Asagiri (朝霧, pronounced “ah-sah-gi-ri”, gi and ri rhyme with key) translates literally as “morning mist”. Spoken it could also be a word play on “morning cut”, slicing the dawn, or “shallow morning”. The idea is related to the interesting rolling mist-like artifact resulting from interaction between the hamon and the hada on the blade during the hardening process.
This tanto was forged from a reclaimed mining-car rail found locally, is mounted in a tasteful old style koshirae, and incorporates an antique sword tsuba, samegawa, silk, and fuchigashira fittings.
Sunnobi tanto (寸延び短刀) are larger than ordinary tanto, with nagasa (blade length) a sun or two above 1 shaku (sun nobi, “a sun longer”, from nobiru, to stretch or lengthen). Though there is some area of crossover with hira-zukuri ko-wakizashi and they may have sori similar to ko-wakizashi, the simplified difference would be that they are still designed with tanto geometry rather than wakizashi proportions and form.
The blade began as a reclaimed mining-car rail and was hand forged in a charcoal fire, smoothed with files and a sen scraper, differentially hardened using traditional water quench yaki-ire, and polished by hand with natural Japanese water stones.
This project is an utsushi-type study of one of the kata (forms) made several years ago from the tracings of famous historical swords. The profile is closely based on the lovely form of an original named Shuhan, forged by Sadamune (相州貞宗), a Kamakura-era (~13th century) master swordsmith.
An utsushi (写) is a careful and exacting replication of an existing work, undertaken for the purpose of study and further understanding of the process, techniques, and historical mindset of the original craftsman.
Originally this was planned to be a rustic satoyama style blade but during the process some interesting details of the layered mining-car rail steel appeared and the decision was made to polish the blade more clearly to see the hada (grain) better. This century-old steel hides a treasure, it is so old it could be classified as pre-industrial and has a layered hada that shows subtly in the polished surface of the blade just as a classical tanto would.
This tanto consists of ten separate components that began as more than twenty individual pieces, crafted and finished with hand tools and traditional techniques. Materials for the chisagatana style koshirae mounting include Magnolia wood for the handle and scabbard, copper bus bar for the habaki (blade collar), water buffalo horn for the kurikata (cord loop), and smoked susudake bamboo from the ceiling of a centuries-old kominka farm house for the mekugi (retaining peg), and several antique sword parts and components.
The centerpiece of the mounting is a piercework antique tsuba (guard) dating to the Edo period or ealier, paired with antique higo style fuchi (ferrule) overlaid in gold, and a carved iron kashira (pommel) inlaid with silver and accented by copper and gold shitodome (eyelets). The tsuka (handle) is reinforced with Edo period samegawa (rayskin) carefully repurposed from an antique katana and wrapped with antique sword silk. The saya (scabbard) is finished in rustic red and black negoro (worn-style) crafted from natural source urushi (tree lacquer) and crimson lake stone powder.
Blade has a hira-zukuri profile, two-stage suguha hamon with “rolling mist” hada interaction, an iori mune, and an ubuha (unsharpened portion near the hamachi). The blade is about 13.25″ long, overall length is just under 19.5″, and the overall length of the koshirae is just under 21″. Accompanied by a silk storage bag made from a vintage Japanese kimono belt.
Specifications
長さ/刃長 Nagasa: 11 sun 1 bu 5 rin (338mm)
元幅 Motohaba: 1 sun 1 bu (34mm)
重ね/元重 Motokasane: 2 bu 5 rin (7.5mm)
反り Sori: 1 bu 2 rin (3.5mm)
中心/茎 Nakago: 3 sun 2 bu 4 rin (98mm)
柄長 Tsuka: 4 sun 8 bu 5 rin (125mm)
拵全長 Koshirae: 20 sun 6 bu (525mm)
形 Katachi: hira-zukuri, iori-mune
刃文 Hamon: suguha, with ubuha
帽子/鋩子 Boshi: ko-maru
中心/茎 Nakago: futsu, kuri-jiri, as-forged, one mekugi-ana
銘 Mei: mumei (unsigned)
拵 Koshirae: chisagatana, issaku (with the addition of nine antique components)
Material: Reclaimed mining-car rail steel, Edo-period copper fuchi and iron kashira with silver inlay and gold accents, Edo (or earlier) iron tsuba, antique gold-plated seppa and shitodome, copper bus bar, copper pipe, buffalo horn, antique susudake bamboo, Magnolia, reclaimed Edo-period samegawa, antique sword silk ito, natural urushi
The raw material for this blade spent the last century as a mining-car rail on Vancouver Island.
