Gotta update this with pics of new kamis Thamar and Purna's marks when I get a chance. Thamar is a fylflot (swastika) and Purna is a bull head.
Also, the new Tirtha working for HI is not using the same mark as the old "beer-mug" Tirtha - the new Tirtha's mark looks like a plant with 4 branches, two above and two below, kind of like a capital letter Y on top of another capital letter Y. I don't have a pic available, but I could take one.
I have been gleaning everything I can find from the forum and the "stickys". My chart (wip) has somewhere around 30 marks and variants to date, plus who used the mark, sometimes more than one kami did, both old and new. Some marks change details from blade to blade which makes you wonder just what the kami was thinking when he made the mark or what his mood might have been. I think the kami's mark should be the most pristine detail on the entire knife as it's his signature, his advertisement of his abilities, and provides value to the khuk, both historical and monetary.
Agreed, Bookie. I'm not a fan of some of the punch/dot kami marks I've seen lately. I like the old ones better with clean lines. Doesn't make a hoot of difference as far as function goes, but it's just one of those little details that sets HI blades apart from the rest.
Agreed philllllll and Boooooookie:thumbup Here is another old but good: http://www.zknives.com/cpg14/thumbnails.php?album=72
My recent new Tirtha blades with the "dot like" patterns, is the same beer mug mark he's always used. Here is a pic of the recent Tirtha CAK offered up on a DOTD. The mark is clearly his "beer mug", which is actually a drum. I much prefer the "NO DOT" version, this is off an older Tirtha 25" Kobra:
