FletchSan Posted January 23, 2017 Report Posted January 23, 2017 Hi All, I received this Katana today which I assume is in a mix of civilian and ww2 mounts. I had the inscription translated thanks to Steve M in the translation forum and have been doing a little more research. I guess there are 3 possibilities with the most likely being gimei though interested in some feedback. 1. Showa period Amahide from the Amahide factory. There are no arsenal stamps and the signatures of the Amahide factory are very chippy in style and do not match the mei on this sword. 2. Shinshinto period Amahide. This would be Masahide when he passed his art name onto his son and signed as Amahide for a few years into retirement. There is no Kokuin and I haven't found a match signing as Amahide Tsukuru Kore. That said I haven't found too many examples and apparently not all have the Kokuin. The 天 and 秀 characters are a reasonable match to some examples though the 天 character is a little askew. 3. Gimei Amahide. I would imagine more gimei are signed Masahide though may be a good idea to sign where there are less examples to compare it with ! The hamon came out quite nicely after a good clean. I haven't yet tried to compare with examples of his work to see if there are similarities. The inscription reads: 於八幡宮社前切試ｼ並ﾆ武運長久祈ﾙ Tested and consecrated for good luck in battle at Hachimangu shrine Another interesting discovery (or coincidence) is that the Hachimangu shrine is quite close to where he lived in Hamamachi town in Bushu Edo (now in Nihonbashi Hama-machi, Chuō ward, Tokyo). About 3km according to Google Maps Measurements Nagasa: 68.3cm Sori: 1.4cm Kasane: 0.7cm Quote
ROKUJURO Posted January 23, 2017 Report Posted January 23, 2017 Ben,the NAKAGO looks carefully made, but the HAMON lets me believe this blade was oil-quenched. Unless there is a defined HADA to be seen, I don't think it is a handmade blade/GENDAITO. Quote
Jim P Posted January 23, 2017 Report Posted January 23, 2017 Hi Ben, IMHO Jean is right oil-quenched Quote
FletchSan Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Posted January 23, 2017 Interesting. It doesn't look like other oil quenced hamons I've seen on gunto blades - though hard to see any activity in the photos I agree. I'll resort to my trusty animated gif - though still hard to see much of anything. Quote
Bazza Posted January 23, 2017 Report Posted January 23, 2017 Agree with Jean and Jim - gunto/oil quenched and I have seen the hamon type before. BaZZa. Quote
Stephen Posted January 23, 2017 Report Posted January 23, 2017 The hard top hamon is dead giveaway. Quote
FletchSan Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Posted January 23, 2017 Thanks guys. Looks like it's oil quenched then, not what I had expected. It doesn't quite fit the profile of other gunto I've seen (putting the hamon aside) with the nakago and missing arsenal marks. Anyone have any other examples of Showa period Amahide with a similar mei? Are there any examples of pre ww2 swords being oil quenched? cheers, Ben Quote
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