annen

Thank you for the continued followups. Roger on the no-cleaning, Grey. And I haven't picked up any books yet, Ken, although I suppose that should be on my list of next steps. Thank you all very much for the help, and if I develop any better guesses as I go, I'll update here.

Thank you again for the further thoughts! Just some quick responses: Yes, I intend to take good care of it, or at least prevent more damage until we can figure out best next steps. I do understand a proper polishing, shinsa, and new koshirae would be quite expensive; thank you for the warnings and general cost estimates to back that up. It's good to hear there is no rush to get it polished and I can take my time reading up. As far as I know, it hasn't been oiled or even looked at in many, many years. For the time being, I have it stored horizontally on top of a tall bookshelf in a little-used room, well away from light, moisture, and curious children. The condition of the blade is a bit worse in other places than it looks in the close-up photos I posted, since those are photos where the surface qualities can be more easily seen (i.e., not obscured by scratches or small rust dots). It does look as if it was used to cut boxes or the like, and one small section looks like someone has taken sandpaper to it -- and experimentally confirmed that the hamon is harder than the rest of the blade surface! But I'm very glad to hear people are more optimistic about the condition than I was at first. I guess you have all seen some pretty beat-up blades in your studies! As to koshirae vs shirasaya: The koshirae are fascinating but new ones are not a priority to me; shirasaya would certainly be a better first step. I would rather take a longer time, save up, and see it back in correct koshirae to match the original fuchi etc, which I think are quite handsome in their restraint. (I do wonder if the missing parts, such as the tsuba, were as plain as the fuchi, or if they had some shiny ornamentation that made them a target for being stripped and sold along the way.) Mainly included the pics in case they help in figuring out the history - for example, the quality of the nanako as Brian says, or the original markings and subsequent wear on the habaki. Thank you especially for the thoughts about its origin! Shinshinto copies must pose their own problems for identification; in rendering the old styles, did those later smiths include their own distinctive stylistic tells, or did they just copy the old style as closely as possible? (Looking briefly at Koyama Munetsugu, it sounds like he was from Kuwana, which was a center for metal casting during the relevant period... so, wild speculation, I wonder if my great-grandfather might have been in touch with someone from that area about metal casting or industrial improvements.) As to immediate steps: Suppose I were going to apply a light coating of sewing machine oil to it, following as closely as possible the NBTHK procedure. Don't worry, I know not to mess with the tang. Should I take any steps before applying the oil to remove or somehow neutralize the existing red rust or black spots on the blade (how?), or clean the blade with soap and water (followed by alcohol to help dry it)? I don't want to apply oil and thereby accelerate damage by sealing in rust or finger acids or attracting scratchy crud from inside the saya. Also, I'm in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore area, if anyone has a suggestion about a reputable person who could examine the blade in person.

Thank you both so much! I've only been researching this for a month or so, but I've grown fond of the sword so am very pleased to hear it seems like a piece worth further effort. If anyone has any other thoughts I'm all ears.

Last set of pics!

Some pics of the hardware.

Some close-ups of the blade.

Hello NMB members! I’m hoping to get people’s thoughts on a blade I’ve inherited. It’s in pretty rough shape, but I am curious to learn as much as possible about it. I’m hoping to learn: - any leads on its origin (time period, school, region) - which terms correctly apply to its particulars (eg hamon), so I can be confident I’m reading the right things - whether it’s worth expending further resources on getting it examined in-person, polished properly, etc. Disclaimer: I’ve been reading the many excellent nihonto educational sites out there, but the blade is in poor condition and as a novice it’s hard to know when a given term applies just from online reading. So what follows might be laughably wrong, and I apologize in advance for any wrong uses of terms or confusions on my part. I appreciate the regulars of this forum being willing to share knowledge with absolute beginners. Here’s my best brief description of it, would welcome any comments or corrections if I’m wildly off. I'll post pictures below, and I will be visiting the house where the sword is later in the day so can get a few more pictures or measurements if that would be helpful. Blade: Measurements (all approximate) - Nagasa: 71cm / 28” - Sori: 2.5cm / 1.25” - Moto haba: 2.9cm - Saki haba: 2.2cm - Moto gasane: 8mm - Saki gasane: 5mm - Kissaki: 4.5cm - Shape: Shinogi zukuri, torii-zori (I think) - Mune: Iori-mune - Horimono: Bo-hi; maru-dome; forward end of hi is a rounded point (not sure of term for this shape) extending past the yokote (hisaki-agari) - Kissaki: O-kissaki? or “elongated chu”? It is about twice as long as it is wide. - Boshi: Not sure. Base of boshi is visible but turn-back is hard to see - see pics - Hamon: Not sure. Irregular wavy with some tiny islands or ghosts floating just above it at points (maybe gunome midare or some notare? toranha with choji? I am grasping at straws here.) - see pics - Hada: Really not sure! Hard to see because blade is scratched. At least at a handful of points it seems to be irregular wavy (maybe itame/mokume?) but more uniform "sparkles" are visible elsewhere. Nakago: - Length: 8.25” - Markings: Mumei, no date, no stamp, no markings that I could see - Mekugi-ana: One - Yasurime: Kiri (I think, maybe with some diagonal marks just under the habachi?) - Overall shape: Futsu - End shape: Kurijiri or Ha-agari kurijiri (rounded asymmetric) Koshirae The (buke zukuri) koshirae are all but destroyed - the saya is split, the tsuka has lost its wrap, and the tsuba, mekugi, menuki, kashira, and more are missing. But I’ll describe the remaining pieces in case they might offer some clues: - Habaki: One piece, copper-colored with dark and lighter color variations. It is worn smooth, but there are faint remnants of diagonal hatch marks on both sides (and some horizontal marks), plus a thin gold line on one side. - Saya: Wood, with black matte stipple-textured painted/lacquer exterior (ishime?); one empty rectangular space for kurikata. The bottom section of saya is wrapped in fabric and tape for protection, so I haven’t checked whether the kojiri is present. No other hardware or cord. - Koiguichi: Dark material (horn?) with black shiny (lacquer?) exterior coating, no ornamentation; detached from saya mouth. - Fuchi: Plain dark metal with matte uniform dot pattern (nanako shakudo), no ornamentation; front face has gold painted rim around copper-colored center; no markings on the inside - Seppa: One remains, copper-colored, with rough crosshatch file marks covering one side - Cord: Flat black cord, of braided fabric (silk?), is tied haphazardly around the tsuka to hold it together - not clear if tsuka-ito or sageo; has small metal clip (under 1 cm square) on cord at one point - Same: White, wrapped in the “channeled” style (i.e., not full wrap) Provenance We believe it was given to my great-grandfather, who was an American metallurgist and engineer who developed steel alloys for the auto industry. It would probably have been given to him sometime between 1910 and the 1930s, definitely no later than 1939. We have records of his doing experiments involving “Japanese ores” in the 1920s, so possibly a gift stemming from his buying ores or corresponding with someone in Japan about steel. We don’t think he ever traveled to Japan himself. So, after all that, I’m interested to hear any thoughts people here may have, about this sword's features or possible origin, and about whether it’s worth pursuing more examination/polishing/etc. Pictures to follow. Thank you! -Anne