So Why Does The Nakago Smell Like Ash? And Nothing Else Does

[stevel48]

Hmmm. New to me wakizashi that arrived today and upon inspection the nakago smells like a camp fire. hmmmm, Suspicious yes but there is zero indication that the blade was ever in a fire as i can see.  There no scaling, no discoloration, no additional temper line, the nakago has a nice chocolate brown appearance and nothing rubs off on your hand. Yeah its suspicious but it isn't scaring me away. It was hundreds of dollars not thousands.

 

Presented as a muromachi Kongobyoe Moritaka. By all accounts the sword attributes jive with the period, koto sword traits, school and other examples of Moritaka nihonto. The mei seems genuine in that it was certainly chiseled and has aged/patina'd  at the same rate as the rest of the nakago

 

So what gives? Is it the tsuka causing the smell if a craftsman long ago used fire for whatever crazy reason when carving it? Was it a fireplace poker for someone?  The koshirae looks edo and has no ash smell to it. Is someone trying to darken the nakago with soot? The nakago is not black but a nice brown patina. Is carbon used to clean active red rust of which there are only 2 spots.

 

This is only my 4th sword in about 10 years so i'm not well versed in the sword game trickery.

[Ken-Hawaii]

I have to admit that I've never smelled a nakago, Steve, so I don't have a clue about what you're smelling.

 

Ken

[Grey Doffin]

Could it be that the former owner used soot to make a plastic tape oshigata?  That's all I can think.  BTW, never use soot to make an oshigata.

Grey

[Jean]

Never smell anything...

[vajo]

Sometimes Koshirae smell like smoke. All lot of the old collectors smoke pipe or cigarettes. 

[Yoshimichi]

My first thought was the same as Grey's: Someone made a smoke oshigata of the nakago and mei. I have made a few in the past when the mei has been very faint and extremely difficult to read using the normal oshigata method or a camera. It is done by using candle smoke/soot. Once sufficient soot has coated the nakago, as Grey mentioned, a wide piece of plastic packing tape is pressed onto the nakago, then gently removed, leaving a soot impression of the mei and nakago on the tape, and then it is taped onto a white piece of paper to make it easier to translate. I am not sure to what extent the process has any long-term impact on the patina or nakago, unless one lets the flame touch the nakago, but I have never noticed anything different, or a soot or smoke smell myself after doing one..

 

Regards,

Bill E. Sheehan (Yoshimichi)   

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hello,

 

Although unfamiliar with Chikuzen Kongobyoe Moritaka, am I not looking at a very Kaga-ish nakago jiri? 

Or am I totally confused?

[ROKUJURO]

Franco,

yes, I had the same impression. Very much KAGA.

Concerning the smell, soot itself does not really smell strongly, depending on the origin. Maybe there was something in the TSUKA? Perhaps a thin strip of wood glued in with natural (melted) resin?

[Stephen]

possible ash was used like talc to bring out the mei?

[stevel48]

Hello,

 

Although unfamiliar with Chikuzen Kongobyoe Moritaka, am I not looking at a very Kaga-ish nakago jiri?

Or am I totally confused?

 

Correct. Some of the Later Moritaka sons did not use sotoba as many in the school did.

 

https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-moritaka-kongo-hyoe

[stevel48]

A smoke oshigata seems reasonable as the mei is somewhat faint. Smells like they rubbed it with wood charcoal and not soot from a candle.

[stevel48]

Then there is this odd marking on tha nakago. Just for fun.

[SAS]

[Toryu2020]

FWIW a petroleum smell is sign of repatination. I often sniff at nakago.

-t

[ROKUJURO]

Then there is this odd marking on the nakago. Just for fun.

This could be an effect of folding.

[SwordGuyJoe]

I was thinking that while conducting the suriage, the nakago became misshaped and the smith welded a piece on? No idea why that would be done...

[stevel48]

I was thinking that while conducting the suriage, the nakago became misshaped and the smith welded a piece on? No idea why that would be done...

Only on one side though

[SwordGuyJoe]

Missed that. Shoots my theory in the ass