EdWolf Posted July 1, 2019 Report Posted July 1, 2019 Yesterday I have bought an interesting tanto. It has an unusual blade shape. I'm trying to find the right name and the best fit is in my opinion kanmuri-otoshi-zukuri. Good you please confirm or point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance! Best regards, Ed 4 Quote
vajo Posted July 1, 2019 Report Posted July 1, 2019 Looks like a little brother copy of a kogarasu-maru Has a interesting hamon. The blade reminds me on a kunitsune tanto late muromachi. Kissaki-moroha-zukuri tanto. 2 Quote
nagamaki - Franco Posted July 1, 2019 Report Posted July 1, 2019 fyi, https://markussesko.com/2015/02/14/kantei-1-sugata-1/ http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/styles.html 1 Quote
16k Posted July 1, 2019 Report Posted July 1, 2019 That’s what I call a cute tanto! Very original! Quote
ROKUJURO Posted July 1, 2019 Report Posted July 1, 2019 Looking at the crude NAKAGO, I suspect this to be a very late (TAISHO?) tourist piece in spite of the interesting SUGATA. 1 Quote
Jean Posted July 1, 2019 Report Posted July 1, 2019 I back you Jean. The nakago is , for the least, crude. Quote
EdWolf Posted July 2, 2019 Author Report Posted July 2, 2019 Thank you guys for your input. I think the blade is definitely older than late Taisho. The pictures don't do justice to the blade. So I shot an other picture in natural daylight. The nakago has a much darker than what you see in the pictures of my first post. Hope this will help. Best regards, Ed Quote
Brian Posted July 2, 2019 Report Posted July 2, 2019 It's not about the patina, it's about the shape and style.I also think this is a soldier's tanto or shrine type purchase. Maybe get a window polished to see what the hamon looks like. 1 Quote
EdWolf Posted July 2, 2019 Author Report Posted July 2, 2019 Brian, thanks for your reply. I have seen soldier's tanto before but never with this type of blade shape. Don't think a window polish is a good investment. The cost of a window polish is higher than the costs of the tanto. Quote
lonely panet Posted July 2, 2019 Report Posted July 2, 2019 its so rough it makes me think post war tourist piece made for GI's Quote
ROKUJURO Posted July 2, 2019 Report Posted July 2, 2019 Ed,your TANTO has an interesting and uncommon shape, but the NAKAGO is not carefully executed which causes some doubt. There is of course the possibility that this is an older blade which was broken or has been shortened for whatever reason.Concerning the costs of a 'window polish', I would not reIate them to the purchase price but to the potential value that might show up later. 2 Quote
EdWolf Posted July 2, 2019 Author Report Posted July 2, 2019 Hi Jean, Thanks for your reply! I know you must not relate the cost to the purchase cost but if you guys think it's not that old it is not a wise choice. You guys are much knowledgeable and your opinion is highly appreciated! The only thing I know for sure is that it is made before 1945 and brought back by a soldier. Quote
Grey Doffin Posted July 2, 2019 Report Posted July 2, 2019 I think there is little to no chance this predates the 20th century. The nakago, as mentioned, is a red flag but it isn't the only one. Look at the mune in the middle picture; that bump at the top of the hi is wrong. Nothing is finished properly; the last (and probably only) polish was slap dash. The Kogarasu-maru sugata is quite elegant on the Kogarasu-maru; it comes across as clumsy on this tanto (too much is happening over too short a length). Possibly a soldier's knife but more likely made to sell to a western tourist, I think. Grey 2 Quote
EdWolf Posted July 2, 2019 Author Report Posted July 2, 2019 Hi Grey, Thank you for pointing that out. Makes sense. Case closed, lesson learned! A nice knife to use in the garden. Best regards, Ed Quote
Brian Posted July 2, 2019 Report Posted July 2, 2019 Even if a tourist type tanto or a soldier's tanto...you have a few hundred $'s there. Likely more than you paid for it. I wouldn't be so quick to write it off.Also, looks to have a nice hamon. I would uchiko the heck out of it and see what shows. Quote
vajo Posted July 2, 2019 Report Posted July 2, 2019 The nakago looks like a suriage. I have a nice bizen muromachi wakizashi in a perfect Japanese polish and the nakago looks like crude and damaged like this. I think not that this tanto is a tourist piece or soldiers tanto. It has a famous shape. Maybe a shrine gift? I would think hamon and hada looks very good. i have played with some photoshop filters to get the hamon out. The hamon goes complete around the boshi. Quote
EdWolf Posted July 2, 2019 Author Report Posted July 2, 2019 Chris, That's a nice photoshop trick! Maybe it's better to use my old Buck knife in the garden. Brian, "Uchiko the heck out of it" is maybe an option. Regards, Ed Quote
EdWolf Posted July 2, 2019 Author Report Posted July 2, 2019 Very nice drawing Chris! Do you also use photoshop for this? Quote
vajo Posted July 2, 2019 Report Posted July 2, 2019 Yes Ed, the whole world is photoshop Its a good tool. Btw i could draw this also on paper with coal with a real blade on the table, thats not a problem. If i look sometimes on the drawings from AOI-Art, Tsuruta san makes very nice Oshigata with a lot of artistic freedom, which he see things that other never see But to see the shape clearly, a photoshop oshigata is not bad at all. 2 Quote
EdWolf Posted July 28, 2019 Author Report Posted July 28, 2019 Good question Conny. I'm stil not sure. I have inspected the blade again and the bump in the middle of the blade is not there. It's just an optical illusion caused by the triangle shape of the mune and shadows. Can't post new pictures at the moment. On vacation. All the best, Ed Quote
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