The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1914-03-27
OLD JAPANESE ART
Swords of Perfumed Steel That
Cannot Now Be Made.
MARVEL OF A CRYSTAL BALL
Rubbed Into Perfect Sphere by Hand
1t Would Be Difficult to Duplicate +
With Modern Machinery-Legend OF
the Secret of a Swordmaker.

With Modern Machinery-Legend OF
the Secret of Swordmaker.
Steel made more than SEQ years ago
with sweet odor put i'll so that the
metal still retains the scent-that Is
one of the secrets of an old Japanese
sword maker described by Reginald t.
st. Fere Vale of London Mr.. Vale
LIS an amateur collector and his en-.
thusiasm for the beauty of old Japa-
nese 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 collector could
face and feels sure that he will never
get that sword back again
"The perfume was delicate ana
pleasing" he said. 1T is not the only
sword of the kind in the world. The
royal collection at Vienna has one. ana
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
n ,tf !, 4
steel men at my home several years
ago and just as a surprise for them |
had the sword on the table They We're
boasting about what great steelmak-
ers they We're, and then | asked them
to smell the sword They were the
most surprised men you ever saw.
'Steemakers, said. There Is
some real art in making steel; let us
see you equal that They could not, OF
course"
Mr. Vale said that there are hun
dreds Of mechanical tricks Of the Jap
anese 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.
Il have in my home a crystal ball six
inches in diameter" he said. "It is as
round as d billiard ball. it will stand
any test for roundness. That was made
by hand several hundred years ago 1t
would be difficult 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 a perfect sphere"
Mr. Vale said that old japanese
princes kept hordes Of men at work,
paying them fairly we'll 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 flushed by the grand
son Of the original cabinetmaker and
presented to the grandson of the orig
inal prince.
There was one Swordmaker who had
the trick Of making a dagger with a
very hard steel point which gradually
grew softer toward the handle. He did
this by taking a 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
1t. No one could discover how hot the
water was or how long he kept the
mass In the water
He had several young men working
for him, and one of these men, trick
ster, was anxious to learn the secret.
The old man prepared his bath in a
private tent. One day he was coming
out of the tent with newly finished
sword under his arm when the young
man darted past him and stuck his
hand in 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 There
was one of them in the Bowes collec-
tion, which was sold in England seven
or eight years ago.
"One of my friends bought this
sword" said Mr. Vale. "He was ex
planning its peculiar nature to some of
us. One of the men laughed at the
superstition Just as he was in the
middle of guffaw the sword slipped
out of its sheath, the handle struck
the floor and the point fell against his
leg. He was severely cut j saw this,
md while | myself don't attach any
supernatural power to the sword, that
series of facts keeps me from laughing
Mt t."-New York sun.
Simplicity ann Soa;:'-.
Between simple and noble persons