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Post by ceekay on Feb 23, 2021 21:12:32 GMT
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Feb 23, 2021 22:27:52 GMT
Japanese spearhead, with the tang broken off. At first glance, it looks like a pike head (i.e., nagae yari).
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Post by treeslicer on Feb 23, 2021 22:29:10 GMT
I have no clue what it is. Maybe someone here could identify it? It's clearly broken off of a mount of some kind. It's a short yari (spear) blade (late, and probably ceremonial), signed by one of the Nobuuji linage. probably this one, or his mid-1800's successor: nihontoclub.com/smiths/NOB555
If it has a socket, it was intended to be stuck on a pole to look like a yari. Sometimes, tangless blades like this were carried as daggers.
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Post by ceekay on Feb 24, 2021 12:57:27 GMT
Thanks, guys! A few keywords, and I was able to find a LOT more info! So, it looks to be some sort of hira sankaku yari? It seems to be a metal socket type attachment, but snapped. :S It most definitely looks like it was sharpened repeatedly; you can tell it once had a fairly keen pair of edges to the flat face, and the shape of the blade looks to have been ground out-of-round, with an almost straight edge on the sides along the fuller. Not certain why someone would go through all that work just for a decorative piece, though it does seem a bit small for an offensive weapon... One would think that a decorative piece wouldn't have that much work put into the edge, though one would think that an offensive weapon piece would be bigger... I wonder if it may not have been part of a makura yari (pillow spear)? Maybe a kago yari? It seems to look quite a lot like this piece: www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/7529-kago-yari/ And you guys are figuring early/mid-1800's? Any idea what it's worth? Glad to finally know what it is; it's been kicking around my gun shop in the antiques case for years, guy wanted 5 whole bucks out of it, so I snatched it up. Would be way cool to have it remounted by a professional, but I'm not certain if that's possible what with the snapped off socket. Thanks, SBG! You guys are rockstars! <3
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Feb 24, 2021 13:42:58 GMT
It could be from a pillow spear or a palanquin spear, but, as I said, I think a pike is more likely. It's not too small to be a real weapon. Lance heads and pike heads are often quite small (see sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/46686/lance-heads for some Japanese lance heads).
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Post by bruntson on Feb 24, 2021 15:52:17 GMT
During the last months of WW2, Japan was expecting an invasion. For defense, The Japanese goverment encouraged all citizens to arm themselves and defend the country to the last. Since Japan was criticly short of firearms and ammo, all sorts last ditch weapons were used, including spears made from sharpened bamboo/sticks. Perhaps a decorative spear point such as yours was used on one of these spears. After hostilities ended, returning American soldiers brought it back all sorts of Japanese items to the US. Unfortunatly we will never know for sure your yari point story.
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Post by ceekay on Feb 25, 2021 12:56:04 GMT
True, it does look pretty much the right size for a small spear head; it would really ruin your day getting stuck anywhere with this thing. I guess what I was envisioning was more a war piece, an Infantry weapon; those seem to be larger... However, a smaller personal weapon, or maybe a light infantry? a samurai? something like that, would make a good bit of sense. I take it the kanji makes it a decorative piece? Because otherwise, it's sharp and would probably be a very effective spearhead. Also, here are some shots of the bottom, where the socket/tang broke off.
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Post by treeslicer on Feb 25, 2021 15:45:32 GMT
True, it does look pretty much the right size for a small spear head; it would really ruin your day getting stuck anywhere with this thing. I guess what I was envisioning was more a war piece, an Infantry weapon; those seem to be larger... However, a smaller personal weapon, or maybe a light infantry? a samurai? something like that, would make a good bit of sense. I take it the kanji makes it a decorative piece? Because otherwise, it's sharp and would probably be a very effective spearhead. Also, here are some shots of the bottom, where the socket/tang broke off. IMHO, the mei on the blade implies that it was a fukuro yari to begin with, By "ceremonial" in my first post I didn't mean that I thought it was decorative, but rather that it was primarily carried by someone's retainer at public events. I have since rethought that, and am not sure what its original role might have been. It's quite possible that it might have seen use during the unrest of the 1850's and 1860's.
Here's an example of what the socket might have originally looked like:
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Feb 25, 2021 23:20:57 GMT
Had a socket rather than a tang -> probably a pike head. True, it does look pretty much the right size for a small spear head; it would really ruin your day getting stuck anywhere with this thing. I guess what I was envisioning was more a war piece, an Infantry weapon; those seem to be larger... However, a smaller personal weapon, or maybe a light infantry? a samurai? something like that, would make a good bit of sense. A couple of examples of 4" European pike heads here: deventerburgerscap.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-14th-century-pike-and-its.htmlIt's a small head for a short two-handed spear. It's normal-sized for a pike, where you want to keep the weight of the tip low.
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Feb 26, 2021 2:15:04 GMT
I'm thinking its a flag filial...you know, the spear tip on top?
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Post by ceekay on Feb 27, 2021 1:14:40 GMT
tbqh, the more I think about it, I'm thinking it had a tang. That chunk of stressed steel at the bottom is all in the middle, meaning it had to have a tang, not a socket. If it was a socket type, it would've failed at the neck, not the socket. If I was good at TIG, I'd be tempted to stick it to a 12" pole barn nail and go find a good, straight stick.
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