What Would You Call This Type Of Hamon?

[echizento]

Here is a mumei Bizen school wakizashi with and interesting Hamon. IMO it looks like Kobushigata Choji. What do you folks think?

 

 

[J Reid]

Kobushigata is a good call.. This also kind of looks like Kani-no-tsume "crab claw" gunome-choji

[echizento]

I see one or two areas where that might apply. 

[Ken-Hawaii]

Saiha, by any chance?

[echizento]

I don't think so, I don't see any signs of re-tempering. Anyone having an idea of what smith might have used this style? 

[vajo]

Crab claw hamon i.m opinion. Looks nice.

Best

Chris

[echizento]

Thanks.

[Greg F]

Choji with crab claw imo.

 

Greg

[echizento]

Crab claw is what I will go with, Thanks. Now to try and track down which smith might have made it. Easier said than done.

[J Reid]

A bizen smith.. maybe a later generation Sukesada.

[echizento]

Thanks Josh, I figured it was Sue-Bizen which at least gives me a starting base to track down a smith. One of the Sukesada's is probably right.

[CSM101]

Are you sure that this is a real hamon? I cannot see any Nie.

 

 

Uwe G.

[echizento]

It's there just difficult to see in the photos.

[CSM101]

Then please try to show it in a photo. At the moment (and this is my best-case-scenario) I think it is machinemade & oilquenched.

 

 

Uwe G.

[echizento]

Can't do any better with the pictures. There is very dense nioi following closely along the edges of the hamon. 

[vajo]

Uwe i see nie. It is a nihonto and for me it looks like a nice one.

[CSM101]

Good morning, Chris

 

When you take a look at image 1 left side you can see, that the hamon is darker than hada. But because of the heating

it should be the other way around. You should see nie/nioi; martensite, a nioiguchi... whatever.

 

But since I can´t see anything like that I can only repeat myself: no real nihonto.

 

Uwe G.

[echizento]

Uwe, the blade needs to be polished so the hada is not readily visible and the finer activity in the hamon is also not visible. You say it's not a real nihonto, I must disagree. Given the characteristics, it bares all the signs of a Bizen school blade, The shape of the nakago and the patina, the sori, the shape of the kissaki, and lastly the type of hamon all point to a Bizen school blade most likely Sue-Bizen. These are but a few points that tell me it's a real sword. Granted I have been away from collecting for a few years and that even with my 40 plus years of studying nihonto I any still a novice. But at this point I think I know a real Japanese sword from a cheap fake or Chinese knock off.  

 

I was think I might buy some nugui polish and do a small window at the ha-machi. I intend to send this for polish at some point so it IMO wouldn't do any damage to the blade. 

 

I appreciate your comments. 

[J Reid]

Uwe, it's just the polish. The blade seems "reverse" in its current state. However,it is without doubt- nihonto.