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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;the blacksmith, post: 9420124, member: 20148&quot;][ATTACH=full]432190[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Something that I hadn&#039;t paid attention to, was this extra washer, called a <i>seppa,</i> there can be quite a few of these, anywhere from two to six, perhaps more but, they are the same number on both sides of the <i>tsuba</i> (guard). Here there seems only one of this shape, and it is a very different coloured modern looking metal. I am thinking that this has been added to fill a gap and make the blade fit the handle. <i>Seppa</i> are oval or sort of flower shaped as in the other photographs, but never&nbsp; have I seen one this shape. It looks to me to have been added by someone who doesn&#039;t know much about Japanese swords. Usually if the smith couldn&#039;t add extra <i>seppa</i>, if the hole ( <i>megugi ana</i> ) was too far away along the hilt for example, then they would punch a new hole in the tang. Some old blades can have three or more holes in them, which is a sign of their age. </p><p><br /></p><p>I will be very interested to see what others on the Gunboards forum say. Maybe I am totally wrong, but they will know much more than I do. We will see..........[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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