New Member - Questions on WW2 Blade

[Mark S.]

Hello,

 

This is my first post here, although I have been “lurking†(learning) here for some time. The reason for this first post is that I was lucky enough to inspect a sword that a friend has in his possession. Usual story - grandfather brought a couple swords home after WW2 and they have been “sitting in a closet†since.

 

After inspecting the sword, I am (of course) left with more questions than answers and would like to hear if anyone has any info to add. I apologize up front for any mistakes, misspellings, or misuse of terms.

 

General information:

Nagasa: 67.3 cm

Sori: 1.3 cm

Mounted in typical WW2 Army Gunto mount

Please see attached photos (sorry about the quality, but I’m learning and did not have the sword for a long period of time).

 

While I tried to translate the Mei on my own, I only got a partial translation before asking for assistance. With the help I received, I believe the Mei translates to Unjosai Katsunaga. After looking at Richard Stein’s Japanese Sword Guide, I found that the name is on the list of “undocumented WW2 Swordsmithsâ€. There are no other factory stamps or any date information on the reverse side. Does anyone have any more information about this smith or own a sword by this maker?

 

Also, I am interested in the hamon. I’m not quite sure how to refer to it. The hamon seems to alternate between suguha (straight) and ??????. Each “raised†area has 4 distinct “lobes†that have an almost mirror-like appearance as opposed to the more “milky†hamon. The attached pictures show this a little more clearly than I can explain (I hope). What would be the proper terminology for this type of hamon? Do you have an opinion as to oil vs. water temper? Machine vs. hand-made? Can’t see too much activity in the blade. I attribute this to one of three factors. 1) It’s not there, 2) state of polish hides it, or 3) I can’t see it / don’t know what I am looking at. I am leaning toward #3.

 

Thank you in advance. I’m happy to be here, and looking forward to learning a lot more.

 

Mark S.

[Mark S.]

Blade

[Mark S.]

Close-up of Hamon

[Mark S.]

Mei

[Gordon]

Hi Mark,

 

You have translated the signature correctly. From what I can see of the file marks, they look higaki, which would indicate a Mino smith. Probably one of the hundred or more who were making blades in Seki during the war. I can't add any more than that. The hamon is gunome and I suspect there is togari-ba in there too, also typical of Seki work.

 

Gordon

[Mark S.]

Gordon,

Thank you for your time and information. While searching many of the on-line sites, I was not able to find any other info on this smith, and I could not find any other blades with this specific hamon pattern. I appreciate your sharing what you know.

Mark S.

[Brian]

Mark,

 

I was also unable to find out anything about Unjosai Katsunaga at all.

Maybe some of the members have some of the more in-depth books on WW2 makers, otherwise he is just going to have to remain one of the few undocumented smiths that we don't know anything about.

If you look carefully at the hamon, can you see any nie at all? I am hoping for your sake that this is a water quenched blade and not one of the oil quenched mass produced blades. Looks like it might have possibilites? Maybe made from a Western steel or one of the ones in-between fully traditional and mass produced.

 

Brian

[Mark S.]

Brian,

I just wanted to follow up and say "thank you". I'll blame the holidays for my lack of courtesy. Unfortunately, I am not experienced enough to know if what I am looking at is truly nie. Luckily, this is not my blade, so I am not emotionally (or financially) tied to it. I just thought it was a little interesting as I had not seen this hamon pattern on what I have typically observed on WW2 blades - although my experience is EXTREMELY limited - and I realize a hamon by itself is not enough to judge a blade.

Mark S.