The steel is very rare and unique in that it is pre-industrial, a form of blister or shear steel that retains layering from the process of refining it under a steam hammer, similar to wrought iron but much harder to find.
This blade was forged from a section of the top piece of the track that the car wheels ran upon. It was prepared for forging by removing any deeply pitted areas which could cause cold shuts.
Using the large mukozuchi hammer to roughly lay out the sunobe (rectangular pre-form) which allocates the proportions and amounts of steel for the final geometry and establishes the tapers. The tang will be placed once the proper length is determined.
This blade is based on a kata of a famous large Sadamune tanto (lower right). Photographed and graded by Jourdan Causey.
View of the traditional swordsmithing forge during the forging process. Fuigo bellows supplying air to the charcoal fire. Photographed and graded by Jourdan Causey.
Working closely to a kata requires frequent checking and careful progress.
The kata faithfully reproduces the original’s four or five mounting holes, including one plugged with copper and one with steel. This means the original blade was mounted in at least five different koshirae over the centuries, and it appears to have been shortened at least once as well.
Working on the final adjustments after hizukuri to more closely represent the kata.
The surface is rendered fairly smooth by careful hammer work alone, saving time with a file later.
Getting very close, with the exception of the spine curvature, which will be introduced by yaki-ire (hardening) and must be compensated for in advance with a straighter spine.
As the tip will be hardened on both edges for a short way the curvature is more steep there as well as next to the tang with the aim of matching the rest of the curvature after yaki-ire.
The machi (notches) are filed in to delineate the tang area.
The outline of the spine, edge, and tang areas are cleaned up–in order and given final adjustments.
Once the profile is complete, the thickness of the spine and edge are corrected and then the blade is placed in a sen-dai (staple vise) to clean up the bevels.
The bevels are first filed down to the lines set around the perimeter and then drawfiled to smooth the bevel geometry.
The blade is ready to be cleaned with ash and water for the application of the clay mixture in preparation for yaki-ire.
The light still shows the clay placement after yaki-ire. The hamon placement may or may not follow it exactly depending on the steel and other factors.
After hardening the sori (spine curvature) is continuous from tip to tang and matches the kata.
Another look at the clay line as well as the comparison to the form of the original kata.
Making the Habaki
The raw material for the habaki (blade collar) is cold chiseled from a large vintage copper fuse tab and filed clean.
The jacket is forged with tapers in two directions, leaving a thick raised boss for the spine and a notch for the blade’s munemachi (spine notch).
The inside of the spine is slightly hollowed in both directions with a punch in preparation for bending.
After several heats of careful bending and adjustment the jacket is roughly formed.
The jacket is trimmed and cleaned up to its approximate dimensions and a machigane (notch wedge) is forged to fit the blade’s hamachi (edge notch).
After a coating with borax and water paste, the machigane is wired tightly into place and a thin strip of silver is placed inside along the joints. Rust on the iron wire will resist sticking to the solder.
Carefully heating the habaki in an “oven” made of charcoal to maintain a reducing atmosphere.
Once the silver liquifies and flows into the joint the habaki is quickly removed from the forge and allowed to cool slowly.
The habaki is cold forged to harden it while it stretches enough to fit over the tang snugly. Coarse hand files are then used to remove excess material and give the final shape.
The edges are set first (shown) using the lines of the blade as a guide and then the flats are filed down to meet them.
It so happened that the largest habaki and smallest habaki yet were crafted at the same time, the smaller from a scrap off of the larger, and the blades came from the same piece of mining-car rail!
