Willis M. Hawley

It is one thing to read the characters on a sword tang and something else again to say for sure who make it! As we all know, 90% of all big name signatures are fakes, as well as a good percentage of lesser smiths.

This was possible because many smiths left unsigned those blades whch did not turn out well enough to suit them.

So the problem is to be able to recognize a fake signature.

This reading is guide for that purpose.

This study is to supply a list of schools or smiths associated with certain forms of hamon. Basic patterns and their names are covered in my Japanese Swordsmiths volume two though we find that different authors sometimes describe the same pattern quite differently. So a picture of the design is more satisfactory than mere description.

The first hurdle for the collector of Japanese swords is the reading of the inscription on the tang to determine who made it. This is a guide to do that.

Lending