Klaver

Yes, I agree the Hazuy and Hadori stones are uchigumori, but they have different purpose, the hadori is most finest, smallest and does not have any sharp angles. So they are prepared different, so you will have different results otherwise they will not have the step by step technique. So this will effect the hamon and the habuchi, like said before the polishers wants to bring out the hamon clearly. The effect on the jizuya stone, it turns out to be more white, right? You also have some different hardness between “in” the stones, so this will affect also. I am not pretty sure how the tanpan polishing will effect the area from shinogi to hasaki if you use it with lower ratio, it will effect the hamon with colors like I told you. But it is speculaiton because I have not been there. The tanpan technique is basicly something more for the Ji-hada but used on the entire blade between the shinogi and ha, you will have colors coming up, it is something I have seen at a chinese forge. Japanese polishers will probably use different techniques not all out of books, but will sometimes give it a try, I suggest. The white Hamon is something NBTHK really want to see in my opinion, and diffent colors will not occur due to folding the steel, this really is wrong, I have seen hunderds of folded “chinese” katana’s and I have never seen this, so I am just telling from my own experience. Ashi are really coming from the mune, so it is obious they are more softer, I do not think I have to tell you all the advantages of differential hardening. It really is softer steel embedded in harder steel, so you are really wrong about this, even the chinese forges do understand this very clear. I will look this after when I am back from my work. I am always traveling and picking up knowledge, I do not ask anything, just giving my thoughts.

I do not agree, colors in the area in the Ha are not common. Polishers mostly want to bring out clearly the Ha, so the Hadori stones, right? Some of them use hazuya. Those are producing white, contrasting edges, you probably will see this when you check most of the Japanese sword vendors. I have seen some Nihonto and mostly the are white, right? I do not know if they used a special kind of lamp, with some special nano meter. Basicly ashi are softer steel (pearlite) coming into the harder steel, so the chip will stop at the ashi line, a part of the hamon. All due to bringing on the claymixture with quenching. The folding will only make contrast between layers, no colors as far as I know.

But you will have some ashi naga (the longer lines or patterns ) and those can probably end in the hira-ji, here you can have some reactions, do not know. But when it totally will disappear the hamon the probably have not used this, but you can use it in different ratios, but I am curious what they have used to make those different colors.

What is the, I think you will call it ratio, I once saw a blade with this copper techique and you some colors in the hamon, this gave me a thougth they used it, but honestly I must tell you I was not there

Thanks for the feed back so far! This one is with koshirae, I will take some picures later.

Hi there, I am very familar with all techniques used to make a hamon are in modern production katana’s, it is a different level of details for sure, but some of them are really skilled. Also I know from literature some Japanese pollishers also use additional polishing techniques, I also do a lot of talking with forges and some of them have really good knowledge of older techniques. Most of them are really to save time and money, as you already mentioned. I probably think the hamon is real down under, but they used probably polishing with nitric acid or tanpan polish to make it more bright because after the standard hadori polish it was still to weak or unactive in the polisher his eyes. The Tanpan polish is done with copper sulfate dissolved in water, they used boiled water for this. The bring on cotton wool this copper sulfate on the blade surface. The moslty used a uchigumori Ji Stone to polish it in a different color, this probably has happened. The nitric acid polish makes it more white so I doubt they used this technique. Those are my thoughts for the moment.

A Shinogi Zukuri with a shallow Torii-Zori, so with the deepest part at the center. Motohabi : 2.95cm and Sakihabi: 1.96cm. I think this is really Edo period, less curve and chu-kissaki.

Here is the katana. It has a Ko itame hada well grained with jinie and flow. Jigane is dark and clear. The hamon is gunome midare with ashi in the ha at some spots. It really is in good condition.

Hope you are all well here. If anyone has any additional information about this smith (Shigetaka) I would greatly appreciate it. I already found some info but like to know everything. I understand it is difficult to know the date without meticulous research on the signature. I think it will be Edo period circa Kanbun (+/- 1661 - 1673). If I am right the smith is Shitetaka second generation. The signature is, so far I can understand, Omote: official district Harima-daojō 播磨大掾 clan Fujiwara 藤原 smith name Shigetaka 重高. Ura: place of work Echizen-ju 越前住, I have this katana with its original koshirae. I have also some thoughts about the "wazamono" this reflect the degree of sharpness in swords. I can find the smith in this list, do you expect it was used for test cutting because it became popularized in the Edo period. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wazamono I know for example you have some older katana’s that have inscriptions on their nakago that say things such as, "4 bodies with Ryu Guruma (hip cut)". On those katana’s you can find saidan mei consists name of the tester, cutting positions of the body and the number of body’s used for a cut. Do you think without this mentioning it will be incongruous, in other words it probably is not used for test cutting, of course you cannot know but wanna know the generals thought about this. Many thanks.