mune yaki significance..?

[Cello]

Hi ,maybe someone could help me understand the significance of mune yaki if any.......I know it makes a harder mune for less flexion when heavy cutting is to be done. What I would like to know is; does the presence of it place a higher quality on the blade or was it common on low quality blades and high alike??Also are there specific era's it was most prevalent or certain schoolsand can it be done as a retempering process later in a blades life?? I've read up as much as i could but haven't found much on this topic.

thx

Marcello

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Marcello,

What I know: Mune yaki can be found on a few schools in Koto and some in Shinto. Rai in Koto comes to mind and I'll let those more schooled than I fill in the rest.

Mune yaki can also be a sign of retemper, so if you find a sword with mune yaki you have to make sure that the work is correct for the school it's supposed to come from.

I've never heard that it imparts a mechanical advantage to a blade. It's a feature of some schools of smithing, but nothing special.

Grey

[Jean]

Often found also in Shimada school (sue koto)

[nagamaki - Franco]

  jello5972 said:

What I would like to know is; does the presence of it place a higher quality on the blade or was it common on low quality blades and high alike??

 

According to my understanding of Yamanaka there are basically two forms of muneyaki encountered, one is along the lines of a tobiyaki, and the other is the type of muneyaki that is like a form of yubashiri. The yubashiri type is held in higher regard as it requires considerably more control and skill to produce.

[Cello]

Hey thanks for the information guys.....Franco I'm pretty new at this would it be possible for you to post some examples? I've searched around and can't seem to find a good picture describing what exactly I'm looking at.The type i have runs directly down the mune about 1/8 in or more and dips down almost to the shinogi in one area.would that be the first type you mentioned?I had a hell of a time capturing it on camera!

thx,

Marcello

[nagamaki - Franco]

  jello5972 said:

would it be possible for you to post some examples?

 

The yubashiri type of muneyaki would have a similar look to frost on a window on a very cold day. The tobiyaki form looks like, well, tobiyaki up on the mune and tends to have spots of it hanging well over the edge of the mune, where the yubashiri kind tends to only roll over the edge slightly.

 

you can find and see examples of both kinds here http://www.google.com/images?q=muneyaki&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-ContextMenu&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1519&bih=795

[paulb]

Marcello,Below four images (with apologies for my poor photography of muneyaki on a Yamato Shikkake Naginata naoshi.

Hope this helps

[nagamaki - Franco]

hi, in regards to muneyaki, either kind, one should consider whether or not the appearance of the muneyaki was intended or incidental, or even by accident.

[Muki]

What does it mean precisely if the muneyaki or tobi-yaki are intended, incidental or accidental in regards to the sword or smith?

[drdata]

Muki, Intended equates to skill in being able to reproduce the desired effect. Unintended is the opposite. Maybe lucky, maybe the opposite, but if not a desired/predicted outcome then it shows a lack of skill, even if its a good thing for a given blade.

 

Regards

[Muki]

Are tobi-yaki and mune-yaki created by thinning out the clay prior to heating/quenching?

[Jamie]

outside of a smith's known work, as in being Soshu school-

How is it determined that it was an accident? Other than than say if it's a smith only work with any Tobi-yaki or Mune-yaki.

Wouldn't that be speculative?

[nagamaki - Franco]

Muneyaki, work that is intended demonstrates clear control leaving no doubt it is there by design. Accidental, this work will lack control and appear awkward, out of place, and one can readily figure out by appearance that this muneyaki is due to something like the clay flaking off during the final steps of quenching. If detail like this is of interest, suggest books like Yamanaka's Newsletters revised, and, again, looking at as many polished swords as possible.