Christian Chaffee Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 Please share your thoughts on this bare blade. It's a long waki. Quote
Darcy Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 I think it is a rusty wakizashi. Quote
Christian Chaffee Posted December 11, 2014 Author Report Posted December 11, 2014 Yes, I agree... It's a rusty wakizashi. I paid $325, and the habaki needed to be replaced. I have posted more pics. Thanks, Christian Quote
Stephen Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 I pray you turn it into a polished blade, then we can see what remarks come. Quote
Christian Chaffee Posted December 11, 2014 Author Report Posted December 11, 2014 Hi Stephen, In this game of searching for the better swords, many will turn up out of polish. This is where being able to recognize a special blade, can result in a fun discovery. I am not saying this is a great blade... just saying that most of what I find, is in as-discovered condition, rusty, missing parts, and covered with many years of dirt, grime, and exposure. I know others have seen more, studied more, and know more, but I use what knowledge I have, and keep looking for that needle in a haystack because it makes my life more interesting. Please share your thoughts on this as-found blade! Christian Quote
Stephen Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 Have you decided if it warrants restoration? Quote
cabowen Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 Does it appear ubu or suriage? Hard to tell from the photos...If ubu, maybe shinshinto. If suriage, older.... Quote
Christian Chaffee Posted December 11, 2014 Author Report Posted December 11, 2014 Hi Stephen, Yes, I think it deserves a polish. Hi Chris, I think it's koto, with an early shinto period osuriage, so for the sake of answering this question, and moving forward with sharing your opinion, please assume it's koto. Thanks Guys, Christian Quote
c2tcardin Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 I'm not at the skill level to possibly identify a maker or era for this blade but a few things I notice is the curvature seems quite nice, looks like it would feel well balanced. Some other things I'm just not sure of as they may just be tricks of the lighting but it almost looks like the Mune-Machi is missing (it seems level with the Nakago), is this possibly an indication of a shortened katana? It looks like the Hamon is peeking through especially in photo #4 in your first post, if it is it looks nice and wide. In your shot of the Kissaki the Boshi looks like it's visible and looks to me at least like O-maru. At a minimum it would be cool to see whats hiding underneath all the grime and rust by having a window opened on one side before committing to a full polish. Just my $.02, and I wouldn't be offended if one of the knowledgeable collectors on here jumped on and said I'm completely off base. LOL Either way good luck with it. Quote
cabowen Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 Considering the hamon, with that shape, if it is suriage, I would think Keicho Shinto may be more probable than Nanbokucho.... Quote
Christian Chaffee Posted December 11, 2014 Author Report Posted December 11, 2014 Hi Nagamaki, I sent it to be polished, and only have some images. Hopefully you can guess the proportions by the scale on the ruler. It's hard to evaluate blades based on just images. In this case what you can't see in my images is an unknown. Still many buy swords off eBay, and many times you only see a few images. This is a chance to take a stab at this, and make your best guess.... based only on what you can see in the images. Christian Quote
Kronos Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 I'd guess early shinto suriage, possbly late muromachi but I doubt earlier. Quote
sanjuro Posted December 11, 2014 Report Posted December 11, 2014 With little to go on but impressions of hamon and the general sugata of the blade, my best guess would be early shinto, possibly even a Shimada blade. I have a few Shimada blades and this one gives one the same sort of overall impression. At the end of the day its all just guess work of course, but it might be an interesting excercise to flex our intuitions with. Quote
Christian Chaffee Posted December 12, 2014 Author Report Posted December 12, 2014 Hi Sanjuro, It never hurts to share an opinion, and I invite others to do so too. To make it a bit more interesting, this blade has been polished, and is now in Japan for the Jan. shinsa. I know what I think it is, but then, I am no expert, and a bit of a dreamer. Shimada was influenced by the school which I think made this blade. Christian Quote
Brian Posted December 12, 2014 Report Posted December 12, 2014 The polisher should be able to tell you what he thinks it is. Brian Quote
Dr Fox Posted December 12, 2014 Report Posted December 12, 2014 Has the kissaki had a grinder kiss? Quote
leo Posted December 12, 2014 Report Posted December 12, 2014 Nice looking hamon. Shortened Katana or Tachi. The 2nd ana may be the original. I do not see a yokote, but after the polish it should have a nice o-kissaki. I hope, the tip can be saved. I cannot really tell from the pictures how old this blade is and exactly what school. But, as the shortening looks already old to me, a logical conclusion would be that it is a Koto blade. Regards, Martin Quote
cabowen Posted December 12, 2014 Report Posted December 12, 2014 leo said: a logical conclusion would be that it is a Koto blade. Regards, Martin Or, Keicho Shinto... Quote
Christian Chaffee Posted December 12, 2014 Author Report Posted December 12, 2014 The polisher has shared his opinion, and he thinks it's a nambokucho Soshu blade. posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=20870# Yes the kissaki did have some light grinding marks. The sword has been polished, and the polisher has emailed me, and stated the blade came out flawless, and has a very strong and impressive temper line. I will have to wait for the results from the January shinsa before I know more. Quote
leo Posted December 12, 2014 Report Posted December 12, 2014 Chris, you are right, off course timewise Keicho era would be a possibility too. Best, Martin Quote
Stephen Posted December 12, 2014 Report Posted December 12, 2014 wait, what? polished in one day? Quote
cabowen Posted December 13, 2014 Report Posted December 13, 2014 Christian Chaffee said: The polisher has shared his opinion, and he thinks it's a nambokucho Soshu blade. posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=20870# Yes the kissaki did have some light grinding marks. The sword has been polished, and the polisher has emailed me, and stated the blade came out flawless, and has a very strong and impressive temper line. I will have to wait for the results from the January shinsa before I know more. Who is the polisher? Quote
Jean Posted December 13, 2014 Report Posted December 13, 2014 Stephen, "I found a bare blade..." Could have been yesterday or last year :D Quote
Christian Chaffee Posted December 13, 2014 Author Report Posted December 13, 2014 The well known polisher in Hawaii.... Bob B And to Stephen, I found this blade over a year ago, and figured it might be educational to let guys take a guess based on what I saw in the unpolished blade. It was only recently completed, and sent to Japan for the Jan. shinsa. Quote
bone Posted December 13, 2014 Report Posted December 13, 2014 So Bob Benson. One of the best of the best. Pics of the finished blade? Please? Quote
cabowen Posted December 13, 2014 Report Posted December 13, 2014 Bob knows his Soshu....Fingers crossed for you! Quote
Jamie Posted December 13, 2014 Report Posted December 13, 2014 Please post pics of it after the polish. Many times it's hard to tell these questions from blades in polish much less out of polish. The kissaki obviously being possibly telling. Quote
loiner1965 Posted December 13, 2014 Report Posted December 13, 2014 Jamie said: Please post pics of it after the polish. Many times it's hard to tell these questions from blades in polish much less out of polish. The kissaki obviously being possibly telling. As above please Did bob take pics for you to see it before he sent it off Quote
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