Is there any way to fix a hagire?

[Novalame]

Hi,

 

Perhaps a slightly more sentimental post here.

 

Long story short, I have a muromachi period katana by Kanefusa. It's of great sentimental value to me and truly one of my most treasured possessions. Unfortunately, it's also suffered from some neglect as it wasn't stored properly for many, many years. As a result, there's some surface rust. One day, I hope to get it polished. However, there's also a hagire running through the hamon towards the middle of the blade.

 

If we assume that getting this polished would be a purely sentimental rather than financial venture for me, is there anything that can be done for such a fatal flaw? Would a polisher even be able to polish the blade?

 

I was going to post some images but unfortunately there's been a technical glitch my end and as such I'll have to take them again tomorrow when there's some decent light. So apologies for that.

 

Any thoughts would be welcome.

 

Regards,

 

Ellie,

[Katsujinken]

No, you can’t fix a hagire. 
 

Yes, it can still be polished (though you may want to explain the situation to the togishi). 
 

And since you’re not planning to fight with the sword () and the value is sentimental, I say do what will make you happy!

[b.hennick]

Perhaps instead of a  full polish get a window done. You will be able to see the hamon and hada. It is usually not very expensive to get a window done. The polisher can also do the kissaki to show the boshi.

[Lingonberry]

I've heard rumors of folks in Japan trying teensy welds to try and contain the hagire but it doesn't truly "fix" it - you'll still see it and the sword is still effectively "dead" in the sense that it could still break if anyone tries to use it (which nobody should be doing anyway, of course).

 

I think it's still possible to get it polished though as others have said, you're going to need to explain to the polisher why you're still willing to spend that much on a dead blade. It's also possible they may refuse, so be ready for that.

 

Absolute worst case scenario is, if the sword is long enough above the hagire and you're willing to spend the dosh, it could possibly be made into an o-suriage wakizashi.

[ChrisW]

Some swords, regardless of flaws (fatal or otherwise) can and do get papering in the case of being VERY early or from an important smith or there needing to be a representative piece existing in the society's documents. The older or more famous the blade, the more likely it is to be 'forgiven' of any flaws.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Ellie, photos will help us give you more guidance.

[Stephen]

Is ther a blade strike above the crack on the mune?

[Novalame]

Hi, 

 

Apologies for the delay. My camera decided that it was about time to give up the ghost, so I only have the one. I'll try to get a shot of the whole katana when I can.

 

I've taken a photo, damage is located towards the middle of the blade: two smaller hagire either side and one big one. By best guess is that either someone's tried cutting something than they shouldn't have (possible as it was brought back by a Second World War Veteran) or that it's old battle damage. It's also scuffed and somewhat rusted.

 

It is an older sword, Koto, likely Muromachi or so I've been told and is signed "Kanefusa".

 

Thank you again for all your replies and guidance.

 

 

[b.hennick]

I see no way to fix that. You could have it made into a tanto or wakizashi. You could have the original mei inlaid in to the new tang. Or, you could leave it as is and enjoy it for what it is/was. Or you could have a polisher open a window so that you  could appreciate the hada and hamon.

[JH Lee]

Oh, yikes.  No, there's no way to fix that except maybe cosmetically with a "patch" blended in.  But its life as a serviceable weapon is over, unless it is shortened o-suriage.

[Novalame]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the replies. Yeah, that's about what I thought.

 

I assume any attempt to polish that particular segment might well damage the blade further? It's more a case of preservation than anything else as there is quite a bit of rust. I have no illusions of sending it off to be appraised. As I mentioned, this sword means a good deal to me.

[Lingonberry]

I think your two best options are to enjoy it "as-is" or have it shortened. If I had the cash and it was up to me I would go for shortening and a nice polish. Your best bet, though, would be to show it to a trained polisher in person and see what they think (window, shorten, or leave alone).

[micah]

3 hours ago, Lingonberry said:

I think your two best options are to enjoy it "as-is" or have it shortened. If I had the cash and it was up to me I would go for shortening and a nice polish. Your best bet, though, would be to show it to a trained polisher in person and see what they think (window, shorten, or leave alone).

you could not shorten it the damage is to far up on the katana 

[Andi B.]

I think shortening a blade doesn't make any sense nowadays...

(I wouldn't have my leg amputated to look better just because my kneecap was broken.)

[DoTanuki yokai]

Ofc this can be weld together but that would destroy the temper.  It can be a nice  study piece after polish but lost most of its value for collectors. 

[Shugyosha]

I thought I read somewhere that modern laser welders could fix a hagiri and that this was being done in Japan by unscrupulous sellers. 
 

I assume that “fix” in this context means joining two pieces together. I suppose it is still going to ruin the temper close to the weld, but it might be less obtrusive than would otherwise be the case. 

[Brian]

Technology exists that was not contemplated those days. At some point in the future, a lot of what we work according to will have to "change with the times" and stuff like shinsa and repairs will move with the future.
In this case, now or eventually, micro laser welding will probably be able to fully repair a hagire, and the minute area (tenths of a mm?) where the hamon was interrupted would likely not cause structural failure. Eventually. But because this is still a tradition-based hobby, I don't think it will be accepted anytime soon.
Look...a modern colour printer can print a portion of a painting perfectly. but if you damaged a part of the painting, even though you can glue a piece of the print over it, or even have it repainted to match 100%, it is not accepted the same as an original.
Hagire etc is traditionally fatal. I don't think it is 100% because of possible failure in battle. Otherwise re-heat treating would restore a burned sword back to life and the sword would be just as valued as a weapon without any loss of value. It has to do with what flaws have always been considered fatal and what is accepted according to study and tradition.
Sometimes we are just going to have to deal with the fact that although technically something can be done, it is still not going to be treated the same as something original.

[DoTanuki yokai]

I think i once saw a blade where something like this was tried (?) and in the end it would have looked better with only the hagire.

Im not sure what they tried on this blade or if the damage have something to do with this activity but maybe someone saw something like this before ?

The hagire is still visible.

[Novalame]

I do have some restoration experience - granted not in the field of Nihonto - and we were always taught to prefer preservation over restoration. I don't particularly want to weld the blade however I would like to get some of the rust off and if possible to be able to make out the hamon, more clearly. I wasn't too sure if this was possible with a hagire. I guess the next step would be to find a togishi who would consider taking on the blade given its condition.

 

One of the reasons I asked was because, unfortunately I can't remember where I read this but I had heard that something that was sometimes done was to melt some tamahagame and use it as something of a filler although I can't imagine how this would work and I can only assume it would damage the blade. 

[JH Lee]

Here's something:

 

http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/flaws.html

 

Called "umegane."

[Novalame]

Oh thanks. That was the very site I remember seeing it on. Something to be shied away from definitely.

[Brian]

There is no way to fix that, and a polish at $100+ per inch makes no sense. I think this may be one of those RARE times when you can do as you please with it. It's basically dead.