Need help with interpreting Wakizashi hamon

laEspadaAncha · 29th July 2010, 05:47 PM

I recently traded for a nice Wakizashi ("nice" simply meaning authentic) and am hoping someone can help me estimate a date and place/school of manufacture base on the hamon and form/style of the blade. I've posted this over at NMB but while receiving quite a few views, no one has as of yet chimed in with any input.

Length from the mune machi to the kissaki is approximately 19 5/8 inches / 49.8 cm measured in a straight line. The nakago is unsigned, though there are (remnants of) painted markings on the obverse.

What strikes me is the hamon. The character/style of the hamon is distinct and different on each side; the hamon on the obverse seems - how can I describe it? - "wispy," like the tops of clouds, while the hamon on the reverse seems to rise and fall with something (a little) more closely approaching regularity (the photographs in both this and the following 1-2 posts don't do the hamon justice). The boshi looks to be nearly the same on both sides of the blade.

One thing I noticed is that while both my Showa kai-gunto and Shinshinto katana have similar blade widths at the mune-machi (of or about 1 1/4 inches), this wakizashi measure approximately a full 1/8 of an inch smaller in width, though all three measure about 7/8 inch at the yokote. Something else that caught my eye is that the ha-machi is not nearly as well defined on this blade as it is on my other two. Could these observations possibly indicate a cut-down blade, or does the appearance of the nakago speak otherwise?

Anyway, given the number of photos I have taken of the blade, I will have to follow this up with one or more posts.

Hamon as seen on the obverse:

...and the reverse:

laEspadaAncha · 29th July 2010, 05:50 PM

More images of the hamon on the obverse:

...and on the reverse:

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.

29th July 2010, 05:47 PM	#1
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Need help with interpreting Wakizashi hamon I recently traded for a nice Wakizashi ("nice" simply meaning authentic) and am hoping someone can help me estimate a date and place/school of manufacture base on the hamon and form/style of the blade. I've posted this over at NMB but while receiving quite a few views, no one has as of yet chimed in with any input. Length from the mune machi to the kissaki is approximately 19 5/8 inches / 49.8 cm measured in a straight line. The nakago is unsigned, though there are (remnants of) painted markings on the obverse. What strikes me is the hamon. The character/style of the hamon is distinct and different on each side; the hamon on the obverse seems - how can I describe it? - "wispy," like the tops of clouds, while the hamon on the reverse seems to rise and fall with something (a little) more closely approaching regularity (the photographs in both this and the following 1-2 posts don't do the hamon justice). The boshi looks to be nearly the same on both sides of the blade. One thing I noticed is that while both my Showa kai-gunto and Shinshinto katana have similar blade widths at the mune-machi (of or about 1 1/4 inches), this wakizashi measure approximately a full 1/8 of an inch smaller in width, though all three measure about 7/8 inch at the yokote. Something else that caught my eye is that the ha-machi is not nearly as well defined on this blade as it is on my other two. Could these observations possibly indicate a cut-down blade, or does the appearance of the nakago speak otherwise? Anyway, given the number of photos I have taken of the blade, I will have to follow this up with one or more posts. Hamon as seen on the obverse: ...and the reverse:

29th July 2010, 05:50 PM	#2
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	More images of the hamon More images of the hamon on the obverse: ...and on the reverse:

31st July 2010, 02:27 PM	#3
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	#4
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.