Wakizashi no-signature by shortening work
Blade length 44.8cm, thickness at the base 7mm, width 2.7cm
This is a nice wakizashi blade, probably from 15-16th century. It is so shortened that the original tang has cut off. The original blade length was around 56cm.
Steel color is fine, but the layer is not very compact, rather rough in some parts.
Hamon is bright enough. It is made of large particles (nie). And its pattern is active with many attractive activities for eye. Long kinsuji, tobiyaki (jumping hamon) and others. Especially the appearance in kissaki on the ura side looks interesting. Utsuri also appears as shirake style.
Tang
The original tang is almost cut off. So the grooves end around the end of the new tang.
A sword with 56cm blade length, rough layer pattern, and the active hamon pattern - that suggests one of the typical styles in 15-16th century. The steel is fine, but having rough layer. It suggests the good steel quality, but the smith didn't fold it many times. The hamon is bright enough. It also suggests the good quality of the steel, and proper work in hardening process. Those sword might be an useful and reasonable weapon in battle field. But it is hard to find out the smith or school, since many smiths made such swords in that period. What is more, the work to make grooves on this blade is very skillful. So the smith who made this blade must be a master.
Polishing is the modern style (hadori style), but the make-up (hadori) -is not very strong. So, you can see the real hamon and utsuri by proper lighting. It is very attractive to study this blade from the start of hamon toward the tip, if you have learned how to study the real face of blade masked under the modern polishing.
Of course this is not a masterpiece as "art sword". But when you study this blade in your hand, you can feel the spirit of old samurai soldiers what you never get from masterpieces in Shinto period.
Habaki is made of silver and gold plated.
Shirasaya and bag
