-reading about re-patinating SHAKUDO, I am no longer sure what causes the "self-healing" of the blue-black colour. It may well be the atmosphere or a combination of light and air. For those interested, there is a lot to read about it in the i-net.

Simon, with nicely focused, not blurred photos, made on a dark background, tip always oriented vertically upwards, and some close-ups of KISSAKI and NAKAGO, it would be easier to make a guess. Anyway, the blade length is just 2 SHAKU (= 606 mm) which means you have a KATANA. Details like HAMON or HADA are not visible on these images, as the condition is rough. The SUGATA is reminding me of early EDO JIDAI, as the blade has a very shallow SORI (often seen in KANBUN era blades).

If it was my sword, I would not just put oil on the NAKAGO but I would first clean off the red rust with a pointed piece of bone, antler, ivory, horn or copper.

Oil your NAKAGO Darcy Brockbank Japanese books say to leave the NAKAGO (the tang of the sword) to age, because the condition of it indicates how old it is. I think this is good advice for the mid-1600s. But we are past the Edo period now. Swords are historical treasures. If we continue to let NAKAGO “age gracefully” then there is a future where they turn into dust. Not now, not next century, but not so far past that. The black oxidated state of NAKAGO are fairly stable, but not perfectly stable. Otherwise, there would be no “graceful aging” at all. Logically, we cannot have it both ways, that the nakago is safe from eroding away and that different period nakago will show different aging conditions. If these nakago were not slowly rotting away on a centuries timescale, then they would hit a stable point and never change. In examining the NBTHK Juyo Token it is very frequent that signatures have become partially or completely obscured on old blades just from rusting away. The older the blade, the more likely the signature has wasted away. We see this as well on Shinto blades that have not been cared for properly. The lack of care has accelerated the rotting away of the nakago in these cases. But even in cases of well maintained blades, when we get to the Nanbokucho and even the Muromachi period, it’s very frequent that parts of signatures are missing. The major disaster here is that we are losing irreplaceable information. As well as irreplaceable examples. We are left in some cases now to guess the maker as important parts of the signature that would settle the question of who made the blade are missing. At this point we should be simply looking to lock everything in at the status quo and halt all slow erosion of the nakago as well as fast setting rust of the upper part of the blade, by making sure the nakago gets oiled as well as the upper. After oiling the upper part of the blade, you should take a fingertip of oil and use this to wipe onto the nakago. You may not have to oil the nakago as frequently as the upper, but this should be part of standard care practices at this time. Just because a Japanese book says to do something doesn’t mean it’s correct. Similarly, uchiko is a disaster that is accelerating the number of polishes being requested and executed, and thereby reducing the lifespan of existing swords. These processes have not been questioned, it is just something that people do because it’s how it’s always been done. Museums now will not let people take photos of paintings using flash photography because the photons from a million flashes will over time degrade the pigments in the paint. This is the same attitude we need to take to swords. That means, oil the nakago and don’t use uchiko ever. You wouldn’t rub the Mona Lisa with sandpaper. So you don’t do this with swords either. KINPUNMEI AND SHUMEI There is a special case with lacquer inscriptions. These are put in place by appraisers. Putting a sword in and out of a tsuka causes the nakago surface to rub and eventually removes these appraisal signatures. This is a major problem, because old Honami appraisals are also valuable parts of the history of the blade. There are innumerable examples of Juyo blades now with partially or fully illegible appraisals on them. Simply from the storage methods we use. This is a travesty and should not happen. It is a reflection of inadequate care procedures. I have had examples that passed through my hands with just traces of shumei left on them and when I saw the blade again 10 years later they were now completely gone. I don’t have a simple solution for this problem. Other than a loose fitting tsuka or a channel carved in the tsuka to specifically clear the mei. If you are having a shirasaya made for a blade with kinpunmei or shumei on it, you should consider asking for this. A channel carved over the attribution will protect it from wear. It will loosen the tsuka somewhat but unless you’re intending on cutting anyone down with the sword, this is I think a tradeoff you can live with. As well, do not oil over one of these lacquer inscriptions. Lacquer should not react with oil, but you should play it safe and furthermore, rubbing the mei with your fingers all the time will do harm over the long run. Anyway it’s something that bears some discussion in the community, because currently there is almost no action in terms of preserving these things and it means that centuries from now, they will be gone. Posted on August 6, 2017

