Yokote Ugly

[Alan F]

Close-up photo of a yokote, just for interest. 

 

 

Peter

 

 

[SAS]

Background info on sword?  Is it yours? Do you know who was the polisher? Enquiring minds want to know.

[lonely panet]

^{can you spell core steal}

[Brian]

Shows a fundemental lack of understanding of the lines of the kissaki and yokote.

[lonely panet]

sorry, but I thought the forward leaning yokote was a effect of the photograph, is that what we are looking at ?

[Dr Fox]

sorry, but I thought the forward leaning yokote was a effect of the photograph, is that what we are looking at ?

Use the line of the mune, as a base line and all will be revealed.

[SAS]

in all its koyote ugliness.....

[ROKUJURO]

^{can you spell core steal}

Does that have to do with this thread? It's core steel (not steal) = SHINTETSU

[Jean]

Steve,

 

I'd rather say "will Koyote" than "koyote ugliness" LOL

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Jean,

I believe you mean Wile E. Koyote (Coyote).

Grey

 

[Brian]

One of the cleverer titles I have seen on the NMB so far

[Thierry BERNARD]

aka "Carnivorous vulgaris" aka "Road-Runnerus digestus" aka "Eatibus almost anythingus", ....

   

[Jean]

That's it Grey LOL

[Alan F]

Sorry guys. This was intended to be a pun and a play on words. It was rather unfair of me, and somewhat deceitful.

There was a movie titled: Coyote Ugly.

Here's the urban dictionary reference to the meaning of "coyote ugly": http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=coyote+ugly

 

I wanted to demonstrate that close-up, clinical photos of blades (with harsh lighting or flash) can reveal details that are perhaps not so comely.

 

This is a  Kamakura Juyo Token (NBTHK) blade which is in good polish. April fools perhaps?

 

Peter

[SAS]

Did you sprinkle it with dandruff before photographing? If in good polish, why the scratches at the yokote? Also, why does the yokote seem to have an incorrect angle? If it is april fools, why is it November here?

[Alan F]

It's a macro photo with flash, dude! Every little piece of dust and fine scratches light up like a Christmas tree. That is exactly the point I was trying to make!

The yokote is not at an odd angle. Remember that the first photo is taken with a macro lens and cropped. Perspective and distortion.

 

Nothing wrong with the yokote angle. This was likely polished decades ago by a high rank polisher. It's expected that it should have a few fine scratches, no matter how well cared for.

 

It got it's Juyo papers fairly recently, in spite of the fine scratches.

Not all is as it seems, SAS.

 

 

 

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian]

Tricky, tricky.....

Hard to imagine these 2 are the same kissaki. Playing with angles and perspective are we?

 

 

[SAS]

Now that you have played a good trick, who is the smith? The Roadrunner?

[Ken-Hawaii]

Cant be shingane - there wasn't any in Kamakura.

 

Ken

 

[Ray Singer]

Cant be shingane - there wasn't any in Kamakura.

 

Ken

Both sumi-hada and rai-hada are expressions of shintetsu, seen in Kamakura blades.

 

Best,

Ray

[ROKUJURO]

......Also, why does the yokote seem to have an incorrect angle?....

Early HEIAN blades had such a wide angle on their respective YOKOTE.

[SAS]

see Brian's post #17

[Ken-Hawaii]

 

Both sumi-hada and rai-hada

Hada does not shingane make.  No core steel in Kamakura.

 

Ken

 

 

[Ray Singer]

Hada does not shingane make.

In this case it does. Both are terms for the appearance of shingane in the works of those particular schools (Yamashiro Rai and Bitchu Aoe). Not all Kamakura jidai blades were muku-zukuri. I am speaking from experience btw, I own a Kamakura tachi papered to Aoe which clearly shows shingane.

 

- Ray

[Alan F]

Ray, it strikes me that you are very open-minded.

 

Guys, I had no idea that the irregularities in the steel next to the yokote in my first photo might represent "core steel" or "shintetsu" or whatever.

All I had in mind was to show the somewhat ugly irregularities that were revealed in this macro photo adjacent the yokote. 

 

Brian, the photos are of the same kissaki. The second photo, however, is of the obverse side of the sword. That was my mistake. Hard to compare opposite sides. These photos were taken well over a year ago. Here is a photo of the same side as the first photo:

 

 

It also never occurred to me that the angle of the yokote looked odd, until it was pointed out. I think that it may be due to lens barrel distortion and the  angle that the photo was taken from (not perpendicular to the blade). Note that in this original un-cropped photo, the yokote is near the periphery of the lens. Plus it was very close-up. 

 

 

I will try to take some more photos in the next few days. That not only demonstrate the macro details, but also confirm the true orientation of the yokote.  

 

 

[Brian]

Peter,

No harm done. I thought the angle was the main point of the photo

Yes, it did look waaaay off as far as angle goes. Obviously not the case but you can see how that opinion came to be.

As for macro shots, I learned a long time ago that they seldom make us feel better about our blades. What looks like nice smooth metal in polish can look like the craters on the moon when photographed up close. Scratches that aren't there before look like the Grand Canyon

[Dr Fox]

The very action of 'polishing' is scratching the steel with stones.

Even the top class polishers stop, when the stone effect cannot be seen with the human eye.

To continue beyond that point would be a waste of time, and blade steel.

[Jim P]

Hi Peter,If its OK what do the Juyo papers say ?