raven2 Posted January 28, 2014 Report Posted January 28, 2014 Hi Everyone, Just some pictures of my new tanto which arrived today. I bought this one from Mariusz and he has been nothing but helpful and wonderful to deal with, including making sure that the blade got to me after being stuck in customs for about 3 weeks. One more bad surprise was when I opened the package and saw that the blade had a number of fingerprints on it. Since it couldn't have been Mariusz, it seems someone was very interested in it somewhere along the line. I immediately cleaned it with uchiko and the gave it a light oiling and it cleaned up very well - whew. Some of you may recognize it since it has been around over the last 10 years. It is a hira-zukuri tanto with NBTHK papers attributed to the Sue-Mihara school in the Middle Muromachi. It has a beautiful suguha hamon in konie-deki and waterfall boshi. The hada is fine ko- itame with ko-mokume. The original paperwork from Aoi-art says it reminds them somewhat of Ryokai's work. I just think it is a beautiful blade and am thrilled to have it. The hada reminds me a lot of ko-mihara work. These pictures are not mine, they come from Yakiba and so I hope Ed does not mind me using them. NAGASA: 29.21cm (11.5") OVERALL: 39.37cm (15.5") MIHABA: 2.54cm (1.") KASANE: 0.635cm (0.25") SORI: NONE Quote
runagmc Posted January 28, 2014 Report Posted January 28, 2014 Very nice, Fred... the close-ups are surprising. I didn't expect the hada to be that nice, after seeing the full length pics first. I've got a wakizashi that is sowewhat (not totally) similar that I have thought might be Mihara (or something Yamato, or with Yamato influenced), but I'm really not sure... P.S. The nioi-guchi has heat damage from where it looks like someone added an umegane (on the other side)by some method involving heat. It almost looks like a spot-weld.... And there are several more similar spots on the sword... so... it's very much fatally flawed. It was my first sword. Still, probably could have done worse for the $160 I spent on it... Quote
Marius Posted January 28, 2014 Report Posted January 28, 2014 Since that tanto was mine (I have bought it from paulb and was very happy with it), I think I'd better add a comment... Of course, those fingerprints were not mine. Must have been the Polish customs who have held the blade until I have produced a certificate stating its value (I won't go into uninteresting details here). They must have "inspected it" and left those fingerprints behind I am happy that they didn't damage the blade. Sorry about that, Fred. For your enjoyment - an oshigata and pics of the blade by Aoi Art. Quote
raven2 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Posted January 28, 2014 Thanks Again Mariusz. for all your help getting it here. I appreciate you going the extra mile to make sure things got done correctly. It is going to have another good home. Quote
raven2 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Posted January 28, 2014 Very nice, Fred... the close-ups are surprising. I didn't expect the hada to be that nice, after seeing the full length pics first. I've got a wakizashi that is sowewhat (not totally) similar that I have thought might be Mihara (or something Yamato, or with Yamato influenced), but I'm really not sure... P.S. The nioi-guchi has heat damage from where it looks like someone added an umegane (on the other side)by some method involving heat. It almost looks like a spot-weld.... And there are several more similar spots on the sword... so... it's very much fatally flawed. It was my first sword. Still, probably could have done worse for the $160 I spent on it on Ebay... [attachment=0]wakizashi.JPG[/attachment] That is a shame about your wakizashi. It seems to be a very nice blade. But as you say, for $160 on Ebay, not bad at all. Quote
Teimei Posted January 28, 2014 Report Posted January 28, 2014 Well done Fred, really nice piece! The european customs can be a huge pain in the xxx, no matter if you want to send or you want to receive something. Quote
Marius Posted January 28, 2014 Report Posted January 28, 2014 Well done Fred, really nice piece! :clap If Fred allows me this shameless commercial plug - I have a very nice Soshu tanto (koto) and a lovely little Mino yari (shinto) to sell. Both items are very good and priced to sell. I wonder if everybody is broke these days? Quote
Markus Posted January 28, 2014 Report Posted January 28, 2014 Sorry for hijacking this thread and my comment has nothing to do with the blade itself, but did the brush/pen slip here at the one oshigata? Come on Aoi Art, I know you can do better than this. Quote
raven2 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Posted January 28, 2014 You know I never noticed that before, Markus. It does seem like someone was not paying too much attention when they did the work. :lol: As for Mariusz's shameless plug, I would highly recommend to anyone that they deal with him (I was very close to taking the Soshu.) Quote
george trotter Posted January 30, 2014 Report Posted January 30, 2014 Both boshi kaeri are longer in the hadori polish than shown in the oshigata. I would think the oshigata are correct?...after all, hadori is a cosmetic finish and usually does not show the true hamon. Can you have a look and comment please? Regards, Quote
raven2 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Posted January 30, 2014 You are right about that, George. I will take another look tonight when I get home and see if there is a difference. Quote
raven2 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Posted January 30, 2014 After taking some very close looks, it would appear that the oshigata are correct and the boshi do not extend quite as far down. Quote
Marius Posted February 1, 2014 Report Posted February 1, 2014 AFAIR, the kaeri is indeed quite long, but it fades somewhat towards the mune. Hence, the oshigata might reflect a compromise ("do I see this long kaeri or am I seeing ghosts?") I guess that in this particular case, the polisher was right and the author of the oshigata has got it wrong. Fred, can you look again? Maybe I am completely wrong... Quote
cabowen Posted February 1, 2014 Report Posted February 1, 2014 It might be a case of the togi "fixing" a "falling boshi" (帽子が倒れる)...as this condition is considered poor workmanship. Quote
cabowen Posted February 1, 2014 Report Posted February 1, 2014 I think the picture pretty much tells the story....a fallen boshi is one where the kaeri leans toward the fukura in the kissaki. It is considered poor workmanship and thus a togi might be tempted to use the hadori to make it appear as if it is properly formed. Quote
raven2 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Posted February 1, 2014 I have now looked at it very, very carefully in as good a lighting conditions as I can get. Mariusz appears to be correct. The kaeri is quite long though hard to see towards the muni. The polisher has done a good job and the oshigata appears to be in error but it is not that easy to see. I can see how the person drawing the oshigata could have made an error in this case since I was also confused until I turned the intensity of the bulb down. It became more clear with less reflection on the blade. I think it is also important to remember that this is a Mihara blade and the boshi are very distinctive usually being either taki-no-otoshi (waterfall boshi) or tora-ano-o (tiger tail boshi) and so the kaeri should be quite long. So I don't think this is a case of a fallen boshi. Quote
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