Ara nie

[djcollection]

Some like ara nie, some like ko nie. What do you like? What are some examples of uncontrolled ara nie?

[paulb]

To be honest it depends where it occurs. As a general guide I prefer ko-nie especially in the ji-hada. Ara-nie is ok in sections of the hamon but it can start to clump together and become ugly. As with so many other features whether it looks good or not depends on how it blends and harmonizes with other activity in the blade.

below some images of nie (I would almost describe as ara nie ) in an Aoe blade and some on a Soshu blade

 

 

 

 

[djcollection]

11 hours ago, paulb said:

To be honest it depends where it occurs. As a general guide I prefer ko-nie especially in the ji-hada. Ara-nie is ok in sections of the hamon but it can start to clump together and become ugly. As with so many other features whether it looks good or not depends on how it blends and harmonizes with other activity in the blade.

below some images of nie (I would almost describe as ara nie ) in an Aoe blade and some on a Soshu blade

 

 

 

 

Some good examples here, thanks for sharing Paul.

[Rivkin]

Ara nie in its pure form is very uncommon in koto. Go Yoshihiro, occasionally others in Soshu school.

It becomes common in shinto Satsuma (which instead of earlier local Naminohira was a development of Ujifusa's interpretation of Soshu), and through Satsuma learned smith, Suishinshi Masahide included seeps into repertoir of almost every shinshinto smith who worked in Soshu style. Its one of the period's distinctions. To see the difference in ara nie quality one has to look at the best shinshinto works, Satsuma preferred and then compare them with something average. Or compare first and second generation Naokatsu, where the drop in quality was quite drastic.

Poor quality ara nie has no variety of nie's size, just big black chunks hanging in the middle of ji.

 

[paulb]

Yes I agree I have seen it most commonly in Satsuma blades, usually the lower quality ones. As you say they tend to club together in to chunks which I find rather unattractive. Is there any research on how it's presence material effects the performance of a blade. I would think it might increase the chance of brittleness and cracking but that s a guess not based on evidence.

 

[Mark C]

Apologies for the washy picture.

 

This is unattractive. on a Mitsuhiro Gendiato.

 

Regards

 

 

[IJASWORDS]

Mason, I am one of those who happen to like Ara Nie. The attached images are on a Gendai Kunimitsu, and I treasure it as a sword made in the Soshu tradition. OK, this example is a little over the top, but shows it off well. 

[Jacques]

Ara nie (size and number) are not always a sign of quality but often show a poor control of the quenching temperature. They can be found in sue Soshu and Shinshinto. An uninformed eye can take this flaw for a quality characteristic.