md02geist Posted July 3, 2013 Report Posted July 3, 2013 In general, do we find a certain type of curvature (certain degree, extent of curvature, etc) to be more prominent than others? With regards to the full blade, tsuka, etc... Do they vary by individual taste, by individual sword maker, by popularity of time period, by use, or by all of the above (or some combination thereof)? Just wondering if there was a more "standard" curve to some than others. Quote
John A Stuart Posted July 3, 2013 Report Posted July 3, 2013 A combination of all the above. It is one of the criteria used to identify period and smith. John Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted July 3, 2013 Report Posted July 3, 2013 One very helpful leaflet would be W.M. Hawley - Curvature in Japanese Blades. The shaku radius calculations on it are extremely helpful. 900 Juyo blades were used as basis and there is a school chart listed with average shaku radius. The formula for calculating shaku radius is A= blade length in shaku,sun,bu B= sori in shaku,sun,bu AxA ---- 8xB Under 9 shaku - Deep curve 9 - 12 shaku - Medium curve 12 - 16 shaku - Slight curve 16 - 20 shaku - Almost straight Over 20 shaku - Very straight I currently have only 2 blades I can calculate. My Sue-Bizen blade has 5.8 shaku radius so it's extremely curved. My Nambokucho tachi has 10,3 shaku radius so it's quite curved. Oei Bizen (9.4) and Sue-Bizen (9.6) have the deepest average curvature in the chart. Deepest shaku radius in the chart is one Sue-Bizen blade at 4.8, slightest curvature is by one Masahide pupil at 34. By quick eyeing the chart most Koto schools average around 10-12.5 while Shinto schools seem to average around 13-16. Of course there are expections to these guidelines. Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted July 3, 2013 Report Posted July 3, 2013 Rob, I suggest that you read this article: Quote http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/japaneseintroduction.htm. It provides one of the best descriptions of the characteristics of the Japanese sword, & is written by the Senior Managing Director of the Nippon Bijutsu Tôken Hozon Kyôkai (NBTHK). Can't get any better qualifications than that! Ken Quote
cabowen Posted July 3, 2013 Report Posted July 3, 2013 Ken-Hawaii said: It provides one of the best descriptions of the characteristics of the Japanese sword, & is written by the Senior Managing Director of the Nippon Bijutsu Tôken Hozon Kyôkai (NBTHK). Can't get any better qualifications than that! Ken I think that is former Senior Managing Director...He is retired now...Excellent article.... Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted July 3, 2013 Report Posted July 3, 2013 I hadn't heard that Tanobe Sensei had retired. Thanks for the update! Ken Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted July 8, 2013 Report Posted July 8, 2013 Quick reference for measurement: http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/measure.htm Quote
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