Yikes! What Is This?

[Mister Gunto]

I came across this photo of some damage on a katana being sold online. I'm not so much interested in the sword, as to just what would cause this weird damage?

 

It looks like the blade took a hit after being polished, and fresh rust has settled in. But what would cause that weird crazing or spider-webbing in the steel? It's like the surface steel is cracking. 

 

Have any of you seen something like this before? Just curious. 

 

 

[Ken-Hawaii]

It's obviously an impact artifact, but can't tell much other than that. The micro-shinae indicate that the blow was pretty severe.

 

Red rust on the blade tells me that it's not being taken care of, too.

[Greg F]

Hi Bradley it looks like the blade has been hit by something and taken a chunk out of it and it hasnt been taken care of since. There may have been a weekness in the steel before it was hit too. The web is spider web rust, its rust traveling outwards I think. A shame.

 

Regards

 

Greg

[Mister Gunto]

Thanks guys. The impact ding is apparent. I just never had seen that odd spider webbing cracking before. Looks weird. 

[nagamaki - Franco]

Those vertical lines along the ha are let's say eye catching, too.

[16k]

It’s been bent by the shock! Quite a heavy blow! A fierce battle against a rock maybe?

[raynor]

I'm no expert and cant tell one from another but I know there are micro organisms that live off oxidizing iron and that they can leave a spiderweb like pattern.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hit by shrapnel is my guess. Spiderweb rust can also be caused by blood.

[Dave R]

Hit by shrapnel is my guess. Spiderweb rust can also be caused by blood.

 

 My first thought as well.

[Mister Gunto]

The sword is currently in Japan, in a Shirasaya mount. (I just happened across the pic in the seller's ebay listing) And the rust looks fresh. 

 

Maybe someone was messing around and hit it with another blade? Looks too recent to be old damage. 

[Geraint]

Well I'm having trouble with this one.  It's a bit like one of those images that your brain can see in one of two different ways.  I think I am seeing some sort of lump on the surface rather than a chunk taken out.  Wouldn't that make more sense of the spider rust as well?

 

Like Franco I am interested in the two vertical lines at the hamon but they look rather more like formations to do with the yakiire than hagiri from this shot.

 

Well, I'll just wander quietly off into the undergrowth and book an appointment with my optician then, shall I?  

[dwmc]

Agree with Ken ( post # 2), severe impact causing micro-shinae (fracturing). Impact could have been caused as John mentioned by shrapnel as smaller impact can be seen at lower right of photo also causing shinae. Micro-shinae normally invisible to the eye may have become visible due to rust.

[Greg F]

After reading Geraint's post I can see it maybe being a lump and when you zoom in it looks a little like theres a weld?

 

Greg

[Mister Gunto]

I see what you're saying. Although, to me, the lump seems more of an optical illusion caused by the angle of the blade mune. The weld could be a repair, or the rusted over edge of a cut mark? 

 

I'm probably putting too much into this. I just think its very odd damage. I've collected military bayonets long before I got into Japanese swords. Many turn up really thrashed. And yet I've never seen anything quite like this. 

[Tom Darling]

Blade has a nice hamon, is it signed? 

 

 

 

Tom D.

[Mister Gunto]

I went back to check, the auction is down now. Sold or pulled. 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Can you post the original listing?

[Mister Gunto]

Sorry, I didn't save it to my watch list. DOH! 

 

The rest of the blade actually looked pretty nice. The damage was just confined to this one area. 

[Blazeaglory]

SOLD

[DRDave]

Click here, then scroll down a bit.

[Mister Gunto]

That's it!

[Blazeaglory]

The shirasaya with this one is super nice!

 

This Katana looks like a later gen Kanemoto? Or at least Mino. The extreme uniform "3" sanbon-sugi is strong in this one

 

At first I thought it was a lump but as I looked closer, it does appear to be an optical illusion and a chunk is missing. I wonder if it can be restored? You can see in this pic that the damage is almost at the kissaki.

[Mister Gunto]

Did you buy it?

[Blazeaglory]

No.. I'm saving for something better. No more impulse buying for me.

[Mister Gunto]

I'm guilty of that as well. It can be a tough temptation to avoid sometimes. 

[ggil]

The seller takes non-flattering pics. The spider webbing are surface corrosion that are crawling along the surface, it’s just a surface effect. when there is active rust it acts like a catalyst and drives rust on the surface that spiderwebs our and ruins the surface finish. Ruining the finish allows more surface area and so corrosion will tend to set in faster, but the white spiderwebbing our from an opening or active rust is typical, it’s just this seller takes too honest photos (relatively speaking) and shows cloudy spider-webbing all the time. I’ve purchased a blade from them and it looked way worse in their photos. In hand the white webs will actually look black/dark. The seller’s lighting typically shows flaws well, which is actually a decent thing to do.

 

Tho area of white (looks like hadori) in between the ?active rust hole? And the spider webbing is probably evidence of someone going to town and trying to remove the rust at some point.

[Mister Gunto]

Thanks for the explanation. I had thought the inital impact on the back of the blade had caused the surface steel to crack in that odd pattern. I hadn't seen rust like that before. 

[Blazeaglory]

Hopefully whoever bought this comes here and shows us its nice new restoration and polish. That thing wasnt cheap although the seller usually accepts decent offers

[Surfson]

New strain of steel eating bacteria going around.

[Ganko]

Looks like it may have been a shrapnel hit which seems to have created a couple of hagire in the edge opposite to it. The seller states that it has some cracks. The old rust in the deep pit wasn't completely neutralized or removed when it was polished and started growing again.