Critique Of A Recent Pickup

[gun addict]

Recently purchase this Koto katana for the right price. Knowing full well this is hardly an art sword by any means. Still, I’d like to hear some inputs on this blade . I am particularly interested as to what school this long (28.5) katana belonged to and what period it was forged in.

 

Thanks for all your Inputs in advance

-Tim

[Gordon Sanders]

is that pitting from very deep/bad rust?

[gun addict]

It is not as far as I can tell. The picture makes it look worse than it is.

[Katsujinken]

That sugata doesn’t cry out koto to me. But take my comment with a grain of salt. Other more experienced folks may chime in.

[TheGermanBastard]

Sugata suggests that it could also be Kanbun Shinto. Unfortunately condition is is troublesome.

[gun addict]

In what way does the condition seem troublesome? Is it the Fukure?

[TheGermanBastard]

Well, while fukure are not considered a fatal flaw those fukure in your sword come next to fatal. They are prettay bad. I can not comment on the Boshi. I can not see it in your images but that may be just due to the image. You would however want to check on wheter it is still there. If you can not see it you should run a copper coin gently along the cutting edge and kissaki and thus see of there is still temper left.

 

Aside from the fukure the blade shows signs of tieredness and I think I can see Shintetsu in the blade.

 

The blade has little sori. Overall my first impression was that it could be a Kanbun Shinto piece. However it could be also a mass produced late Muromachi periode piece. This would corelate with the poor forging quality and tieredness due to repated polishing.

 

 

Your question regarding school is legitimate of course. However it does not really matter as no matter what school it is or even if it was made by a famous maker (which it 99.9% possibiliy not) as it unfortunately just remains a bottom sword.

 

Please don't get me wrong. I do not wish to put down your sword. In the end it is all a matter of price and no matter what condition a sword is, there is almost always some sort of value to it which grealy lies in the buyers / owners eyes.

 

Would I recommend to buy this sword? That's a tough question as it is again a personal decision. Would I buy it? No because there are just better things out there and this sword is a bottom piece. If I were you I would study it for what it is and either keep it or better pass it on.

 

I once had bought a Bizen Koto sword. 33'' Nagasa, Ubu, Signed. That's the good part ... the bad one was it had a fukure similar like on your sword. After I cleaned away the rust I found 3 Hagire. It was just a mass produced Osafune piece of inferior quality. I made it go away for what it was. Sometimes we need to let things go.

[gun addict]

Luis. Thank you for your great advice , truly. To be honest I found this sword cheap (under $1000) and being so busy and out of sword collecting for so long I bought it on a whim. I’ve still got a lot to learn in the field despite buying some of the essential books needed for collecting.

[J Reid]

I can't give you any info on school or smith because vital details are lacking .. however from what I can see I would lean on Koto and possibly Mino. The color of the steel is much darker than one would expect in a shinto blade. Fukure are never nice.. The Boshi needs close examination and I would check for hagire. The koshirae look decent. Will be hard to resell because of flaws etc.. but if you plan on keeping it, I could understand its appreciation as a nice piece of history. Hope it was on the lower end of $1000.. Cool pick up all things aside!

[groyn]

  On 11/12/2017 at 7:26 PM, NihontoCollector said:

 If you can not see it you should run a copper coin gently along the cutting edge and kissaki and thus see of there is still temper left.

 

Hi Luis,

 

As a novice, may I ask what one would expect to see? Is it simply that the tempered edge would mark the coin? There is no danger of damaging the blade edge by doing this?

 

Roy

[TheGermanBastard]

Removed

[groyn]

Thank you Luis, very helpful.

Interesting re:Apple vinegar, just warm or actually hot? And what would you use to neutralise it?

Roy

[PNSSHOGUN]

  On 11/12/2017 at 11:51 PM, groyn said:

Thank you Luis, very helpful.

Interesting re:Apple vinegar, just warm or actually hot? And what would you use to neutralise it?

Roy

I would try it on a chinese blade first Roy.

[Ken-Hawaii]

I agree on possibly Muromachi, Tim, but don't see Mino. You're unlikely to find hagire with fukure at those locations, which I guess is good news. I also wouldn't have bought this blade. Your "under $1000" would have gone a long way towards a blade in better condition. I suggest spending more on books - & more study time - until you have a better grasp of what makes a collectible sword. I also suggest staying away from acid etching of any sort. - too easy to make a bad blade even worse.

 

Ken

 

[obiwanknabbe]

As for the blade, i think all that can be said has been... I would have passed as well.... BUT .. that being said.. let's have a look at the tsuba, menuki, and fuchi/kashira... Could be something there?

[PNSSHOGUN]

At the end of the day he does have a real Japanese sword, yes it isn't in good shape and he could've gotten something nicer but it could be much worse.

[Bazza]

I really have to emphasise here Ken's comment - NO ACID OF ANY SORT.  It goes deeper than you can imagine and changes the character of the steel to such an extent it can render the blade unsuitable for a polish.  Also, embrittlement of the metal can occur depending on the acid.  I'm sure far more knowledgeable people will (hopefully) chip in here.

 

BaZZa.