Nihonto Chicken

Mizukage can result from an original temper (quench) as my bargain basement gunto below indicates. Sorry for the fuzzy old cell phone pics, but the mizukage is unmistakable, and the left pic shows a floating island of yubashiri for added effect, likely good for an additional ten dollars upon resale.

Third time's the charm? Link below to my previous response. I was about 46 years old at the time. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/34699-my-first-sword-and-where-it-led-me-your-story/#comment-359514 And yes, I still have the tanto.

Yoshiharu strikes again! He shows up with some regularity here. My copy below, FWIW (no W mark).

Though not much hataraki may be seen on the "Java sword", good news is that it doesn't appear to be all that pitted. Looks like a prime candidate for a "power uchiko" treatment (just don't ride up and over the shinogi). An hour or two should reveal whatever activity is present, though the Seki stamp advises keeping your expectations modest.

"The first thousand dollars you spend on nihonto should be for books."

If truly found with a downed Japanese pilot, it may have been the proverbial "kamikaze tanto" and mounted something like this, rosewood with bone fittings. The theory was that Kamikaze pilots were supposed to perform ritual seppuku as they crashed their planes into US ships. It would be amazing if any of them actually managed this feat, as there was a lot going on at the time.

Just ordered a copy myself. Can't afford the swords, but at least I can read about them.

Yeah, I have some saki cups as well, porcelain, lacquer, one solid silver, I think, but no currently available pics. Below is a small sample of some of the other interests I've had. Also, not shown, some firearms and antique silver flat and hollow ware. A lot of stuff to get rid of as I inevitably make my way to "The Home".

Very beautiful sword, congrats. That said, as nice as are the hamon and horimono, I think it's a bit unfortunate that they take up real estate that could be better afforded that gorgeous hada. Be still my heart.

Edit: heavy duty uchiko work (which I recommend for rusted swords, search here on "Jim Kurrasch power uchiko"), will also remove hadori as well as yokote, though I failed to mention this since I've never had a rusted sword with hadori. Uchiko is abrasive, but on a minor scale. Again a warning, uchiko only (or a reasonable facsimile, for which I refrain from posting from fear of being flame broiled). Do not use hard western style abrasives such as Flitz and Simichrome, which will burnish the surface metal, turning it into a silver mirror and obscuring, rather than revealing, the internal hataraki.

In my experience, any steel oxidation (rust), whether from light white frosting to spider webs to crusty brown patches, leaves pits. Yes, that does include thin white discoloration, though in that case the pits are so small, they may not be readily visible on a poor polish. Any non-abrasive removal (vinegar, Evaporust, naval jelly, whatever) will take away the rust, but leave the pits. Even reverse electrolytic process will leave some pitting (yes, it will convert iron oxides back into metallic iron, but it all won't be in the same place in which it started). Very light pitting as from white frosting may possibly be removed by some heavy duty uchiko work, though this amount of effort will partially erase the yokote if applied there. There isn't any way around it, rust=pitting, and the only way to completely correct it optically is by use of abrasives. My opinion, not looking for a flame war or pissing contest, YMMV.

Ah, yup. In retrospect the quest is better than the success.

Still won't say anything nice about my Bungo, eh?

Yes, but he didn't last very long.

Funny you should mention this. For years and years I favored the flamboyant hamon you mention, but now that I've come to more appreciate hada (especially nashiji ), it seems to me that the big hamon only takes up real estate that would be better dedicated to the jihada, and so hoso suguha is the best!

Okay, I'll ask. What smith/school? I'm particularly attracted to the koitame/komokume/konuka/nashiji/chirimen/hizen/whatever-it-is hada.

One more time! The first thousand dollars you spend on Japanese swords should be on books. Apologies if you have indeed already perused the starter books, but I would find it difficult to drop forty large before working my way up to and through Fujishiro, as augmented by a few years of real world exposure (sword shows, etc.). YMMV.

Would take some time to get to the sword and take a pic, so will you take it on faith that I have a Fukumoto Kanemune (or Fukumoto Kumemune per Yumoto, pg. 40, essentially identical mei) gunto that has bohi and a Showa stamp? I mean, would I lie to you?

Hi, welcome to the NMB. The sword mounts pictured appear to be legit Pacific War items. Though apparently very nice, the main value of, and collection interest in, the sword depends primarily on the contained blade, which can run anywhere from a non-traditional, machine made stainless steel piece to a hand forged, centuries old heirloom remounted for wartime use. If interested in feedback on this, you'll need to post photos of the bare blade, including full length shots and close ups of the kissaki (tip), hamon (cutting edge temper line) and nakago (handle, both sides). Looking forward to these pics!

Dropped by the NCJSC Token Kai today, gratified to see a round up of the usual suspects. A special call out to to that old pirate, Roger Davis, who in his elderly years is now mellowing out and easing off on those old widder wimmen, no more flaming splits under the fingernails to extract their deceased veteran husbands' WWII bring back swords. I didn't find again what hooked me a year ago (when I had no funds, then again only marginally better this year), a hirazukuri wak with hada like that pictured below: I find it to be a personal affront that the the seller a year ago didn't hold this item for me to buy this year, even though I didn't express any really honest interest ($$$) at the time. Saw some sword pretenders this year that were in the general ballpark, but no cigar (oops, mixed metaphors?). Anyway, with no purchase this time, and I think I heard my wallet breathe a sigh of relief as I exited the venue (or maybe I just passed some gas, difficult to determine nowadays at my advanced age). Hope that other attendees bought (or sold!) what they were desiring to do. See y'all (hopefully!) next year, take care, good fortune! NC

I have a Norimitsu katana papered to Eisho. The sugata is kanmuri otoshi, and it is likewise short. It is cited as originally a sword and not a nagamaki naoshi. It is quite thin and light. In view of this, I would recommend a hands-on review by a professional togishi as cost effective to determine whether a polish is warranted. Good luck!

Yoshiharu rides again! My comment on the last sighting: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/37014-ww2-era-tang-translation-help/#comment-465553

Thanks, #s 22 and 32 in the first link were getting there, but no real hada matches to what I'm looking for. Maybe the SF Show will turn something up.

In the category of "want to buy" (but "likely cannot afford", ha!), what would be a ballpark price range for a hira zukuri tanto, or preferably o-tanto or wak, without major flaws, perhaps in iffy polish, with the hada below? Would rather not get into a discussion of ko-itame versus konuka versus chirimen versus nashiji, just interested in what's pictured below, looking to me like a uniform suede leather surface without any perceptible flowing wood-like grain. Saw one such at the SF Token Kai last year, the vision is still working on me, could falter if I see it again this year. Second question (Part B), what does a kidney go for nowadays? Inquiring minds!

While the rust on this sword does appear to be quite substantial, only a number one stone will show how deep it goes (togishi recommended). I once had two blades with an equivalent covering of rust, running from from shiny metal to black spider webs to crusty brown and red patches. Turned out that the traditionally made sword (Masamura, modern smith) had very deep pits that couldn't be removed without removing an excessive amount of metal. The non-traditional Showato (Kumemune, see Yumoto p.40) had only light rust penetration and polished up nicely. Go figure. The OP's sword is in regrettable condition, but a window opened up over the worst rust patch would likely be a good move after the current rust is stabilized.