fromaes Posted May 24, 2015 Report Posted May 24, 2015 Hello , Here some picture from a Wakizashi ,I have already post some pictures from the Nakago and a member : John A Stuart wrote that It might be Sasshu ju Kuni.I made some research but unfortunately I was unable to find more information. I ‘m new in Japanese sword and and I have bought few swords in order to add in my collection ( my field of interest is the European swords from 14th to 17 th century. May be the Japanese swords collector could be shocked but I prefer to buy at low price an old sword with a blade in poor condition. I ‘m not specialist and I don’t care about the sign of use and age if the sword is authentic so even in poor condition a Japanese blade stay attractive in my eyes and if you compare with a European sword from the same period specially for the blade with more than 4 centuries the conservation of Japanese blade is really amazing. It would be very nice if a member could tell me more about this sword and his components I would like to know from which period this blade is I understand that based and the pictures it is may be not easy but if a member has some clues his opinion is welcome. Nagasa 44.7cm Motohaba 30 mm Nakago 8.9 cm Kiri Yasuri Kasane ;6.3 mm ( the tickness has been measured at the shinogi. Iori mune In my eyes but may be wrong Shinogi Zukuri.That it 's all I can say Best CERJAK 1 Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted May 24, 2015 Report Posted May 24, 2015 A real blade, Cerjak, shinogizukuri, although I can't tell if there's a yokote. The photo of the Kanji is upside-down. The nakago is o-suriage, of course, & the mekugiana is chiseled. A whole lot of sori for a wakizashi, & it looks koshi-zori. Hamon is some type of suguha, but your photos of the hamon & hada are just too blurry to tell anything. Maybe if you can take some better, IN-FOCUS shots, it would be easier to help you. Ken Quote
Grey Doffin Posted May 24, 2015 Report Posted May 24, 2015 Ken, if the nakago is o-suriage then this has to be gimei. Do we know this for a fact? With the strong sori I would watch for retemper. Be careful Cerjak. Your acceptance, without knowledge or experience, of blades in rough condition is setting yourself up to pay real money for worthless blades (not saying that is the case here). Grey 1 Quote
fromaes Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Posted May 25, 2015 A real blade, Cerjak, shinogizukuri, although I can't tell if there's a yokote. The photo of the Kanji is upside-down. The nakago is o-suriage, of course, & the mekugiana is chiseled. A whole lot of sori for a wakizashi, & it looks koshi-zori. Hamon is some type of suguha, but your photos of the hamon & hada are just too blurry to tell anything. Maybe if you can take some better, IN-FOCUS shots, it would be easier to help you. Ken Hello KEN Many thanks for your answer, I can confirm you that there is no yokote and as you can see , this blade has heavy traces of corrosion and also seriously damaged by unprofessional hands ( may be criminal for a collector) ! Anyway I would like to have your opinion about age and also about tsuba and Tsuka if possible . Cerjak Quote
fromaes Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Posted May 25, 2015 Ken, if the nakago is o-suriage then this has to be gimei. Do we know this for a fact? With the strong sori I would watch for retemper. Be careful Cerjak. Your acceptance, without knowledge or experience, of blades in rough condition is setting yourself up to pay real money for worthless blades (not saying that is the case here). Grey Hello Grey, Thank you for your advise and opinion. As previously wrote I don't care about condition ,I was knowing that for the price I 've paid the condition of the blade would be bad. But compare with an European sword it still amazing my only wish is only that it is an old blade. ( the seller told me circa 1450 and it is the fact I would like to check). Best Cerjak Quote
Grey Doffin Posted May 25, 2015 Report Posted May 25, 2015 Hi Cerjak, I mentioned retemper because that often is the cause of exagerated curvature in Japanese swords. Not saying that the sword is retempered (can't tell just from the pictures) but if it is, no one will be able to judge age or much of anything else about the blade (no one includes the guy who sold it to you). Grey Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted May 25, 2015 Report Posted May 25, 2015 I'm not a tosho expert, Cerjak, but the tsuba looks more recent than the blade, & appears crudely-made. The tsukamaki looks old, but also a bit odd, as the strands look as if they're welded together. That may just be age, though. The underlying samegawa looks real, & I have no idea what the menuki represents. The fuchi & kashira match, although they don't appear to be really high quality. The habaki is a basic copper You'll notice that I've left the blade for last. My guess is that it was shortened into an uchigatana-type wakizashi from a much longer blade which, as Grey points out, would make the blade gimei. I see no sign of retempering, but your photos really aren't clear enough to really tell anything in detail. Age-wise, going from the lack of visible yasurime, I'm guessing at least Muromachi, & possibly older, but please remember that this is nothing more than a guess. Aloha! Ken Quote
Geraint Posted May 26, 2015 Report Posted May 26, 2015 Dear Cerjak. Just to add that the menuki represent dried fish and the tsuka maki is probably lacquered paper, not common but original. I don't think the fuchi is original at all and it is possible that a perfectly adequate iron tsuba has been jollied up with the added decoration though we can't see much from your images. We probably don't need to worry to much about gimei, either for or against but it seems possible that this was a wakizashi which has been shortened, losing part of it's original mei. We may only be missing one kanji so the smiths name is Kuni....... However the position of the mekugi ana and indeed the mei remain odd. If you are happy with it then great. All the best. Quote
fromaes Posted May 26, 2015 Author Report Posted May 26, 2015 Thank you all for your comments ,I have particularly appreciated that you took of your time to share your knowledge and also to have expressed your honest opinions and your doubts as well . I still have to study each opinion carefully to be sure to fully understand your comments. I have posted two more swords some weeks ago in the forum and will be very happy to receive your opinion again . http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16685-need-opinion-for-a-katana/ http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16668-need-id-and-opinion-for-a-wakizashi/ Best Cerjak Quote
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