OMG, i think tangs been chromed!!!!!

[phil reid]

Purchased a large collection of mainly European swords but had a few Japanese. Heres one he purchase 40 years ago showing how lowly WW2 military swords were thought of back then that they were purchase for next to nothing and beople jazzed them up. The blades been buffed to hell and sadly you can still see remnants of a very pretty hamon, the tang i thought was just buffed badly aswell but i think its actually chromed????!! Army saya in in a bronze metallic shade i remember my mum using on here nails back in the 70s

[phil reid]

[PNSSHOGUN]

Impressive, at least it was a simple oil tempered Showa-to and not something of significance!

[David Flynn]

I think it has just been cleaned, not chromed.  If it was chromed, you  probably wouldn't see the Sig and definitely not the file marks.  Cleaning Tangs is a NO, NO, but not the end of the world.

[phil reid]

I just cant work out how its so bright, seller said its been untouched for 40 odd years and no sign of sealant.Any thought on what to try on the tang to get some air to it as cant leave it sooooooo bright!!!!

[robinalexander]

I agree with David ...not chromed.  I really think someone has done a mechanical cleaning/ massive buffing job on it.  Look at the habaki.

 

Saya looks a funny shade?

 

PS...if you want to 'age' it quickly Phil, send it over to me and I will leave it with a couple of my children....it will be 80 years within weeks 

[phil reid]

Yes as mentioned, sayas been painted the samf metallic bronze colour my mother used on hernails back in the 70s!

[robinalexander]

Tks Phil, that's the second time today I have suffered a basic comprehension glitche.

[vajo]

Saya paint with bronce color. Maybe the color was left after painting the gutter 

[Bruce Pennington]

Yeah, I would think the yasurime would disappear under chrome, too.

 

A smith from Seki, named Kanenori.

[Stephen]

Search mei here I think it's a special steel. 

[mdiddy]

In my experience, when chrome was applied the whole thing got chromed - blade, nakago, everything. Agree with the thoughts above, the nakago on this one has just been assertively cleaned.

[phil reid]

37 minutes ago, mdiddy said:

In my experience, when chrome was applied the whole thing got chromed - blade, nakago, everything. Agree with the thoughts above, the nakago on this one has just been assertively cleaned.

Assertively clean steel as much as you want but as mentioned its not been touched for 40 years and steel doesnt stay that bright after 40 years, not sealant on surface.

[The Blacksmith]

I think that the nakago has simply been wire brushed. It doesn't look plated to me. I cannot beleve that it 'hasn't been touched' for forty years. Personally, I think I would take that bit of information with a rather large pinch of salt. No offence meant!

 

Russ

[Matsunoki]

1 hour ago, The Blacksmith said:

I think that the nakago has simply been wire brushed.

Agree! Probably a wire brush on a drill. If chromed I would expect to see plating in the kanji as well?

[John C]

Just a question...Could a high chromium content in the steel cause that effect if polished?

John C.

[ChrisW]

The steel looks like "anti-rust steel" but I am not sure that level of pitting could occur on such a blade if it were made of that material. Honestly, it just looks like someone ground the tang down with a buffing wheel.

[The Blacksmith]

Where there is some pitting and rust on the nakago, it definitely looks to have been wire brushed to me. I do a lot of polishing etc in my work, and this doesn't look polished to me, just wire brushed.

Just my personal opinion of course!

[Jcstroud]

On 6/17/2023 at 4:04 PM, John C said:

Just a question...Could a high chromium content in the steel cause that effect if polished?

John C.

Being a mechanic many years practically any piece of steel cleaned with a wirebrush mounted on a grinder would produce the same appearance.the other clue is the details of the filemarks are softened and less course