Quality question

[Nicholas]

How would one determine quality of a Japanese sword. For example if we are looking at 2 swords from the same smith. Both beautiful swords what would you look at to determine which sword is of finer quality. Also I am fairly new to collecting nihonto and still learning. So if this sounds like a stupid question I apologize.

[b.hennick]

Things to look at, in no particular order, would include:

blade shape - is the blade straight or does it have a bend?

kizu -are there any flaws and or chips in the blade,

hada - consistency, tightness, delaminations,

hamon - consistency, hataraki,

nakago - patina, file marks, mei, ana (number type),

habaki - fit, quality of materials used e.g. gold vs copper

shirasaya - fit, condition, stains, dents   

tsunagi - does it fit both the shirasaya and the koshirae.? Is is damaged in any way, if there is a wood habaki - has that been damaged.

koshirae - quality of individual pieces, signatures - gimei?

theme of pieces - do they work well together, 

fit of pieces to the blade - tsuka, fuchi kashira correct size?  seppa, tsuba, kozuka, kogai do they work well with the tsuba?,

Does the koshirae add to the blade or are they poor quality or so good that they are a distraction. 

Finally, how does the whole make you feel. I have picked up some swords that made my hands sweat, that made me feel awe, that made a connection to me in some personal way. I do believe that the sword finds the man/woman. In some cases, the feeling was almost immediate.

My mentor once told me: "You only regret the one you didn't buy."

If you have done your due diligence, and the blade "speaks to you" make the purchase happen. 

[Grey Doffin]

Nick,

Your question is much like the one asked of an older lady on the streets of New York by a young man with a violin case under his arm, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall." Her answer, "Study."

What Barry wrote makes sense but there is so much more to it. Study.

Grey

[b.hennick]

I agree with Grey. There is much more. Please add to my list. We all need to study more. 

[Nicholas]

5 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

Nick,

Your question is much like the one asked of an older lady on the streets of New York by a young man with a violin case under his arm, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall." Her answer, "Study."

What Barry wrote makes sense but there is so much more to it. Study.

Grey

As I am studying questions still arise. And if you don’t have questions about the subject of study are you really learning? 

[Franco D]

3 hours ago, NickC said:

How would one determine quality of a Japanese sword

 

The Japanese tell us to study the best examples possible for good reason. One reason is that the student of nihonto will not begin to realize what is possible until they are able to see it ( nie, nioi, ashi, utsuri, yubashiri, chikei, ji-nie, sunagashi, hakikake, mokume, itame,  masame, etc, etc, etc ... ), and more importantly understand the quality of what it is that they're seeing, as well as realize what they're not seeing. This requires studying numerous examples of nihonto, many, many, including those by the same sword smith side by side (if possible), along with those of smiths from all different levels.  Another critical factor that cannot be overstated when trying to determine the quality of a sword is understanding (recognizing) the quality of the polish. A polish is NOT just a polish.  

[Nicholas]

18 minutes ago, Franco D said:

 

The Japanese tell us to study the best examples possible for good reason. One reason is that the student of nihonto will not begin to realize what is possible until they are able to see it ( nie, nioi, ashi, utsuri, yubashiri, chikei, ji-nie, sunagashi, hakikake, mokume, itame,  masame, etc, etc, etc ... ), and more importantly understand the quality of what it is that they're seeing, as well as realize what they're not seeing. This requires studying numerous examples of nihonto, many, many, including those by the same sword smith side by side (if possible), along with those of smiths from all different levels.  Another critical factor that cannot be overstated when trying to determine the quality of a sword is understanding (recognizing) the quality of the polish. A polish is NOT just a polish.  

Thanks for these wise words. So there’s only so much im going to learn from books. But there’s more to learn from in hand studying of swords.

[Franco D]

42 minutes ago, NickC said:

Thanks for these wise words. So there’s only so much im going to learn from books. But there’s more to learn from in hand studying of swords.

 

You're welcome. Actually it's both together. For example, I think that all the descriptions and discussion about quality in Yamaka's Newsletters Revised make these books invaluable and well worth the price of admission especially once you pick up a sword and say, "Oh, so that's what he's talking about."

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hi Nick, best to look at as many good swords as you can so you can cross reference with the theory.

 

https://www.aoijapan.com/japaneseswords/masterpiece/

https://eirakudo.shop/token

https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swordlist1.htm

http://world.seiyudo.com/product-category/sword/katana/?orderby=price-desc

[ribendao]

Are there any good examples of "tight" hada vs. "loose" hada that someone can provide? This aspect has always confused me.

[Michaelr]

 Nick Welcome. I am new to the Japanese Sword Field myself, about 10 years now.  This board is a Great place to star and stay with. Books Are A MUST. You must read All that you can but it really takes a blade in your hands, with someone by your side to explain the blade to make all that book knowledge make sense. A lot of times I find what is written, even in pictures hard to understand until someone helps me really look at a blade in person. Going forward you will have many questions and you came to the right place. Take your time. When you have read all that you can read, seen all that you can and held as many blades in your hand as possible you will almost be at the advanced beginner  stage. Good luck and happy hunting

  MikeR 

[Franco D]

4 hours ago, ribendao said:

Are there any good examples of "tight" hada vs. "loose" hada that someone can provide? This aspect has always confused me.