Is this a forging flaw?

[Nicolas Maestre]

Hi all,

 

Upon closer inspection of my blade, I noticed a very tiny spot on the edge which looked like a crack. So I decided to take a macro picture of it using the "super macro" feature of my smartphone. And here it is:

 

 

It is extremely small, barely visible to the naked eye. I would say about half a millimeter, maybe less. It does look like it could be the result of a hit as it seems some material has "moved" (if that makes any sense 😅). 

 

But could this be a forging flaw? And if so, how would you guys classify it? 

 

[ROKUJURO]

Nicolas,

the photo is not perfectly useful for a definite answer, I think, but if you see that 'material was moved' after the final polish, then it is clear for me that it was caused by some externel impact and not by forging. 

A forging fault would be something like WARE, FUKURE or  HAGIRE. Although the KIZU in the picture does not look exactly like a KIRIKOMI, I have a tendency to believe this to be a defect, caused by a contact with a sharp and hard object.

[Brian]

Agree. Impact damage. But the size is not concerning.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Can you see it on both sides?

[Nicolas Maestre]

9 hours ago, Ken-Hawaii said:

Can you see it on both sides?

Yes, same on both sides. What are your thoughts? 😊

[Brian]

9 hours ago, Ken-Hawaii said:

Can you see it on both sides?

Ignore the close-up that makes it look bad. If he says it's less than a half mm, it's not fatal.

[Nicolas Maestre]

3 hours ago, Brian said:

Ignore the close-up that makes it look bad. If he says it's less than a half mm, it's not fatal.

 

I measured it as accurately as possible, and it is in fact about 0.7mm 😁.

 

Does it change your assessment ? 😜

[Brian]

Nope. By no means desirable or insignificant, but not fatal and about the same as having a 0.7 chip in the edge.

[Nicolas Maestre]

43 minutes ago, Brian said:

Nope. By no means desirable or insignificant, but not fatal and about the same as having a 0.7 chip in the edge.

 

Ok, so if I summarize, it's hard to tell with absolute certainty whether it's a forging flaw or the result of a hit, but it's not fatal, while obviously not desirable. 

 

Is this what is called a hagire? Pardon all my questions, but I guess I'm in the "studying" part of my first sword, and I would like to get all the "aspects" of it right, good or bad.

 

Thanks!!

[DoTanuki yokai]

Not fatal means not Hagire.

It would be Hagire if the split would go through the whole hardened area.

It would be Hagire if your Hamon is at that place only 0.7mm high. 

 

And your picture is very confusing at least for me but how close is this  ? 

[Nicolas Maestre]

Thanks Christian for clarifying.

 

Ha ha, sorry for the confusing picture! 

Here you can see it, right in the center of the image!

 

Oh and I checked again, and my mistake, it's almost not present on the ura side, does not look the same and is even more tiny!

[waljamada]

That last picture makes me want to see the rest of thr blade

[WillFalstaff]

Ditto! ↑↑↑↑↑↑

[Shugyosha]

The word often used is “nailcatcher”to indicate a trivial chip in the edge. Nothing to worry about and a nice looking blade. 

[Nicolas Maestre]

On 3/2/2022 at 3:36 AM, waljamada said:

That last picture makes me want to see the rest of thr blade

 

On 3/3/2022 at 10:47 PM, WillFalstaff said:

Ditto! ↑↑↑↑↑↑

 

Ha ha sorry guys, missed that 😁. 

Here are a few pics, but not of the best quality I'm afraid !

 

[Nicolas Maestre]

On 3/3/2022 at 11:13 PM, Shugyosha said:

The word often used is “nailcatcher”to indicate a trivial chip in the edge. Nothing to worry about and a nice looking blade. 

 

Thanks John 😊

Here are a few more pics

[waljamada]

Little did I know the reveal would show the kind of Katana I'm hunting!  A naginata-hi!  Nice my friend, love the blade and congratulations on acquiring a blade with some cool features.

[Nicolas Maestre]

On 3/4/2022 at 11:49 PM, waljamada said:

Little did I know the reveal would show the kind of Katana I'm hunting!  A naginata-hi!  Nice my friend, love the blade and congratulations on acquiring a blade with some cool features.

 

Thanks for the kind words 😊

Maybe you should check this...

https://www.Japanese-sword-katana.jp/katana/2210-1041.htm

 

This is the vendor I bought mine from. Prompt replies, sword nicely packaged with all information exactly as I asked. Cannot complain.

 

EDIT: I'm sorry man, last time I checked (couple days ago) it was still available but now appears "on hold" 😕

[waljamada]

2 hours ago, Nicolas Maestre said:

 

Thanks for the kind words 😊

Maybe you should check this...

https://www.Japanese-sword-katana.jp/katana/2210-1041.htm

 

This is the vendor I bought mine from. Prompt replies, sword nicely packaged with all information exactly as I asked. Cannot complain.

 

EDIT: I'm sorry man, last time I checked (couple days ago) it was still available but now appears "on hold" 😕

 

 

Thank you, I appreciate the attempt!  My search goes on!

[WillFalstaff]

I tinkled a little after seeing the rest of the blade. 

 

[Nicolas Maestre]

7 hours ago, WillFalstaff said:

I tinkled a little after seeing the rest of the blade. 

 

 

Thanks ☺️. While I know this is definitely not an art sword, nor is it even of higher quality, I am very happy with my first Nihonto 😁.