Peter Bleed

Ford, I, too, have watched these videos repeatedly. They are enthalling. Thank you. A part of me would love to see more basic issues treated - how to make takane, basic patination, workspace design - but seeing the high-level artisanship of inlaying and forming a tiger's head was fabulous. I also great enjoyed your use of English names for some steps -butter of gold, indeed!. This helps to expand our understanding. Thanks! Peter

Jock, Thanks for calling our attention to this sword. I agree with Brian. This was certainly reworked for kyu-gunto usage. There will come a time when swords like this are appricated as legitimate reflections of trends in Japanese history and sword usage. They once were treated like damaged - even destroyed - goods. There seem to be no signs that heat was involved in the reshaping, but can you imagine the force that must have been involved. This seems like a very collectible sword. Peter

Others have pointed you positively in good direction. And we all make mistakes. But let me just add, "GREEN! What were you thinking?" Peter

An interesting read, indeed! Thank you for bringing it to our attention! Peter

Dear Friends, I beg the permission of the forum to present for discussion a blade I purchased only last weekend - and one of two kata-kiriba blades acquired that week! The blade I hope the forum will consider worth discussing is in something like an aiguchi style tanto koshirae. I beleive it is basically of shaped antler embellished with wire including both twisted elelments and small circled filled with red (?) dots of lacquer. The fuchi/koiguchi combo appear to have been carved from the "nubbin" base of antlers. The tsuka and saya sections are dyed a patchy brown. The fittings that compare to the fuchi-kashira, koiguchi, kurikata and kojiri are green. I have never formed an opinion about color combinations, but now that I have seen this sword, brown and green is my LEAST favorite color combination. Overall length of the koshirai is 41cm, 16.5" The blade is a markedly curved with a bevelled - "kata kiriba" - edge on the concanve margin. Under the stain there is a fair Japanese style polish and I THINK I can see a hamon. It also has visible garin. It is hand forged. It has an antler habaki. The blade length is 19.5 cm, 7.75". The blade is held in the tsuka by a mekugi. The gun slick I bought the blade from suggested that he had removed a "black" peg, but with great sensitivity he had replaced it with a section of bamboo chopstick - probably something he got with a serving of General Tsao's chicken!. The nakago is covered with fair rust and has and X and three lines - obviously "13" and I noted that that number is also carved on the inside of the fuchi. The obvious first question about this blade is, "Is it Japanese?" I am sure that it is old. It is NOT a modern Chinese repro and to my eye it looks Japanese. At the same time it is NOT well made enough to made enough - or old enough - to be a "Kubikiri". No heads could be collected with this blade. Is this a "samurai sword"? Well, mebbe, but I wonder if it might not be a Shinshinto bonsai knife! Peter

There are a great many bad Kunikane signatures out there, largely because the Kunikane 1 successfully started a long line of smiths that survived and was supported by the Date family. There were 14 generations in the main line. They practiced the style of the founder and enjoyed official support. The middle generations produced mumei swords that went right into the armory of the Date family. (Sendai meikan lists NO legitmate signatures from the 4th to 10th generations.) After the Meiji Restoration those unsigned swords were sold to an antiques dealer - apparently in Sendai - who had them signed --- mainly with the Master's name. Dealers refer to these as "Sendai Atobori." They can be viewed as "school"swords, but those "after signatures" are being removed nowadays. That is, they are being treated like "gimei." I am as sure as I can be that the sword that got this discussion started is not the work of Kunikane 1. Peter