How to tell the sword period?

[Drago]

Hi,

 

Even after a year I'm still new to nihonto collecting. I think I know enough to tell originals (in bad polish) and good fakes apart now - though sometimes I'm not sure with recognizing machined blades.

 

But then I read this thread: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=13177

 

And I realized I don't really know how to tell swords from diferent periods apart (koto, shinto, shinshinto, gendaito), though with koto I am often correct in figuring it out. This is, of course, a matter of experience...

When I read that thread, Hoanh said the blade was perhaps shinto and that really surprised me - when I looked at the pictures I thought it doesn't look that much different from my Ichihara Nagamitsu gendaito, except for the tip of the nakago.

 

So I would appreciate if you could either tell me in your answer tips for telling sword periods apart (perhaps using the above mentioned blade as an example), or if you could point me to good online articles that are suited for the novice.

 

Thank you very much.

[hxv]

Hi Tobias,

 

I'm new, too. I will be glad to lay out my (probably erroneous) thinking process at arriving at my guess regarding the blade in question for dissection/comments.

 

1. The blade does not have the typical koto suguta, does not seem to have the typical coarse hada seen in koto blades, and the nakago seems to be too new to be koto. So, I eliminated the koto period.

2. The blade doesn't have any typical arsenal stamp or hastily chiseled mei typical of gunto blades, so I eliminated the WW2 period.

3. We are left with just shinto and shinshinto and it's very difficult for me to decide. To my eyes, the nakago does not appear to be ubu. I was guessing that the sword was shortened from the appearance of the nakago. This is probably where my error in judgement is. The suguta, plus this speculation that the sword was shortened lead me to the shinto conclusion. I also noticed that the nakago does not seem really old, but thought it could be consistent with late shinto. Perhaps, it was a couple of misjudgements that lead to the wrong conclusion.

 

Like Tobias, I would like to hear from the membership regarding how you make your guess, using this particular blade as a case study. It would be a great learning experience for us newbies.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Geraint]

Dear Tobias and Hoanh.

 

Good place to start. The shape of the blade is a really important indicator but there is not one Koto shape, there are several and assuming that Koto hada is always coarse is risky to say the least.

Great place to start is this article, http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/sugata/shape.htm After that it's time to hit the books. One of the most useful, to me at least, is an article written by Dr Compton and published in "100 Masterpieces From the Compton Collection." This would be a great book to buy as it also has very good illustrations of swords with detailed explanations which will help you put into your mind's eye what you are reading about. Almost all the basic texts have something similar.

 

Have fun guys, the fun has just started!

 

Cheers

[hxv]

Thank you Geraint for the info. I'll get the book.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[SwordGuyJoe]

I've seen a photo posted on here where they show all major different eras next to each other. It's great, but I haven't seen it for a while and I don't have a copy. it's a GREAT learning tool.

[runagmc]

It might be hard to read shrunk down this small, but...

 

 

Edit, to remind people that these are just popular shapes and styles of the periods, and that exceptions are numerous to say the least...

[hxv]

Once again, thank you Geraint for recommending "100 Masterpieces From the Compton Collection." I was able to locate a copy on ebay and negotiated the purchase price to $70+shipping ($8.95). I think this is an exceptionally good price.

 

Tobias: There is 1 more copy left from the seller. Grab it if you want. Make a best offer of $70 only. Here is the link. Good luck.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400303461221?ss ... 2594wt_952

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Drago]

Thanks Geraint, Adam and Hoanh.

 

I'll check out that link.

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

I would say one of the best book for beginners is the Kokan Nagayama's one.

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Connoisseurs- ... 4770020716

[paulb]

I agree with Jacques, this is an extremely useful work. My only criticism is that the author uses an older convention of describing everything other than Soshu work as mokume hada.

Otherwise an invalueable part of any library and still one of the first I refer to when trying to establish period and school.

[hxv]

Thank you Jacques and Paul. It is absolutely a great book packed with information.

 

Regards,

Hoanh