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Originally Posted by josh stout
Not being an expert in Japanese swords and having seen similar swords from China, I would like to know your reasoning. I thought that in Japanese blades the hilt does not turn down (toward the edge) from the blade like in Chinese sabers and the one shown. I also thought that a diamond cross section with a faceted tip were also common. I don't see those characteristics in the example shown. Were Japanese blades made to look just like Chinese blades for export? If so, how can you tell them apart? The pattern of the fuller does not look out of the ordinary for a Chinese blade. My understanding of Japanese swords is that they had a softer core with a hard steel jacket while Chinese blades have a hard edge inserted into a softer back. Which one of these techniques do you see in this blade? Is this an appropriate way to differentiate the two in your opinion?
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Hello Josh,
Yes, you are right with your questions and I will try to answer.
As far as I know, the Japanese blades that were exported, were no different from the standard mass produced Katanas. They were the classic shinogi-zukuri shape with the nakago/tang somehow bent towards the back of the blade.
Regarding this sword, I believe I can recognize the shinogi-zukuri shape but the tip/kissaki could have been reshaped. By carefully examining the blade (see the photo), one can observe that it appears to have a ridge - shinogi - meaning the blade is flat in the area of the fuller, with the surfaces of the blade parallel, and is wedge shaped at the edge (the ridge being the border between the flat and the wedge areas) which would be a good indicator of Japanese origin.
True, the hilt is bent towards the edge but this can be easily done by adapting the mounting of the hilt to be his way. If you look at the hilt of this sword, it seems a little offset towards the back and is not following the line of the blade. This may be the resullt of the necessity to compensate for the differently shaped tang (as the Japanese tangs are slanted towards the back of the blade).
As with regards to the structure of the steel, that cerainly cannot be discerned unless the blade is polished and then metalographically examined.