Hira-ganna Japanese Smoothing Plane By Tokyo Smith - 72mm

Blade Weight: 357g

Blade Angles: 25°

Dai manufacture: Inomoto

Dai size(length, width, thickness): 290mm 88mm 36mm

Total weight: 1137g

Manufacture Era: Before 1950

Accessories: -

Additional Information: This blade has not been used much and is in good condition. There is some rust on the urasuki (the hollowed back of the blade), but it does not affect its normal use. This blade comes from a participant of the Kezuroukai in the Kanto region. After purchasing this blade, he restored and sharpened it, and fitted it into a new dai (wooden plane block).

He told me that this might be an early work by the blacksmith Ochiai Uichi, the 3rd generation Chiyozuru. 

 " In the 11th year of Taisho (1922), he forged planes in Yokohama under the inscription 'Hisakuni', which was a trademark of the carpentry tool wholesaler Wakui Shoten... Around the 6th year of Showa (1931), Uichi could no longer use the 'Hisakuni' inscription due to a sales rights dispute with Wakui Shoten." —— （八）　三代目　千代鶴 延國

To verify whether this blade was actually made by Ochiai Uichi, I sought the help of Mr. Tsuchida. After appraising it, Mr. Tsuchida informed me that he does not believe it is the work of Ochiai Uichi. But he did note that the blade is still very well-made. By the way, Wakui Shoten was Korehide's biggest wholesaler.

For your reference as an example of a 'fake', I have taken photos of the blade as clearly as possible to show all the complete details.