Hello,
This is my first post here, although I have been “lurking†(learning) here for some time. The reason for this first post is that I was lucky enough to inspect a sword that a friend has in his possession. Usual story - grandfather brought a couple swords home after WW2 and they have been “sitting in a closet†since.
After inspecting the sword, I am (of course) left with more questions than answers and would like to hear if anyone has any info to add. I apologize up front for any mistakes, misspellings, or misuse of terms.
General information:
Nagasa: 67.3 cm
Sori: 1.3 cm
Mounted in typical WW2 Army Gunto mount
Please see attached photos (sorry about the quality, but I’m learning and did not have the sword for a long period of time).
While I tried to translate the Mei on my own, I only got a partial translation before asking for assistance. With the help I received, I believe the Mei translates to Unjosai Katsunaga. After looking at Richard Stein’s Japanese Sword Guide, I found that the name is on the list of “undocumented WW2 Swordsmithsâ€. There are no other factory stamps or any date information on the reverse side. Does anyone have any more information about this smith or own a sword by this maker?
Also, I am interested in the hamon. I’m not quite sure how to refer to it. The hamon seems to alternate between suguha (straight) and ??????. Each “raised†area has 4 distinct “lobes†that have an almost mirror-like appearance as opposed to the more “milky†hamon. The attached pictures show this a little more clearly than I can explain (I hope). What would be the proper terminology for this type of hamon? Do you have an opinion as to oil vs. water temper? Machine vs. hand-made? Can’t see too much activity in the blade. I attribute this to one of three factors. 1) It’s not there, 2) state of polish hides it, or 3) I can’t see it / don’t know what I am looking at. I am leaning toward #3.
Thank you in advance. I’m happy to be here, and looking forward to learning a lot more.
Mark S.
