bluboxer

That's so funny! I love this board.

That was from the link given Chris.I also wonder how they could say this of a blade made of mill steel.Perhaps the wording needs editing? It does need clarification.

An interesting note about the works of this smith below proving again there are always exceptions to established rules. "They are considered true gendaito despite being made from western steel."

Well that was still a very nice introduction. Nice little website David, I did not see the NMB in the links tho. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the info John. When you say verified do you mean as through a shinsa? Another question if I may; how would a kogatana be restored in such condition? Would it be polished in such a way as to leave the mei untouched or would this even be considered for restoration (time=$)? Thanks again for the help.

Good day, I have a kozuka and knife that came with a tanto I received which has the mei "Iga no Kami Fujiwara Kinmichi" The mei compares favorably with the nidai in Fujishiro's shinto volume. However this is the only mei I have for comparison and would like to get some other opinions please. Also; was/is this common for a bladesmith to produce and sign utility knives? This knife appears to have been in it's saya slot for a long time as it has the patina of an old nakago. All comments are most welcome.

Perhaps a bone saw for a combat surgeon,a hunter or a butcher.

This ken was sold on ebay a couple of years ago. Don't remember what it went for tho.

Thanks both of you I knew the answer was here. I see the 100 masterpieces is available (and pricey).Lots of eye candy in that one too. Craig;you have my interest with the Caldwell book.Perhaps you could pm me if you know of any copies around. Thanks again fellas.

Good day gentlemen, I have heard reference in another forum about an essay/article written by the famous Dr.Compton titled "The Shape of Things". I have searched on line and found little to nothing about it's publication. Can anyone tell me where to find it? Thank you,

Stephen, there is a Hampton Inn just around the corner and they have a shuttle that runs regular airport trips

Hi Niclas, one thing we must think about with swords older than the 1870's is the fact they were all made from tamahagane (of course there will be a few exceptions). Today we have modern steels that are alloyed with other elements and are far from the most "simple" of steels produced in the tatara. The functional superiority of modern steel alloys vs. tamahagane is another discussion but is a factor in our choice of a "use" or practice blade vs the art sword. It would be my guess that the iai-to are made with modern steel rather than tamahagane produced by direct reduction in the tatara. Modern steel can still be forge folded and constructed by a skilled smith that will appear to be tamahagane to all but a few. Just my 2 cents.

What was the title of this book? Geez, now I have an itch for a copy. Curran, I think you and I will be scrambling when another copy becomes available. (Unless nobody reminds me of the name)

Hey Jock, I don't see the damage in the pics. Piers, I meant re-patination of the steel near the repair as it will have to be prepared by cleaning the surface to get bare metal in order to bond with the solder.The solder I have used is 6% silver and 94% tin so I think it can be patinated although I have not tried.I don't think it would be possible to hide the repair anyway.

Hey Jock, what I meant by a "moderate heat" is a weld heat is 1000 deg. C and above.This would totally wreck the patina on a nakago. A 280C heat ( a high tempering heat) can be contained in the nakago by submersing the blade in a cooling bath to prevent further tempering or complete removal of the ha near the nakago. During shortening the hamachi and munemachi are moved further up the blade effectively keeping the nakago of a desired length. This brings forth another question; would a modern togishi even consider doing this to an antique blade? As you discovered soldering has been practiced for several thousand years and I am sure the Japanese are also adept at it. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can answer that one and whether a togishi has or would consider this process. I used to make custom carbide tipped circular saw blades for special applications and the carbide tips were silver soldered onto the steel blade.this is a very strong bond and failures were rare and only occurred when a saw would encounter a nail or similar object within the wood. Also; western bladesmiths frequently use this to attach guards and bolsters to their knives after heat treatment.

Hi Jock, I would agree with John as to having it repaired. The only way to fix this without actual welding would be to silver solder.This is a very strong bond similar to brazing and would keep the temperature of the nakago at a relatively moderate heat. The nakago would still have to undergo some re-patination. Is there a mei present? If so a proper suriage can be done.As in Orikaeshi mei where the part to be removed is bent around to the opposite side.

Hello Jon, if it were mine I would remove the leather cover.The fittings look very nice to my novice eyes and I would not be able to resist the temptation of finding out what lies beneath.The kojiri and ashi may match the top fittings after all. Just my opinion. If you choose to do so;please let us know what you find

Hi Todd, I think this article is in the NMB archive and I agree;very informative.

Hello Jock, it is my understanding that the Koa Isshin Mantetsu-to was produced by inserting a lower carbon rod (spring steel) into a higher carbon steel pipe and forge welding them together.This would be most similar to "makuri" construction rather than san mai.The high carbon "pipe" would comprise the jacket steel and was then differentially heat treated as per standard practice (coating with clay and quenching). This was quite an engineering feat IMO.I would have liked to tour the factory and view the mechanical process for the manufacture of these blades also. Google mantetsu-to as there are some interesting articles on the web.

Oh man, you found my query source! Well since it is in the open now,opinions? Alan

Thanks Ron, I don't have photos to post as yet but the center blade itself is almost 4 1/2". OAL is about 7 1/2".Side blade width was around 3 1/2". Interesting information, thanks for sharing. Alan

Good day all, I have a question regarding the sizes of yari and yanone.I have seen a yanone that seems awfully large for an arrowhead and would almost classify it as a very small yari. How small can a yari be? I understand that larger blades were more desirable for the field because of the intimidation factor but I have seen little reference as to smaller examples except with simple su yari. Could a jumonji yari be as small as;say 4 1/2" (11.5cm) and still be considered a yari? Does anybody know of a jumonji yari that was made this small? Thank you for any input. Alan

Good day Martin and Yimu, Here is a link to another forum,scroll down and there is an extreme example of yaki-otoshi. IMHO; yaki-otoshi will not in itself contribute to the presence of mizukage. Miizukage is as John said; an artifact of keeping the nakago much cooler in order to maintain the patina. A proper saiha will require annealing (re-heating to 800C+ followed by slow cooling) of the entire sword blade.Then new clay applied and yaki-ire (quenching in water) followed by yaki-modoshi (tempering). In the pics of the tanto I can not see mizukage and this would follow as the original patina has been altered as Eric states.. http://www.swordforum.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=92642 Hope this helps.

Thanks for that link Andrew. George; if you come across this list again would you please post it.

The linked paper states in the synopsis that Namban-tetsu is Indian wootz.This steel is a crucible steel and is/was normally produced in cakes of various sizes.The different shapes may be an artifact of a sorting or grading process that relied on the physical properties when the steel is heated and worked.Properties such as elasticity,how well the steel is consolidated under the hammer etc. The higher quality steel was then formed into the "Saijo" shape for transport? Also states that Hyotan shaped steel is high in phosphorus which is a bad thing to have in steel. Interesting topic!