What are these blemishes on the hiraji?

[Mikaveli]

What are these dark patches between the hamon and ridge line? 

 

[Alex A]

Usually dark patches in photos like that indicate core steel

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Michael,

If the dark patches show little or no hada, of they show coarse hada, they are most likely core steel (shintetsu) as noted by Alex. If the patches have an honest hada they may be a special hada made by specific smiths or schools, for example matsukawa hada. But these dark patches aren't usually as well defined as those in your pictures. Best guess from the pictures is shintetsu; we call the sword "tired"

Grey

[Mikaveli]

22 minutes ago, Alex A said:

Usually dark patches in photos like that indicate core steel

Ok, thanks - that was broadly my thinking too. Tired blade, polished until the core comes through.

[Mikaveli]

8 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

If the dark patches show little or no hada, of they show coarse hada, they are most likely core steel (shintetsu) as noted by Alex. If the patches have an honest hada they may be a special hada made by specific smiths or schools, for example matsukawa hada. But these dark patches aren't usually as well defined as those in your pictures. Best guess from the pictures is shintetsu; we call the sword "tired"

Grey

 

Thanks, this would be atypical for the smith (Terukado), based on all the other examples I've seen.

 

Interestingly (for my level of knowledge), the sword is still NBTHK hozen, which surprised me a little.

[Alex A]

Kind of acceptable on some old blades, in moderation, depends.

 

 

[Mikaveli]

11 minutes ago, Alex A said:

Kind of acceptable on some old blades, in moderation, depends.

 

 

 

I was drawn to the gunome hamon, as all the examples I have of this smith in my collection are suguha.

 

...but being a shinto / early-Edo smith, I'm thinking there's probably a very nice (TH etc) example out there 🤞

[Alex A]

Aye, i get that. Was lately drawn to a Tadayoshi wak that was a notare/gunome

 

With such ideas you need to think of resale, i guess many wont steer away from the typical. It seemed cheap, perhaps that's the reason why.

 

Anyways, the sword above you would struggle to re-sell.

[Shugyosha]

This is a bit out on a limb but maybe sumigane? Dark inclusions seen in some Hizen and Rai blades? I cant see them clearly as I’m on my phone but they seem too regular to be a flaw…but Grey and Alex probably know better than me so value that snippet accordingly. 

[NewB]

Some Shinto utsushi (Tadayoshi the 1st and others) knew how to incorporate that ‘effect’ into their steel appearance. 
definitely not an expert but I think some of the Shinto masters were so aware that they knew how to make that appear. Not sure about Shibata Ka but I wouldn’t be surprised

 

just an angle

 

j

[Mark S.]

Terukado was known for working with foreign steel.  Not sure if this could cause the effect in the photos?

[Mikaveli]

6 hours ago, Mark S. said:

Terukado was known for working with foreign steel.  Not sure if this could cause the effect in the photos?

That's an interesting question.

I've seen plenty of his blades where the ura side of the tang mentions being forged with nanban tetsu (lit. Barbarian steel).

 

I've got swords of his with and without that information on the tang - what I don't know is whether only the blades that mention foreign steel on the tang use it (or if it was a general thing for him).

 

Visually, for me, I've never been able to tell by appearance whether it's nanban tetsu or not (just read a lot online about its suitability/ effect of higher phosphorus content of imported steel)?

[Alex A]

Ive always associated the use of foreign steel with rather bland looking hada, but maybe thats because ive never really looked that much into the smiths work that were involved with it.

[PNSSHOGUN]

One gets the impression that notation of Nanban tetsu being used could be something of a gimmick. 

[Mikaveli]

11 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

One gets the impression that notation of Nanban tetsu being used could be something of a gimmick. 

I have seen that mentioned at times - where, for example, no stated percentage or composition is given (is it "pure" nanban tetsu, or does it just contain a tiny "sprinkle", for want of a better term) and it's really just a marketing ploy.

[Shugyosha]

Hi Michael.

I think there certainly was a degree of infatuation with anything foreign in the Edo period so the angle of the marketing gimmick shouldn't be overlooked but I also think that there was an issue with the availability of good quality iron sand/ ore for sword making. For example, Hizen blades had thin outer steel as they used the good stuff sparingly and the quality and quantity of raw materials wasn't the same as in earlier koto times. This is a factor that affected the quality of shinto blades and fuelled the perception that they were inferior to koto blades from before, say, Onin (usually when Bizen blades are thought to have lapsed into mass production).

 

As you say there is no stated percentage of foreign steel on those blades where it is mentioned. Perhaps smiths used it to pad out their stocks of oroshigane and kept the tamahagane for commissioned blades or outer steel as per the Hizen blades. I saw a blade a couple of weeks ago which (if I translated correctly) suggested that the edge steel was nanban tetsu. That is as precise as I have ever seen reference to the quantity of nanban tetsu in a blade (actually it's the only time) so that might suggest that it was sufficiently remarkable for the smith to note it on the tang...but it's all supposition.

 

Here's Markus Sesko talking about sumigane which he suggests is actually the shingane showing through. The ones on the blade photographed look different to the examples in the article. https://markussesko....i-2-jigane-jihada-1/

 

Do you have full length photos of both sides of the blade? It would be interesting to see whether they travel the full length of the blade and are on both sides.

[Andrew Ickeringill]

Tobiyaki.

[NewB]

Wow

 

have seen it many times but never so distant from the actual hamon.. something along akihiro?

 

j