jensen6865

Hi, I again feel like a blind man! I took the picture looked at it and didn't discern that line! That's great. I have to go back and look more carefully at all of the photos! I will practice angles and lighting. You guys are the best! If you all see anything else that might help me on this road, please let me know. I want to be able to take some of them myself, but to get started in the right direction is really nice. Thanks, Dan

Hi Ken, That is an awesome photo! Is it Nioi on either side of the Nie Line? Dan

Ken, With what you can see, would you say I should be looking for a school in Nie or Nioi deki. Even your guess is better than my figuring with my inexperience. Thanks,Dan

Yes, I got a Canon EOS Rebel for a really good deal. I still have to learn how to use it, but already better than my old little compact thing! Dan

Thanks guys. I try it a little farther back and some different angles of light. The polish is not good enough to really see the hamon unless you are just right. Any secrets for telling Nie from Nioi in this state of polish. Read everything I could find on which neki it would be. I think I just need to see more blades first hand. thanks, Dan

Finally had time to get a new camera so I could take better shot of blade. Trying to decide which hada this would be called. Just when I think by a thousand pictures I know the difference, I look at this and in with not a good polish... The hada really stands out and looks like you could feel it with your fingernail, but totally smooth. Itame? W/mokume? There is very little taper on the nakago from polishing, but from previous posts about it really early pre-suraige ones might not show. Really low shinoji almost parallel on either side of bohi, but almost 7.5-8 mm kasane. Any hints or guesses I can put with previous info would be greatly appreciated. Still no books, but lots of time on internet reading and looking. With a 31.7mm motohaba and 25.4mm sakihaba, 16mm sori, 20mm nakago, 67.6mm nagasa, sugata-nambokucho/early muromachi? suguha hamon (very slight waves), very slightly kosi-zori? The hamon looks like a small line of bigger crystals Nie? then maybe cloudy white to edge? Any help would be great on how to proceed. Thanks Dan

Hi all, Wow, I feel stupid! I have been reading and looking and had not read any description which specified the haba is form ha only to top of shinogiji and not the total width! Thank you Chris! You who are experienced may forget that your statements in passing can instruct the rest of us. Thank you for continuing to reply to posts and let us learn from your knowledge. Thanks, Dan P.S.- Now I have to go remeasure the blade I am trying to identify.......Just when I thought I was getting a little grasp of........

Hi Geraint, Thank you very much! I'll check it out now. Appreciate your forthrightness in your posts that I have read. So many of you more experienced members are obviously not only passionate, but because of that have a love for the truth of the situation. I love it! Even if what we find we have is useless and tired, I want to know the truth about it! Thanks, Dan

Hi all, I am reading and looking to learn more and understand as well. This large sword I have from Dad is a real learning experience! (sword2.jpg). If it is a Nambokucho/Muromachi period blade how deep(?) would the hamachi usually be originally? Since this appears to be suriage is there a rule of thumb of how deep they would make them? This blade is: motohaba- 1 1/4"+ (32mm+) and the sakihaba is 1"+ ( 26mm+). Since this blade is so wide the hamachi looks really small, but if you ignore the small chip there and use a small straight-edge it is almost 2.5mm deep. (0502.jpg) Is this really that small? I am trying to figure out if it is really polished very much. The motokasane is very even through this area, but I realize not that that could be adjusted during suriage. Is there a term usually applied to say a blade is really wide/big?

Hi guys, Thanks alot for the information and ideas. I'm reading and looking whenever I have a chance and I am starting to have a little bit of understanding. This blade nagako has been lightly sanded or something like it, probably to see if there was anything at all underneath. I am afraid I would have done it too just a few short weeks ago if I had not talked to all of you when I found these blades! I now get just how terrible and unforgivable it really is! You can still see a few places on it where it wasn't sanded or eq. and it it pretty deep? still. I am trying to get a picture that shows the hada better. Difficult with such a sad state of polish. It does have a definite grain. Fairly fine. Looks like the hamon has Nie spots along it that I can make out where polish isn't quite as bad. Will try oil and different angles and light. Thank you all, Dan

Hi, I was wondering if this katana's hada and boshi help specifically to narrow down school/era etc? Marius K. took a quick guess early on and based upon the shape maybe Nambokucho/Early Muromachi. Don't have any more books yet and was wondering if these and a thick kasane of almost 8mm would fit? Thanks again, Dan

