A Friends Blade

[Gasam]

Hi all,

 

My friend who is visiting his old home town during the summer brought over an old blade. Its current home is his mothers sewing-cabinet, and has been so for many years.

My friends family is (or rather was) one of sailors. He suspects this sword was brought to Norway by his grandfathers brother. When his ship left Japan a long time ago, he missed it because of a romantic involvement with a Japanese woman. He had to stay in Japan for a long time before the ship returned from Europe :-) This was before WWII, my friend believe it was in the 1920s or 30s.

 

At any rate, the sword has an unusual shape I have only seen in tantos before (katakiriha-zukuri), but in this blade ridge line further away from ha than in the tantos I have seen with this shape. One side is alsolutely flat, the other side has a shinogi, but no yokote.

Hada is o-mokume (as far as I can see). Polish is too old to see the hamon, but I can clearly see the metal changing color, the shape seems to be something like a suguha hotsure.

 

I can see no boshi. Nakago seems ubu, but mumei.

 

It has what I would say is Fumbari towards the machis. It seems to be more pronounced in hand than in the pictures.

 

Length is 43.3 cm, so wakizashi size. It is very light, so when he held my shinshinto wakizashi later he immediately remarked how heavy it felt.

 

The sword is tired. There are several openings etc, and the sword is thinner (markedly) on the blade than on the nakago. My friend believed the sword was battle-scarred because of markings on the blade, but surely those must be polished-down kanji. they are shown in one picture.

 

I have tried briefly to check for wakizashis of this shape, but found none. I have oiled the blade and advised him to keep it in shirasaya and not touch it anymore with fingers. Advised against all kinds of polishing attempts etc, also Japanese polish (blade too tired I think).

 

But does anyone have any examples of this shape in wakizashis? I would like to be able to tell him an approximate age at least. It could be meiji tourist crap, but shirasaya is good work, and surely with this many polishes, there could be some age to this blade?

 

PS: there looks like hakobore in one of the pictures. This is the crappy phones fault. Ha is good and still decent sharp :-)

[Gasam]

pic of polished down kanji.

[Geraint]

Hi G.

 

The kanji on the blade suggest Kaifu, have a look at this one for example.  http://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-ozaki-mo-kaifu

 

All the best

[Shugyosha]

Hi Gasam,

 

There's one on Aoi Art:

 

http://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-mumei-there-is-a-signaturebishu-osafune-sukesada-on-the-blade

 

And there's another wakizashi with unusual sugata on Nihontocraft:

 

http://www.nihontocraft.com/Yoshitake_Katakiriba.htm

 

Best,

John

[Gasam]

Thank you both, will check out the links :-)

[Kai-Gunto]

I have a Kaifu wakizashi........

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/12615-katakiriba-blade-in-nice-mounts/?hl=kaifu&do=findComment&comment=130348

[Brian]

I was also going to suggest Kaifu.

[Gasam]

Thank you all again.

 

Kaifu school it seems then, and something new learned once more in the world of nihonto and these fine forums :-)