The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1914-03-27
old JAP pANESE ART
Swords of Perfumed Steel That
Cannot Now Be Made.
MARVEL OF A CRYSTAL BALL
Rubbed Into a Perfect Sphere by Hand,
1t Would Be Difficult to Duplicate II
With Modern Maehinery-Legend Of
the Secret of a Swordmaker.

| w lLH mOltfH neutrality-suspicious. o'
the Secret of a Swordmaker.
Steel made more than 800 years ago,
with a sweet odOr put in SO that the
metal still retains the scent-that Is
one Of the secrets Of an old japanese
sword maker described by Reginald II.
st. Fere Vale Of London. Mr.. Vale
j. an amateur collector and his en-
thusiasm for the beauty of old Japa-
ncse art has carried him far back
into the centuries.
Mr.. Vaile actually owned a sword OF
scented steel one time, but it was
! stolen from the Office Of his lawyer
several years ago. He regards this
! loss as the greatest a collector could
! face and feels sure that he will never
! get that sword back again.
"The perfume was delicate and
| pleasing" he said. ut is not the only
sword Of the kind in the world. The
royal collection at Vienna has one, and
| there are two or three more which
have retained their fragrance for all
/ these hundreds Of years.
"The scent Is actually a part Of the
steel. The sword was incased In a
wood sheath, which gave forth no odor.
! The handle Of the sword was Of wood,
which was easily removed and which
| gave no odor. The makers names
! father and son, were on the steel OF
! the handle.
Il entertained n group Of Sheffield
] ove
| ago and just MS a surprise for them
had the sword on the table They were
| boasting about what great steelmak-
ers they were, and then | asked them
to smell the sword. They were the
most surprised men you ever saw.
'Stcelmakcrs,' l said. There Is
some real art in making steel; let us
zee you equal that They could not, Of
course"
Mr.. Vailc said that there are hun
drcds Of mechanical tricks Of the Jap
| anose artisans Of hundreds Of years
ago which have been lost. These men
have made many articles which can
not be duplicated with modern machin-
| cry.
81 have i'm my home a crystal ball six
inches i'm diameter" he said. at Is as
| round as a billiard ball; it will stand
my test for rOundness. That was made
by hand several hundrAl years ago. 1t
would be diGicult to make it now with
| machinery, if it Is possible; but think
Of the years of toll and the special abil-
ity required for man to rub block
Of crystal into Il perfect sphere"
Mr.. Vale said that old Japanese
princes kept hordes Of men at work,
paying them fairly well. These men
had food and lodging assured for the
rest OF their lives, and they didn't have
TO hurry with their work.
He told Of one cabinet started by one
man for the prince who employed him
but who failed to finish it. He died
and the prince died. The son of the
artisan took up the work, expecting to
finish it for the son of the former
prince. They both died, and the cabi-
net was finally finished by the grand
| son of the original cabinetmaker and
presented to the grandson of the orig
lnal prince.
"There was one swordmaker who had
| the trick Of making Il dagger with a
very hard steel point. which gradually
| grew softer toward the handle. He did
| this by taking dagger blade of uni
form hardness, packing 1t in clay which
was thicker toward the handle In this
/ way when he heated the pack the heat
{ was graded, being strong at the point
! and soft near the handle
The secret lay in the temperature of
the water he put it in after heating
| It. No one could discover how hot the
water was or how long he kept the
mass In the water.
Gle had several young men working
! for him, and one of these men, a trick
ster, was anxious to learn the secret
The old man prepared his bath in a
private tent. one day he was coming
ous of the tent with a newly finished
sword under his arm when the young
j man dartcd past him and stuck his
hand I'm the water.
"The old man wheeled and struck
out with his sword. He cut SO quickly
that he severed the young mans arm
before the young mans nerves could
convey any idea of the temperature OF
the water to his brain-or so they
say"
one Of the old swordmakers had the
| peculiar knack of making swords
which. Of themselves, continually
searched for trouble. Blood drink
ers." these swords were named. Their,
was one of them i'm the Bowes collec
ton. which was sold in England sever
or eight years ago.
cone Of my friends bought this
sword" said Mr. Vale. Gle was ex
planning its peculiar nature to some o.
us One Of the men laughed mt th'
superstition Just as he was in th'
middle OF n guffaw the sword slipped
out OF its sheath. the handle strucl
the floor and the point fell against hi
leg. He was severely cut | saw this
hnd. while ! myself don't attach an.
supernatural power to the sword. tha
series of facts keeps me from laughing
i