cofor22

A few closeups. Both sides of tip. Typical style of nidai "Shige" with the upwards twist to the left and the lower horisontal bars compared to shodai. Do I also see masame?

Heh, mine got stuck in customs for 3 weeks...

Geraint it is ryoshinogi. It reads Echizen ju on the reverse. Why? I guess that was same as with their swords. Tradition or any particular reason, I do not know.

Me too. That was what first caught my eye. Both sides equally nice towards the point.

Just wanted to share my latest buy. A nice little Yari by nidai Shigetaka. Conny

Which is exactly how I have done with knife blades made from meteorite. Work hardening is what I guess has been done to the egyptian knife in question. Conny F

If meteorite iron is heated, forged, carbonized and afterwards heated and water quenched. There would be nothing left of the original crystalline structure. Then only traces of rare elements like iridium would reveal the origin as extraterrestial. Conny F

I can chime in a bit regarding meteorite iron and knife blades. As already mentioned the heating and water quenching would not produce hardening. I have made several knife blades from nickel iron meteorite. Edge hardening was done by hammering just as bronze edges are hardened to get the edge sharp and not lose bite too fast. Just the edge is hammered. It can get very sharp but never matching steel. Carbon in meteorites is usually found as graphite nodules but very seldom even as Diamond of type III.

Do I see lack of distinct yokote or is it just images and light distorting?

Thank you Kirill, exactly the type of answer I had hoped for. Conny

Ok, thanks for your input guys. I guess I'm so used to the microscope when id:ing gemstones. Let me just finish with an image of the Boshi... https://gemology.se/files/waki/boshi_kaeri_04.jpg Conny F

I am struggling a bit to understand what I see in the hamon, ji, shinogi-ji and what different things I see at the surface and immediate subsurface of my blade. So, would someone like to describe what is seen in the following images. Nioi? Nie? Ji-nie? Chikei? In the photomicrograph, are the white areas martensite and the dark some other type of steel crystals? The area is part of the Ji-Hada. https://gemology.se/files/waki/ha_mon_ji.jpg https://gemology.se/files/waki/hada_micro.jpg Conny F

Got it, thanks for your input. I will focus on the blade for guidance. Conny F

I was thinking: If noone has seen a hot punched Mekugi-ana in a modern fake yari. That type could serve as an indicator we have the real deal in front of us. A drilled does not rule out real deal. I know many other signs can be seen to be used but some times butcher "polish" and pitting hides hada as well as hamon.

Enlighten me please. Hot punched or cold chiseled?