Help to authenticate Japanese Dirks Dagger

**Nick Komiya** · 01-19-2021, 11:23 AM

What in Japan is called same-gawa (shark skin) is actually sting ray skin, not from shark. Navy regulations even warned against fraud where shark skin would be used as a cheaper substitute. This Japanese site shows you how to repair polished same scabbards, starting from the ray skin.

**Bruce Pennington** · 01-19-2021, 03:30 PM

by nick komiya

What in Japan is called same-gawa (shark skin) is actually sting ray skin, not from shark. Navy regulations even warned against fraud where shark skin would be used as a cheaper substitute. This Japanese site shows you how to repair polished same scabbards, starting from the ray skin.

thanks for the link, Nick! It was very revealing to see the process, and showed that what I had been calling "eel skin" with the big circular dots, was actually sting ray skin, simply lacquered and filed down. But is there actually eel skin covers?

**Nick Komiya** · 01-19-2021, 04:38 PM

What, you thought that was eel leather?! Never heard that before. Navy regulations limited the cladding of scabbards to black horse or cow leather and ray skin as option.

Eel skin is textured and commonly used for wallets. I think I read an army ordinance allowing use of eel skin as a leather alternative for things like chin straps, but in no major way.

**Kelenfold** · 01-19-2021, 09:45 PM

Good evening
Thank you very much for all this information and advice.
I am happy to have this very beautiful dagger soon.
I will share pictures with you in detail upon reception.
In any case, I find here a nice mutual aid community, it's nice !!

Gaëtan

**Nick Komiya** · 01-19-2021, 09:47 PM

The kind of ray skin used on Japanese swords have been imports from other Asian nations already for the past 1000 years, not available from local waters. That is why the Navy warned its officers not to fall for poor substitutes as Japanese shark skin.

These skins all have a few extra large grains in the middle area called "Oyatsubu (Parent Grain)" and only the skin immediately around that area was supposed to be used to wrap the grip of traditional Nihonto. Larger the Oyatsubu of the grip, the more noble the Samurai family, used to be the rule of thumb for wealth, in the Edo period.

But WW2 guntos could no longer afford using skins with such large grains, due to material shortages and had to use what would have been regarded as scrap in the olden days.