"Teppan" (Iron Plate) Terminology

[FBJ]

Can anyone tell me more about the "teppan" characteristic of certain nihonto?

 

I have a shinsakuto on order and was told by another person that certain kinds of swords are referred to as "iron plate" or teppan style, possibly referring to the thin cross-section that some nihonto posses. Could anyone elaborate more on whether this is more or less of a desirable characteristic in nihonto of moderate to high value?

 

Thanks,

 

Michael

[John A Stuart]

Isn't 'teppan' aother word for 'ninjato', so named because of the square metal plate used as a tsuba? John

[FBJ]

Possibly, but my friend was referring to his Kanetsugu-Mitsuhiro shinsakuto as teppan, because as he said, it was very thin and that this is what they called it in Japan. He's since sold it.

 

Here's another from the same smith:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33550851@N ... 5/sizes/l/

 

It does look quite thin to me; I just wanted to know if these are characteristic of certain period swords and whether a collector would consider a thin blade desirable in an art blade. Note that I'm from the iaido side of the sword camp, so my knowledge of swords aside from swingin' them is quite limited until decide to fill my head with deeper varieties of nihonto trivia.

 

Mike

[John A Stuart]

Here is a picture of a teppan. I still do not know what your friend refers to. John

[FBJ]

Sword characteristics, John. I'm not referring to ninjato, tsuba, shuriken or anything other than swords -- supposed characteristics of authentic nihonto.

 

Mike

[Mark Green]

Looks thin????

 

I don't see that. What is thin about it?

 

I have never heard that term before

Mark G

[John A Stuart]

Yes, I have been trying to find this term as applied to a blade not having heard it used this way before and giving known uses of the word. No luck for me though, sorry. John

[Toryu2020]

Could it be that this blade is a single piece of steel formed into a blade - thus thinner and lighter by just a touch - forge folded certainly but not with a separate softer metal core? If this is a blade by a shinsaku-to maker but made for Iai and Tameshigiri, I am not certain but I believe this is what they are referring to...

-t

[Bugyotsuji]

I wonder how different it would be from a Supuringu (Spring) To?

 

PS Just had a quick look on the J internet and there were various articles on how a Japanese sword can/cannot cut through a 'teppan'. Seems to be a popular topic. May or may not have any relation here?

[Lorenzo]

(sorry for the little OT, but might be of interest :D )