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mystery chisel with decorative forge line
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 5:58 pm
by djwong
I picked up a chisel at auction that is quite interesting. Here are some photos...
The makers mark looks to be
鉄之助, which is "Tetsunosuke". This is confusing, as that name is famous as a saw maker Tetsunosuke Miyano. The higane is shaped somewhat like rip teeth on a saw. Could this chisel be some sort of commemorative item?
David
Re: mystery chisel with decorative forge line
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 6:40 pm
by dmccurtis
Was that from Junji Sugita? He's had a few like that recently, described as 'midare-ba.' I can't speak to anything other than that, but I've seen enough of them now, from various makers, that I don't think it to necessarily be commemorative, just decorative. That's merely speculation, though.
Re: mystery chisel with decorative forge line
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 9:01 pm
by djwong
Thanks for the clue! "Midare-ba" I think transcribes to 乱れ刃, which means a "not calm or turbulent blade". A quick Google search turned up a couple of other examples. Something for me to look into.
I don't know Junji Sugita, but if his collection is online, I would love to see his examples.
Re: mystery chisel with decorative forge line
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 9:34 pm
by Chris Hall
I've seen tools from Tasai with a corrugated forge weld line- their 'On' plane blade for example:
- onkannna2.jpg (14.23 KiB) Viewed 7750 times
Sub-blade too:
- onkannna3.jpg (16.96 KiB) Viewed 7750 times
I presume they grind the
hagane to shape and then forge the
jigane down onto it until it conforms. Looks neat, but really it's a decorative treatment and not much else.
Re: mystery chisel with decorative forge line
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:51 am
by dmccurtis
Sugita-san runs an eBay store selling used Japanese tools. Here's an example of one such chisel he sold recently:
15mm midare-ba tataki nomi.
Re: mystery chisel with decorative forge line
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 1:08 am
by djwong
Guess I was wrong in my speculation about my chisel. Leaves me wondering about the maker. Thanks for all the info.