What Is Your Favorite Hamon-Hada Combo And Why?

[Guest Rayhan]

Ladies and Gentlemen, what is your favorite Hamon-Hada combo on a sword? We all have one that speaks to us and even if it is from a school that held to its principles and never strayed from their signature combo or a new era like ShinShinto where the experimentation was all the rage, there is that one that we love to see, so! Have at you, what is yours?

 

Mine is the Aoe combination of their Suguha and Chirimen (itame and mokume mix). Why? Some say the Hada looks like silk crepe but i prefer to liken it to the pearl white beach sand on a tropical beach! The mix is just beautiful and the Hamon I love for its absolute functional strength. If a sword was going to take a hammering in combat you want those vibrations moving evenly so the Suguha helps. Here is a picture from my Aoe. 

 

 

 

Aoe.bmp

 

 

 

Any contributors? 

[paulb]

I am with you regarding Aoe, or at least Chu-Aoe which I enjoy a lot.

Perhaps slightly more than Aoe I would go for the nashiji and suguha of Awataguchi.

Having said that there are many combinations that work extremely well to create something beautful

In the past I have made the mistake of imposing limitations on myself as to what I should like (a bit like a teenager in the 60s only following one style of music) In reality there are incredible works from most tranditons which should be judged not against each other but the standard for that school and then enjoyed.

[Guest Rayhan]

We must not limit ourselves here I agree, the variety is just too much! And Suguha is one of those Hamon that flows across all traditions which is great to see from an evolutionary perspective too 

 

AWATAGUCHI! Sugoi!   

[Kronos]

It's too hard to pick just one, I could maybe settle for 4 in no particular order:

 

Awataguchi  sugu and nashiji

Soshu O-mokume and gentle notare

Oei Bizen koshi-hiraki gunome-choji midare and mokume/O-Mokume

Fukouka Ichimonji, kinda like Yamatorige.

[Jamie]

Old, active hitatsura. There is nothing quite like it.

[Gakusee]

While I appreciate and like the noble, solemn elegance of suguha and nashiji / chirimen as exemplified by Aoe or Awataguchi or Rai, my favourite combination is flamboyant choji midare with mokume/itame and utsuri

Exemplified by my Ichimonji (apologies but the pictures have dust and other artefacts and do now show the usturi or hada too well)

Michael

[Guest Rayhan]

Ichimonji 

 

That is a beauty ! 

[Stephen]

long gone and kicking me butt over it

 

 

one Woody is polishing for a NMB  member a Shitahara den if this is not kosher ill remove it just say the word JL

 

[Alex A]

Slightly biased, but Hizen Tadakuni Konuka hada with deep gunome-midare.

 

Why, because I owned one and wish I still did, beautiful hada full of ji-nie and hamon like clouds.

[Ron STL]

So many beautiful groups of swords admire and enjoy, but I have always been taken (and learned from) the Awataguchi hada and hamon, Aoi works...but then a fine Hizen hada and suguha...well, what's not to be admired! While I prefer early swords and what you see in them, here I am admiring Naokatu/Naotane's works, too. My most favorite will still fall back to what you see in Awataguchi and most other Kamakura swords. Ron STL

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

I've always had a soft spot for Gassan School...

[Jean]

Yamato Tegai/Hosho

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17414-achieved-collection-gokaden/page-1

[Ray Singer]

A very fine ko-itame, densely covered with ji-nie. Nashiji-hada, chirimen-hada, konuka-hada, etc. That paired with a suguha (or suguha-based) hamon in consistent ko-nie with a bright habuchi that is not too tight. Ko-Aoe, Awataguchi, Rai and top Hizen-to are all very appealing to me.

[Jimmy R]

Sue Aoe swords I have been lucky enough to see are my favorite. With their tight Ko-Itame turning to areas of Mokume, it always reminds me of a deep powerful river where eddies rise and swirl above unknown features in its depths. On the obverse, blades with hamon that look like horses teeth seem to evoke revulsion in me. All stamping hooves and slathering gnashing teeth. There is a word for this sort of attraction and revulsion combined. It slips my mind.

[Guest Rayhan]

Jimmy, lol!

 

So many great pictures and tastes, keep them coming guys! (where are the gals in this forum?)

 

Rayhan Perera

[Jimmy R]

When describing the intangible, it is best to wax poetic. People can always say what they like, but why do you like Pink Floyd? Or Rachmaninoff? Uh oh. I am getting going again. I really like the Naoe Shizu in Jeans collection. I could tell you why, but I will keep it at that.

[Jeff H]

I would like anything I could afford. I like this thread because I can see what others look for. And by the way Jimmy, I am a huge Floyd fan. Had to post something when I saw that!

[Ian]

I have been determined to improve my photographs of blades, but little improvement I'm afraid. I wish I could capture utsuri  Anyway I hope you enjoy this as much as I do 

[Guest Rayhan]

Nice pictures Ian, great details in there!

 

Rayhan Perera

[SwordGuyJoe]

Tough for me to not vote for this one - since it was the one that got away, but is now on its way back to me. It's almost everything one could hope for in a blade from the Ikkansai group. Beautiful itame hada, an active nie-deki hamon (they worked in gunome, choji, midare, and suguha - using nioi-deki when working is straight bizen den vs. this soden-bizen work). It received 78 points at Tampa shinsa last year, when I mistakenly sold it to Curran . The only hallmark of the group that it's missing is horimono, but that is easy to overlook when you consider how much of the hada would have been lost.

 

[SwordGuyJoe]

Another pretty little tanto by Shigetsugu

 

[Guest Rayhan]

I love how the Hada doesn't detract from the amazing hamon(s) here Joe! Nice pictures and great taste!

 

Rayhan Perera

[nagamaki - Franco]

I love how the Hada doesn't detract from the amazing hamon(s)

Rayhan Perera

 

 

Hmm, a hada that detracted from the hamon.  

A nihonto oxymoron? Examples?

[Guest Rayhan]

Dear Franco

 

here is one http://www3.telus.net/sword/sword/index.htm/MyWebs6/Arihira.htm

 

 

Rayhan Perera

[Guest Rayhan]

Wait Franco

 

one more...

 

 

Rayhan Perera

[Jimmy R]

Hilarious, Arihira; "his works are few because mainly he worked with his father".