higiri

[peter]

Hello Gents,

A question i,m not sure of the answer to , a ha-gire is a Fatal flaw from the Ha to Hamon.

if the 'Ha-gire' is only on 1 side and not all the way through is it still a fatal flaw? if not what should it be called?

Peter

[paulb]

Hi Peter,

If it isnt all the way through then I dont think it is an hagiri. At risk of stating the obvious hagiri (literally cut in the Ha) is a crack in the blade running up from the edge. If it only appears on one side it isnt a crack in the same sense and may be caused by other factors. Whether it is regarded as a fatal flaw would depend on size, depth, who made the sword and who was looking. As with most things in this subject there is a level of subjectivity in what might be called fatal. The severity of the fault should be based on whether it would have a detrimental effect on the blade, i.e. create a weakness secondly whether it effects the aesthetic quality of the piece, and thirdly the rarity of the work. there are swords illustrated in Koza and other volumes that have lost their boshi but still considered to be Juyo baldes. In lesser works this would be considerd fatal.

[peter]

Thank you for your reply Paul,

it is a mumei koto, maybe earlier wakizashi that 'I' think is beautiful but just wondered if the 'crack' sorry cracks which are about 1 cm apart, the attach pic took ages to get right, i know where they are and i still struggle to find the the image shows them much worse than they are,

Peter

[paulb]

If they are only on one side and difficult to see could they pssibly be scratches resulting from someone cutting though something? I think the key thing here is how deep they are. if it is light and on the surface, i.e a scratch they should not be a problem.

Hagire are cracks caused either by stress put in to the blade at the time of maunfacture creating a weakness, or abuse/misuse. These dont look like that from your image, but I am struggling too.

[Brian]

Look like hagire to me. Ending where the hardened area ends. There are places that can electronically scan or x-ray materials for cracks?

 

Brian

[mdiddy]

Those look like hagire to me. Do you have a picture of the same location on the other side of the blade?

 

When I have had hagire they look very similar, but were evident on both sides of the blade.

 

Matt

[peter]

Thanks Gents for your comments ,

i don't think they are scratches but they definitely don't go through to the other side . even when i look through a magnifying glass ( loop ) took another few pics of the other side anyway,

Peter

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Peter,

If these aren't scratches I don't think it matters much what you call them. They are cracks and even though they haven't gone clear through the blade (yet) they are fatal in my book.

Grey

[cabowen]

It is rare but sometime hagiri do not show on both sides. I think that is what we have here. I would consider them fatal....

[peter]

Thanks Grey and Chris, probably not anyone wants to hear but it isn't going anywhere so no need to disclose if selling, Grey when you say 'YET' does that mean there is continued pressure on that area that may cause it to appear on the other side of the blade?

Peter

[Grey Doffin]

Who knows? Once again, doesn't matter. Whether or not they appear on the other side, they have appeared on one side and that's enough nails in the coffin.

Grey

[ROKUJURO]

.....does that mean there is continued pressure on that area......

As far as I know HAGIRE are flaws caused by tension in that area due to mistakes in forging or false handling in the quenching process. Normally the development of martensite in the HA area in the quenching causes pressure because of it's greater volume in comparison to the non-quenched parts of the blade. This leads in most cases to the blade bending backwards to form SORI.

 

If the balance of the mass of the blade in relation to the YAKIBA is not finely tuned to the properties of the steel, the clay cover, the temperatures of the steel and the water, HAGIRE may occur.

[Eric H]

Hagire is considered a fatal flaw by collectors, affected blades lose substantial value.

 

There are several posts on the NMB dealing with this topic.

 

pic: Wakizashi by Tadatsuna II with hagire visible on both sides.

 

Eric

[peter]

that seems a pretty big 1 that is very visible from a little distance and as you say all the way through. I have seen a few hagiri some shaped like a "Y" and again to other side so that was the reason for my post as although my pic shows them up to well it took some capturing and only visible up really close .

Thanks again.

Peter