The correct terminology is often the key to a better understanding. It has been mentioned before, but I will underline it here: There are no file-marks to be seen, it is (usually) a cross-hatched pattern made with a very sharp TAGANE. Gold or silver wire is punched (using a small TAGANE with a polished flat or very shallowly rounded tip) into this roughened surface where it sticks quite solidly. It is an ONLAY technique, not inlay. As mentioned above, the exceeding cross-hatched pattern is usually flattened with a MIGAKI-BO (burnishing steel rod). In this case, that step was omitted which results in a decorative but probably not high-end TSUBA. No evidence needed, everybody interested can read about it or watch the related videos.

It is a baby YODA. The photos are not nicely focused so details are not visible. Try a dark, non-reflecting background

Why should they? Chinese craftsmen could well have produced them in their homeland.

Florian, you get the same effect in case you use a small punch from both sides.

Alex, just expose it to the fumes of liver of sulfur (H2S), it works immediately.

Hi Colin, of course the TSUBA might have been hung on a wall and not freely. This would then explain the one-sided colour. Nicotine is an almost colourless liquid. What we see as brownish residue in smokers' rooms is tar. In case this settles on a TSUBA, you could easily wipe it off with a solvent agent.

Calabrese, soft metal alloys do not react exactly like their components. You cannot have "brass oxide" (or "steel oxide", for that matter), and the copper content will not react as if it was present as single metal. The same applies for the zinc in this alloy. Brass is a rather non-corrosive alloy, even under salt-water conditions. This is not the case for copper or zinc as such. As the TSUBA was possibly suspended as shown by Colin, I think I can keep my opinion up that not oxygen alone was the cause of the darker colour on one side. As far as I know, SHAKUDO darkens under the influence of UV light, so my assumption the TSUBA might have been made of KURO SHIBUICHI. As Colin has seen the TSUBA in hand, he can give a better guess what it actually is made from. I would like to mention that sulphuric gases (H2S and SO2) have a strong darkening effect on brass. However, a freely suspended TSUBA would show this effect on both sides. The colours (= patina) that can form on brass are mostly caused by sulphides, not oxides. Gold (platinum, palladium) does indeed not react with oxygen.

Calabrese, as brass is an alloy, there is no "brass oxide". If the different colouring was caused by oxygen, why would it only affect one side? I could imagine that this is not brass but SHIBUICHI with a SHAKUDO content (called KURO SHIBUICHI) which makes it react to light as Colin suspected. There are also TSUBA with different alloys on the faces but that would often show on the MIMI.

Thank you Colin! When I realized my mistake it was too late to make a correction. As far as the "Anglos" are concerned, it is sometimes difficult to decide if they were from northern Germany or southern Scandinavia. In any case, these early "Damascus" artists on the "Tin Islands" were Anglo-Saxons. It is not completely known when exactly the Vikings developed their almost identical forging technique. It was probably around the same time as the Anglo-Saxons. However, quite soon, they ceased to forge Damascus steel when they found out that the Franks (their enemies) made better swords with improved refining methods.

Of course not, John! I thought of the others.

It is amazing to see what a little provocation can make with grown men! Must be great fun to Deanna to see how easily men can be manipulated...

Yes, that is bad.

I cannot get excited about an old woodblock print, one way or the other. I see it, I may grin a bit, and I forget it. In my opinion, not worth an argument. We have naked swords, that is just porn enough, at least for me.

I know Alex, there are some, I have one of my own. But what is the reason they were not signed?