Carving the Tsuka
A piece of Magnolia is marked and handsawn in half to form the cores of the tsuka (handle) and saya (scabbard) and flattened inside with a kanna (handplane).
After choosing the best grain direction, the tsuka (handle) blocks are carved inside to fit the tang precisely. The offset along the edge minimizes stress on the glue joint.
The halves of the tsuka are glued back together with sokui (rice paste glue), wrapped, and wedged overnight to dry.
Beginning with a tracing of the antique fuchi (ferrule), the block is planed and carved down to rough size and shape.
The rough handle block is carved to fit the fuchi before shaping the rest of the tsuka.
Once all the parts fit correctly the rest of the tsuka can be carved and shaped in relation to them.
After choosing the length based on careful measurement of the silk ito (wrapping), the antique iron kashira (pommel) is placed and fitted.
A slot is removed for the silk cord to pass through the kashira using a kiri (hand drill) and saw.
The slot wraps around slightly at the edges and holds onto the shitodome (“quail eyes”, lining the holes).
Once the kashira is installed the shitodome lock it into place and the silk cord passing through ties it on firmly.
Again using measurements of the silk ito, the location for the mekugi-ana (peg hole) is chosen and drilled by hand.
The mekugi (retaining peg) is carved from susudake, bamboo that has spent the greater part of a century as part of the ceiling or roof inside a kominka farmhouse, darkened and strengthened by the smoke from the hearth.
Carving the Saya
The saya (scabbard) halves are carved to fit the blade and glued back together with sokui (rice paste glue), wrapped, and wedged tightly overnight to dry.
Using the fuchi and seppa as a guide, the opening is sized and shaped. Even a wide blade should have the appearance of a relatively normal scabbard proportion.
The curvature is related to the blade but moreso should flow with the curvature of the handle along the spine.
A metal koiguchi (scabbard mouth) reinforcement must be used as there is so little room left for horn with this wide blade. The large habaki is pushing it right to the limit.
The rest of the scabbard is planed down to flow from the koiguchi.
The shape is fine-tuned and smoothed with coarse and then finer files.
Approaching the final shape of the tsuka and saya. The tsuka will yet be thinned down slightly to accomodate the samegawa (rawhide ray skin) and silk wrapping which will finish it off.
The saya is lacquered with almost a dozen thin layers of natural tree-source urushi and polished, the black comes from iron oxide and the red comes from powdered crimson-lake stone.
The lacquer style is known as negoro and is based on the appearance of century-old rice bowls that are partially worn through from use.
Preparing the Samegawa
Samegawa (rawhide rayskin) taken from an antique katana is cut to match a washi paper template based on the tsuka surface.
Washi paper is attached to the back with sokui (rice paste glue) to reinforce the antique samegawa and it is wet formed to the tsuka before final trimming.
The samegawa is glued to the tsuka with sokui and wrapped to dry overnight.
After thoroughly drying for several days some final trimming with a small file allows final fitting of the kashira.
The mekugi-ana (peg hole) is cut through on both sides and filed carefully to match the openings in the wood.
The measurements for the tsukamaki ito (handle wrapping cord) are marked along the mune and ha of the tsuka.
The shitodome (cord eyelets) lock into the wood and hold the kashira in place.
A look at the fit up before wrapping the handle, amazing that this precious centuries-old samegawa and antique sword silk continues to serve on a sword today!
Polishing the Blade
The coarse stages of polishing set the final geometry and make subtle adjustments in the lines.
The hamon has an interesting form and interaction with the layers of the steel.
The difference in rusting rates highlighted the layers of the omote (public/display side) hada very strongly in the earlier stone stages while polishing the ura.
Ura (back/private side) hada showing by rapid oxidization while polishing the omote.
This unique rolling mist artifact of the hada and hamon are definitely one of the highlights of this blade.
The final polishing using natural Japanese waterstones will be done after all the mountings are made and fitted.
The finer the stones the more subtle details of the hada become visible in the right lighting.
**Please note that in order to preserve the patina and texture of the reclaimed/antique components involved in this mounting there may be minor damage, scuffs, variations in colour, and other indications of their stories over the centuries.
