Need help with interpreting Wakizashi hamon

kisak · 31st July 2010, 02:27 PM

Providing any solid help here is far beyond me, but some things which came to mind...

The ha-machi is, if my memory is correct, a relatively weak spot (and something which is easy to mess up during polishing). So perhaps the "point" of the ha-machi has simply been broken off at some point, and the break then ground to the current shape? or perhaps ground down by one or more overzealous polishings?

Without having measured anything, I've gotten the feeling that blade widths have a decent amount of "natural" variations, so it doesn't seem likely that one could use such as a criteria to determine if a blade has been shortened or not. My impression is rather that such is seen more on general shape and the nakago.

And if you don't already know about the place, then there's always http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/

laEspadaAncha · 31st July 2010, 05:49 PM

Hello Kisak,

Thank you for your response. I have in fact had this posted over at NMB as well, and both through the board and through direct correspondence with one of its more established members, the consensus seems to be forming that the wakizashi is in fact (Sue) Koto, and most likely dates to the Muromachi or Momoyama periods, with one estimate of 1500-1550 and another of 1550-1580, and that the form and differing hamon were hallmarks of the Bizen Sukesada school.

While not necessarily a stellar example by any means, the tsuba is signed and attributed to the Bizen Yoshihiro school, and to finally add a Koto-era example to my nascent collection of katana is a victory in my book.

31st July 2010, 02:27 PM	#1
kisak Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Stockholm Posts: 182	Providing any solid help here is far beyond me, but some things which came to mind... The ha-machi is, if my memory is correct, a relatively weak spot (and something which is easy to mess up during polishing). So perhaps the "point" of the ha-machi has simply been broken off at some point, and the break then ground to the current shape? or perhaps ground down by one or more overzealous polishings? Without having measured anything, I've gotten the feeling that blade widths have a decent amount of "natural" variations, so it doesn't seem likely that one could use such as a criteria to determine if a blade has been shortened or not. My impression is rather that such is seen more on general shape and the nakago. And if you don't already know about the place, then there's always http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/

31st July 2010, 05:49 PM	#2
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Hello Kisak, Thank you for your response. I have in fact had this posted over at NMB as well, and both through the board and through direct correspondence with one of its more established members, the consensus seems to be forming that the wakizashi is in fact (Sue) Koto, and most likely dates to the Muromachi or Momoyama periods, with one estimate of 1500-1550 and another of 1550-1580, and that the form and differing hamon were hallmarks of the Bizen Sukesada school. While not necessarily a stellar example by any means, the tsuba is signed and attributed to the Bizen Yoshihiro school, and to finally add a Koto-era example to my nascent collection of katana is a victory in my book.