Rcently Aquired Old Tanto For Id Please

[matthew]

hi, I have just recently acquired what I think is a tanto I'm a real novice in this area and would like to know what age it could be and any other information relating to it , the fittings look very old as does the blade ,

thanks

[Geraint]

Dear Matthew.

 

It#s a hirazukuri blade, if it measures less than 12" from tip to the notch at the back edge where the habaki sits then it would be classified as a tanto,   That is a general guide, depending on the period it might be called something else.  The fittings are not great, the fuchi and kashira are supposed to be a kabuto I think and the menuki might be horses swimming.  What we need are photos of the sword with the hilt and fittings removed so we can see the nakago, (tang).

Are you confident to do this or would you like some guidance?

 

All the best and looking forward to what this reveals.

[Grey Doffin]

Sword care and etiquette, including how to remove and replace the handle:

http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm

Grey, with 3,000 posts, half of which are of this link.  There should be an uber-link at the top of every page on NMB, in flashing pink so it can't be missed.

[matthew]

Dear Matthew.

 

It#s a hirazukuri blade, if it measures less than 12" from tip to the notch at the back edge where the habaki sits then it would be classified as a tanto,   That is a general guide, depending on the period it might be called something else.  The fittings are not great, the fuchi and kashira are supposed to be a kabuto I think and the menuki might be horses swimming.  What we need are photos of the sword with the hilt and fittings removed so we can see the nakago, (tang).

Are you confident to do this or would you like some guidance?

 

All the best and looking forward to what this reveals.

hi thanks for your reply , I have taken the handle off with care and it shows that its unsigned , I will post some pics , the blade length is 13 inches to the copper piece before the handle , I would really like to know the age of it , but I expect that's very difficult as its unsigned ,thanks

[matthew]

[Geraint]

Hi Matthew,

 

At 13" this is technically a wakizashi, at this length often called a ko wakizashi.  Because the blade is not in good condition it is very hard to say much about the age or who made it but it looks as if it might be early Edo period.  You now have to make the choice about how to take care of it and at the moment a little light oil on the blade is probably all you need to go.

 

Have a look at the Token Society of Great Britain and the Northern Token society to see if you can get to a meeting and show it to some people.

Enjoy. 

[matthew]

Hi Matthew,

 

At 13" this is technically a wakizashi, at this length often called a ko wakizashi.  Because the blade is not in good condition it is very hard to say much about the age or who made it but it looks as if it might be early Edo period.  You now have to make the choice about how to take care of it and at the moment a little light oil on the blade is probably all you need to go.

 

Have a look at the Token Society of Great Britain and the Northern Token society to see if you can get to a meeting and show it to some people.

Enjoy. 

hi , thanks again for your reply and information , I have been tempted to clean the blade with metal polish but I don't think this would really help or improve it,

regards,matthew

[ROKUJURO]

Matthew,

in the contrary! Any DIY attempt to improve the condition of blade and fittings may damage them! A very thin layer of oil (not dripping of course! You don't want any oil in the sheath!) as recommended by Geraint is good enough for now. 
The age is not of much importance for the value. For us, a 500 year old blade may be called a relatively new sword (SHIN TO). The quality shows when the blade is polished, but this has to be done by a skilled and trained polisher. 

[matthew]

After looking more closely at the blade it looks like someone may have lightly sanded the blade as you can see light scratch marks running in the same direction across the blade , is it worth trying to get these out , I don't expect the blade is worth the expense of having it polished by a professional ?

[Mark C]

Hi Matthew,

 

I wouldn't, Try the link that Grey has posted and do no more for the moment.

 

If you can get to the Birmingham Arms fair on the 18th Feb, the Northern Token Society stall there, Show them the blade and see what they say.

They normally have a good aray of stuff on show so a good chance to start learning.

 

All the best

 

Mark C

[Jesper]

Hi Mattew,

It´s too early to say anything if is it worth the expense of having it polished or having scratch marks removed by a professional. It depend on the quality of the blade, which is not possible to see at the moment. Have you tried the remove the copper collar (Habaki)? Sometimes, the polish is better under the Habaki since it shielded the blade from dirt and has not been subject to any so-called restoration attempts by steel-wool, etc.  If it is stuck, you can try to GENTLY hit it with a piece of hardwood or bone (never metal!). Do not hurry, it may take some time to loosen it. 

It looks like a nice first buy which you can enjoy without doing any work on it. Just give the blade a very thin layer of oil.

 

Regards

Jesper

[matthew]

Hi Mattew,

It´s too early to say anything if is it worth the expense of having it polished or having scratch marks removed by a professional. It depend on the quality of the blade, which is not possible to see at the moment. Have you tried the remove the copper collar (Habaki)? Sometimes, the polish is better under the Habaki since it shielded the blade from dirt and has not been subject to any so-called restoration attempts by steel-wool, etc.  If it is stuck, you can try to GENTLY hit it with a piece of hardwood or bone (never metal!). Do not hurry, it may take some time to loosen it. 

It looks like a nice first buy which you can enjoy without doing any work on it. Just give the blade a very thin layer of oil.

 

Regards

Jesper

 

Hi Matthew,

 

I wouldn't, Try the link that Grey has posted and do no more for the moment.

 

If you can get to the Birmingham Arms fair at the end of Feb the Northern Token Society stall there, Show them the blade and see what they say.

They normally have a good aray of stuff on show so a good chance to start learning.

 

All the best

 

Mark C

hi marc , thanks for the advice , I will see if I can there to show them ,its a couple of hours drive for me ,

regards,matthew

[matthew]

Hi Mattew,

It´s too early to say anything if is it worth the expense of having it polished or having scratch marks removed by a professional. It depend on the quality of the blade, which is not possible to see at the moment. Have you tried the remove the copper collar (Habaki)? Sometimes, the polish is better under the Habaki since it shielded the blade from dirt and has not been subject to any so-called restoration attempts by steel-wool, etc.  If it is stuck, you can try to GENTLY hit it with a piece of hardwood or bone (never metal!). Do not hurry, it may take some time to loosen it. 

It looks like a nice first buy which you can enjoy without doing any work on it. Just give the blade a very thin layer of oil.

 

Regards

Jesper

hi jesper ,  I have tried to remove the collar and it will only move about 1 cm which does show a polished finish , when I get the blade in the right light I can just see a very tight wavy temper line or is it called hamon line?  well thanks for the advice I will just apply some oil .

regards,matthew