Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-12
Rare swords of Eastern Mnke-Thefr
aomance and Markings.

Rare swords of Eastern Mnke-Their
Romance and Markfngs.
From tn" London saturday Review.
IL Is In the east that the sword test Is
most glorified in history and romance
With loving care, with tender scrutiny
such as the cold western never bestows
on the eyes of his mistress. does the
oriental swordsman examine his blade for
those marks which. briefly described AZ
watering or grain" are indicative to
him who knows Of a skill and patience de-
Tying description, and a zeal which regards
all questions Of gain with contempt By
these markings 0uhar). in the first place
Is the blade judged. and each pattern form
ed by the successive foldings and weddings
OF the steel has its distinctive name
'One of the most priced and rare" saws
Mr.. Egerton. is that which takes its name
from the grains of yellow sand;" and ne
goes on to speak Of ''irk narduban." or Mo-
hammed's Ladder, with its eQuidistant
transverse markings; Of "Qara khorasan,' -
wan iI.ie Si--~-., --.-uia.ins zines, OF cara
iaDan, WIN larger tnreaos and lighter
IN tohe-a quahts "a steel Poplar in Iur-
Key; ana u Snam, or sIlapIe Damascus
twists. Then. again, We have ',AcKuare .
like shein Oh siik, and "Begumee, IKE
watereo siik-all OF which patterns WIN
MANY are hHONu eastern cut
Ter. ana duly initiated by the Intelligent
hindoo with wax and sulphate OF iron
Travelling further east to Japan for China,
the land of competitive examinations, alb
hors the sword, and knows only the cary
ing knife), we ind the acme of attention be-
slowed on the steel and its trial Here
everything is reverenced and studied even
to the tang and the shape of it's end, and
the hle which comes in contact with in
Like the tulwar and the shamsher. the
japanese katana represents a grain or
skin thada); but there are barely half a
dozen patterns OF this. 1t is in the varia-
tons OF the "hatsuya," the hard white
steel edging. showing in brilliant contrast
to the ''ii-tsuya," the blush luster of the
softer backing. that the critical faculty may
For this edging may display MARKINGS
many and various: Moi tobi-yaki-nie-tbe
utsuri or Observation-Disclosures
M; Its line Of junction with the ground
luster may be straight-waved-invo
-serrated-like cloves-like flower petals
have wave and a straight line-a tooth
and a straight line; II may be carried over
the point in dozen different WAYS: and
when the yaki-ba is disposed Of and the sec
ton examined there remain the length and
shape of the tang and its end and the fle
marks thereon, whether horizontal-diag-
onal and fne-diagonal and coarse-cross
natcnIor diagonal with horizontal lines at
the shoulder-or with a few perpendicular
scratches--and varieties and combinati ons
innumerable. Waste Of timer ouoth the
grounding We'll. hardly! A blade compos-
ed OF 4.194.3O4 layers of steel and polished
so that European polishing pastes will only
serve TO scratch II. Is surely worth looking
at To the expert the quality Of a blade is
apparent from the markings but the would
be purchaser may, IL he choose test the
keen edge practically
Masa-mune, the gentle smith OF the four
teenth century, could let fall a hair or the
hard-skinned adzuki bean across the edge
and either would be split in two: or. like
Regin. he would stand the weapon upright
In little stream Of water and let the cur
rent carry down tiny SCRAP of paper
whlch, as II touched the edge would fioat
IN halves. No such gentle tests were those
OF the nerce Mura-masa, who forged his
s"ores 10 the cry OF Tanka tairanv' lwar
10 mem, and Quenched each one in the
warm blood Of fresh human victim: and
so inspired the bright steel with an end
less thirst, which caused IL to cleaye iron
IKE bronze and bronze like melon in
search OF human life; and IL left too long
IN its scabbard to possess its wearer with a
neree desire to kill; and IL drawn only for
II, be he never so careful. So terrible was
the slaughter effected by these semi-human
blades that their use was prohibited nv ono
OF the Tokugawa Shoguns. and thereafter
they were consigned to gain repose In sui
len discomfort in the sword rack. Minor
smith were content to pile up copper coins
and display an edge unrufied after cleay-
Ing the stack. or to cut through a half-tnch
copper bar. But II the customer were still
unsatisfied he might bride the town execu-
TONER. and test the sword on the body of
a criminal: and. II he doubted his own
skill cause his weapon to be used IN the
execution itself when. II the blade We're
the victim. and perhaps his beard or bend
ed knee to boot.