Hi all, In small box in Dad's old trunk, with the two swords I have shown, is a collection of fitting pieces. This tsuba? is about 75mm diameter, about 4mm thick. Looks like small dent on rim where there is a slight bend, looks like got hit with something. Iron is slightly rough, strange texture, not like sand cast. Any information, gut instincts, direction to take in research would be very much appreciated. Thank you all again, Dan

Hi, A few more pictures that may help with what I don't see and don't know yet how to word. The nakago has been sanded or cleaned off at some time, perhaps to try and see mei. With the bad state of polish you can just see some of the hada in the pictures. Very tight and straight compared to what my katana is. Dan

How do I miss something as obvious as only one mekugi-ana! I see, all of the ones I have been looking at have at least two. So focused upon the suguta I didn't even think to fit that in yet. Thank you Chris, Dan

Hi all, WOW! I know I'll clueless still, but what you all see so quickly still amazes me. I am still stumped by a Japanese term I'm not yet familiar with! Thank you so much. I have been reading to see a simple safe way to try and get pictures of hamon/ hada etc without messing with polish. Have to resist the temptation to just crocus cloth to get a better view! Thanks for the information and direction. Question please what is Sabi? Thanks, Dan

Hi Chris, Thank you for the thoughts, I will begin there. I am amazed at the way you can see so much so quickly. Beginning to see it takes a lot of viewing and reading to have the "eye". thanks, Dan

Hi all, Second of the swords I got from my Dad, found in an old trunk. My sibling have most of the ones we already knew about from the Occupation. He was with the 158 Bushmasters. Hira-zukuri Wakizashi Nagasa-15 5/8" Moto haba- 1 5/16" Boshi appears to turn back pretty far. Nothing done, but a little oil on blade for pictures. Any ideas where to start the research? Thanks, Dan

Hi all, I finally got around to cleaning and oiling the blade and I can just make out that the boshi is Ko Maru. The hamon and boshi are the same line heading through the yokote onto the kissaki. I have read Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese swords and learned a lot. Question- Is it really a possibility that this blade is not really o-suriage at all? It doesn't seem to fit anything I see on the blade at all. The hamon runs so far down into the nakago and how it is all shaped wouldn't fit if I understand what I am looking at. Question- Is it possible that the machi being small is not just from polishing, but because they wanted the original habaki to fit? Sure seems from what he says about the thickness that this one is not really polished down after suriage. Thank you, Dan

Hi all, I got some fairly good pictures of the nakago. Hope the angle and light show what is needed. Getting better at pictures that are in focus. Thanks, Dan

I will get on that and try to get some good views as quickly as I can. Thank you, Dan

Hi, Yes, after looking at the Ko-mihara nakago I really how roughly done this one is! I am afraid the original sword maker would have probably rolled over in his grave! Busy or not very good-who knows, but just how the filing is done..., but the actual hammer work(?) to reshape thickness and taper is pretty good. The Ko-Mihara nakago is only about 6 1/2"+ long, this one is about 8". Question-Is there commonly a big difference in them? Answer-(OK- this sure feels pathetic, me trying to answer a question) That Ko-Mihara blade only shows polish just a little onto nakago, so at first I thought it was not much suriage, but then I thought, tapering/reshaping nakago could get rid of polish lower down, then looked at the mekugo ana and I don't have a clue now. Question-Is it possible they betray much suriage? Thank you so much, I really appreciate learning and being directed. Dan

Hi all, Was doing some more comparing of sugata. These two look very, very similar to me. One is listed as a Ko-Mihara ca.1350 on http://www.nihonto.ca. When they are sized the same and brought next to each other (I'm sorry I couldn't get the picture of both together to work) they look identical in sugata and although the sori may look slightly different when these two photos are viewed the listed sori is almost the same. What elements are used to determine period? Are they used in a list of priority or is the result of lots of experience? I am pretty certain I know the answer to this one... but can't a guy hope? Thanks, Dan P.S.- I found and ordered the "Fact and ..." Book.

Hi, OK... Looks actually like it a little more than just the distance between them. Question- Did they ever reforge just the nakago end to soften it to work it more easily? This nakago is so thick and wide compared to so many I have looked at. Might the tempering color at one point be the result of it? Alright, actually questions! Thanks Dan

Hi Geraint, I see what you mean. I went and measured and the distance between is 2 1/4", which would give a nagasa of 28 7/8". I'll see if I can find that book-Thank you for the direction. Dan

Hi Barry, Thank you! I will try some oil and see if I can identify it. Dan