The 1999 San Francisco Bay Area Japanese Sword Show
The Northern California Japanese Sword Club Token Kai

Article and Photographs by Adrian Ko

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The Alfred Tan Display

Alfred Tan of www.japanese-sword.com had many fine swords, but of special note was a spear mounted as a sword.

Spear Sword The "Spear Sword" is an unsigned Early Shinto Period yari (polearm) which has been remounted as a sword, thus giving its 12-inch handle a full tang. The blade measures 31 inches. The sword had an incredible feel and balance to it. The blade begins at 4 cm. width at the base and tapers in profile to 3 cm. There is also a distal taper in the sword, beginning with 1 cm. at the base and tapering to 6 mm. near the tip.

Spear Sword Hilt Of interesting note is the taper of the blade to form a "ricasso" which enters the habaki. The habaki (blade collar) perfectly fits with the scabbard made for the "Spear Sword". The handle wrap is a dark teal-colored leather over ray skin. One might ask if this tapering blade shoulder would become a weak point in the design of the sword. In fact, at the "mune-machi"" (base) of this blade, the blade thickness is 1 cm. As the blade proceeds to form the narrow "ricasso" the blade thickens out. As a polearm, the spear was a formidable weapon, with its long tang providing ample impact absorption and shock tolerance in battlefield use.

Contact Information

Alfred Tan
Japanese Swords, Arms & Armor
700 NW Gilman Blvd., Suite E103-328
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-643-2069
www.japanesesword.com
email: alfred@japanesesword.com

The David & Joy-Lyn McDonald Display

As we most recently discussed the fascinating battlefield weapon known as the nagamaki on our General Discussion Forum it was a pleasant surprise to find a nagamaki in good condition.

The nagamaki is interesting because it has a sword-length blade (in this case, approximatley 26") with a hilt that is slightly longer than the blade itself.

Nagamaki The nagamaki is made by Takemura Masaari of 1862. The blade measures 74.9 cm. The details are: kochoji midare-nie, sunagashi, saka ashi with itame hada, and a hakikake/kaen boshi. (These are Japanese swords detailing the aeshetic elements of the blade itself, style of temper line, tempered point, activities in hamon, and style of forge-welded grain.) Note the two pins securing the tang within the shaft of the nagamaki.

Contact Information

David & Joy-Lyn McDonald
P.O. Box 265
Sidney, MT 59270
406-482-3243
http://www.mcn.net/~jswords/
email jswords@mcn.net

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