No Yokote Line

[44gpw]

Hi, I have bought a sword that was probably made by Masanori in May of 1944. It has a straight temper line but it does not seem to have yokote line. Is that normal for swords made in 1944? I truely appreciate all the help from the people on this board. Thank you, David C.

[Tsugio Kawakami]

Could be rounded out by some unfortunate "restoration". Pics?

[44gpw]

Here are some pictures.

[blades87]

Looks like it has been polished off. The sword is really shiny.

[Tsugio Kawakami]

Yeah, I'd say buffed.

 

...lots o' fingerprints, too.

[blades87]

I noticed that as well, Kawakami-san.

 

David, get some choji or mineral oil and wipe that blade down to prevent rust. Thin coat of oil that is wiped off with a soft tissue should do the trick to preserve the blade. Check out Grey Doffin's videos on sword etiquette on YouTube. Video 2 talks about preserving the blade.

[george trotter]

Hi David,

Not meaning to be disrespectful to other posters, but the blade does not look buffed to me. It looks like the original WWII polish is still there, but a bit scratched, as is normal. You might take another pic or two of the kissaki area without the light reflection so we can be sure, but it is not uncommon on gunto to have no visible angle change in the kissaki line...that is, the "sweep" of the ji continues around into the tip without the usual change of angle we call the yokote line. The WWII polish usually has a cosmetic yokote line polished on, but this is often obscured by tiny scratches and wear over time...as yours seems to be. Just my opinion.

regards,

George.

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hello,

 

  44gpw said:

.... it does not seem to have yokote line. Is that normal for swords made in 1944?

 

If you're speaking about a shinogi zukuri katana, no.

[george trotter]

In principle, I agree with Franco...it is not "normal" to be without a yokote line on a shinogi zukuri blade...but the reality of WWII gunto is that, (due to high volume production demands leading to shortcuts I suppose), it is quite common to see a gunto in original WWII polish which has a cosmetic yokote line, with no actual/distinct angle change from the ji into the kissaki. These yokote lines sometimes are quite hard to see after 60 years due to wear and scratching in battlefield use and postwar abuse. I would even venture to say that while a majority of gunto have "yokote" line in their polish, relatively few have the change of angle. I suppose it may be more commonly omitted in 1944, but I have noticed it quite often across dates from 1942 on...but only on gunto, not gendaito.

try to give us a couple more pics please?

regards,

George.