klee Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 Hello Im looking and considering this Mihara Masanobu ( end of nanbokucho ) and wanted to ask for some opinions on this bo hi . I ve never purchased blades with a bo hi so im not very fond of them but this ones seems awfully close to the kissaki border. My first thought was that the kissaki has been reshaped significantly in the past but the boshi looks very healthy and similar to other ko mihara blades i ve seen. Thank you -Kevin L Quote
Alex A Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 Wouldn't put me off, old swords change with time. 4 Quote
nulldevice Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 This one wouldn’t bother me. i posted one a while back where the bohi extended into the kissaki quite a bit that I thought looked a bit off. 1 Quote
Franco Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 On 2/11/2025 at 6:14 PM, klee said: My first thought was that the kissaki has been reshaped significantly Expand If so, then, how significantly? Was this originally Chu Kissaki? Elongated Chu Kissaki? Another good reason to have references like Yamanaka's Newsletters revised to research what should be expected. While bo-hi are frequently found on Nambokucho period nihonto, it is important to ask is it ato-bori? What does the rest of this blade look like? Quote
atm Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 If you are not fond of bohi and this one already seems odd to you, it isn’t going to get better after you purchase it. I recommend that you pass on it and find something that is more pleasing to your eye. 2 Quote
Jacques Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 I don't see anything wrong with this, it's common for the late Kamakura and Nanbokucho period. It's called Hisaki agaru. 4 Quote
Honya Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 This is Tokubetsu Juyo sword - Sadatsugu (Sadatoshi?) (Ayanokoji) (Yamashiro) (19. Tokubetsu Juyo) https://www.token-ne...u-sadatoshi1412.html It has bo-hi almost exactly like "your" sword. So I would say it is OK. The translation of names of the smith and school is automatic from Japanese, so don't kill me please 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 2/11/2025 at 10:21 PM, Honya said: This is Tokubetsu Juyo sword - Sadatsugu (Sadatoshi?) (Ayanokoji) (Yamashiro) (19. Tokubetsu Juyo) https://www.token-ne...u-sadatoshi1412.html It has bo-hi almost exactly like "your" sword. So I would say it is OK. The translation of names of the smith and school is automatic from Japanese, so don't kill me please Expand Hi Jan, On the example you kindly posted it also appears as if the kissaki has been reshaped over time - not surprising in blades of this age! 1 Quote
Jacques Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 Quote On the example you kindly posted it also appears as if the kissaki has been reshaped over time - not surprising in blades of this age! Expand I's a ko-kissaki, and the first quality of a good polisher is not to transform the architecture of a sword: a ko kissaki must remain a ko-kissaki and a chu-kissaki must remain a chu-kissaki. 2 Quote
Lewis B Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 2/12/2025 at 12:15 PM, Jacques said: I's a ko-kissaki, and the first quality of a good polisher is not to transform the architecture of a sword: a ko kissaki must remain a ko-kissaki and a chu-kissaki must remain a chu-kissaki. Expand Unless the kissaki is damaged. 1 2 Quote
KungFooey Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 2/12/2025 at 12:15 PM, Jacques said: I's a ko-kissaki, and the first quality of a good polisher is not to transform the architecture of a sword: a ko kissaki must remain a ko-kissaki and a chu-kissaki must remain a chu-kissaki. Expand Agreed Jacques. But would you say that the smith originally intended the boshi to be this close to the edge of the kissaki? Wouldn't that have been very impractical in such a time of warfare? Quote
klee Posted February 12 Author Report Posted February 12 On 2/11/2025 at 9:58 PM, Jacques said: I don't see anything wrong with this, it's common for the late Kamakura and Nanbokucho period. It's called Hisaki agaru. Expand Thank you Jacques for providing the term. Made it a whole lot easier find and look at other examples Quote
Tcat Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 2/12/2025 at 12:43 PM, KungFooey said: Agreed Jacques. But would you say that the smith originally intended the boshi to be this close to the edge of the kissaki? Wouldn't that have been very impractical in such a time of warfare? Expand Are you under the impression that, the wider the hamon / boshi / greater size of turnback, the stronger the blade? Research indicates quite the contrary. Quote
KungFooey Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 2/12/2025 at 2:55 PM, Tcat said: Are you under the impression that, the wider the hamon / boshi / greater size of turnback, the stronger the blade? Research indicates quite the contrary. Expand Not at all. I'm sure that a fully tempered kissaki chips and breaks just as easily as one with hardly any boshi left. However I would much prefer to start off with the former than the latter if engaged in a battle so that the point can be reshaped if necessary. Quote
vajo Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 Looks good to me. Boshi looks fine. Nothing wrong. 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 I'm not saying it's bad..... or wrong.....or unfashionable - it's just really thin. 🙄 As long as the kissaki is never, ever chipped again, everything is just fine and peachy. Quote
Jacques Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 2/12/2025 at 12:21 PM, Lewis B said: Unless the kissaki is damaged. Expand No, i had a tachi with a broken chu kissaki, the polisher (Zenon van Damme) returned the sword with the same type of kissaki. 2 Quote
Franco Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 (edited) There is evidence that this kissaki has been altered. When the kissaki was reshaped it appears that the polisher chose not to reshape this sword closer to its original form. This observation can be taken any way you want, but it is still an observation. Although it may be difficult, when appraising a sword, for whatever reason, try to imagine what the sword looked like in its original form in an attempt to try and better understand what the swordsmith intended. Buy what you like, but understand what you're buying. As you were. Edited February 12 by Franco D rewording 2 Quote
Jacques Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 2/12/2025 at 5:21 PM, Franco D said: There is evidence that this kissaki has been altered. When the kissaki was reshaped it appears that the polisher chose not to reshape this sword closer to its original form. This observation can be taken any way you want, but it is still an observation. Although it may be difficult, when appraising a sword, for whatever reason, try to imagine what the sword looked like in its original form in an attempt to try and better understand what the swordsmith intended. Buy what you like, but understand what you're buying. As you were. Expand I disagree. A good polisher would rather leave the defect than transform the shape of the kissaki. The one on the juyo looks very much like an ikubi kissaki 猪首切先 (common for this smith). 1 Quote
Franco Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 On 2/12/2025 at 10:19 PM, Jacques said: I disagree. A good polisher would rather leave the defect than transform the shape of the kissaki. Expand On 2/12/2025 at 5:21 PM, Franco D said: When the kissaki was reshaped it appears that the polisher chose not to reshape this sword Expand Well, which is it? [Please] make up your mind. 1 Quote
Jacques Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 Well, when a kissaki is well repaired, it doesn't show at all and especially not on photos. Quote
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