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  2. I can't help with the mei, but it is not modern. A very nice guard but not top of the range, have you noticed the staff of the monk is a little bent? A little oxidation on his forehead? Inlay name plate of silver(?)
  3. This is a very useful thread on several issues. Thanks for keeping it up! Robert S
  4. That’s a lot of active rust…this one need oil asap…..clean the blade carefully with 95% isopropyl ( watch out for the rust coming off as you clean and scrapping/damaging other parts of the blade…then oil..so this regularly until the rust turns black. watch out for any rust hanging around inside the Shirasaya. This may be a blade that needs a professional view on polishing.
  5. Thank you very much for your information. Do you have any idea how old this sword may be? I'm having difficulty removing the handle due to the condition its in.
  6. On another topic, I mentioned earlier a little mid-Edo Nami-no-Hira blade that I purchased last year. The togishi was unwilling to work on it as it was a little loose in the saya, so it went to the shiroganeshi who inserted some 'koppa' shavings to grip the habaki better. Finally it went off last week to the now-satisfied togishi for a 'light polish'. (Something to look forward to in the background!)
  7. Franco, if you bother to do a little research, you'll find the Yoshimune, only made Gendaito. You seem to be fixated on it not being traditional.
  8. Today
  9. And this is why I have finally learned to ask before just doing, only took about 47 years It has a very nice feel in hand and I can see some nice activity under the rust but can't tell much about the hada in current condition. I will upgrade this one and maybe I will make this one my first full restoration piece.
  10. Yesterday
  11. Thanks for these quick responses. I am still playing around with the photography and will be posting much better pics soon. I did not mean a new polish; I just want to not let it get any worse than what I now have. I will update with new photos possibly after this weekend.
  12. Again, agree with Ray. The habaki will come off unless epoxied. Place the edge of a piece of wood or a chopstick on the habaki at the places indicated and tap downward, alternating between sides. In addition, the rust can be mitigated. Search the forum and several methods will pop up. John C.
  13. Hi as Ray said, we need some better pictures, show the whole of the nakago ( the tang) both sides..and a full length shot of the blade. from the very limited pictures this is a traditionally forged sword, as for is the blade recoverable…that’s nothing significant damage wise at all just oil and keep the blade..it does not look like it needs a polish and is fine…yes it’s irritating to have some scratches and a bit of light rust…but that slight irritation is not worth spending a ton of money on… finally don’t do any work yourself other than, clean the blade with 95% isopropyl then oil the blade…keep a cycle of oil, clean off, re oil until the rust has settled to black stable rust.. other than that keep the sword in its Shirasaya…in a nice controlled environment ( humidity around 50-60%) no dramatic changes in temp ( basically the sort of environment you would want to be in).
  14. I'm of the opinion that any antique traditionally made Japanese sword deserves more than to be turned into a machete or garden tool. This appears to be an old Mino blade. This is a preservation-based group, so perhaps not the best thing to discuss using it for "project" work.
  15. This is what was listed as the "project" blade in the collection I now own and was by far in the worst condition out of the blades. Habaki will not come off yet. The only good news is that this is a beefy little wakizashi with some hamon activity and do not see any forging flaws. But it is rusted all over the surface. There is no signature on the nakago. There may be a possibility nakago was shaved down a bit to fit a homemade handle, but not certain about this. To mee one side has better file marks and one side seems smoother and a bit strange. The actual blade is also much thicker than the nakago. My basic question is this, does anyone with knowledge see something where this is worth preserving? I have made rash decisions in the past, so before I have the best garden tool on the street, I am looking for feedback. I will most likely use it as a project piece myself unless I am told differently. Also, aside from the wiping and choji oil, should I do anything else with this blade to help keep it up? It is currently stored in a regular saya, I do not have shirasaya for this one. Thanks for any help.
  16. In case anyone is tempted to play with the stuff, I was reading yesterday about someone who blew the top joint of their thumb off, when loading an old toy cannon. Jean, normally I would just just flush it away in water, but I was curious to know what it was, so I took care to burn it on a flat rock in the garden, and not under any compression.
  17. What Ray said...ditto. John C.
  18. To be honest from the three photos I'm not seeing a sword that is in need of saving. The condition seems to be fairly good overall, and at minimum if the blade is oiled and maintained from this point forward and it should not degrade too much further. I would not typically think of doing a fresh polish based on these cosmetic issues, but you have not shown us the nakago so it isn't clear what we are seeing (and the photos are not in very good focus).
  19. This is part of the collection I am trying to save; I doubt any of them have had any care for over twenty plus years now. I have a written notebook from the original collector. He would be well over one hundred years if he was still with us. The next couple caretakers were not so good and now I am here. This is what he has listed as the "newer" blade supposedly made around 1950 give or take a decade. The bad news is that this blade was used and played with for some years and not kept up. The middle pic is where I am trying to show the issue, there are some rust spots and some scratching in areas. There is also some light staining in a couple spots. As I am a novice, I do not even know if this is a traditionally forged Japanese sword and just want to make sure. If this is legit, how or what should I do to at least preserve it from getting worse? I have wiped down and have choji oil but have not read that I should really do much else. The shirasaya has been destroyed and all my other blades have that, so I guess I would want to get one made. Any thoughts and help greatly appreciated. I did not bother with signature (this piece is signed) as my focus right now is on saving what I think are some decent pieces in this collection. This blade is probably in the poorest condition of the eight with the exception of one wakizashi, but the person's notes stated that wakizashi was a "project blade" for various practice including sharpening and that one was not hard to pick out.
  20. Moses Becerra at Nihonto Antiques also has a submission service for Shinsa at the upcoming Orlando show in June https://nihontoantiques.com/
  21. I am attempting to sort out and save a collection of blades and fittings of which I am now the new owner. I have mostly been reading books on swords as recommended, but I enjoy the fittings as much as the swords. Here is one of the tsuba as an example. I guess first, I would hope someone with knowledge can tell me that this tsuba is not a modern fake. If we get past that part and it is real, is this something that could and should get papered? I am the type of collector who will want only better-quality items, and ideally, I would like to authenticate and paper anything I can, but this is also just a bit of personal preference. If anyone can translate mei, that would be an extra bonus, I appreciate any help I can get. Also. not thrilled with the quality of my pictures, for example in hand the golden dragon's carving looks much more detailed.
  22. Piers, that gunpowder residue sounds as if it could represent a real danger!
  23. Yes, I think it is a craftman's assembly mark, usually not visible under the (now missing) bottom part of the damaged HABAKI. It has nothing to do with the swordsmith nor the owner of the sword.
  24. It could be but I don't think that it is something new because from more closer it looks something old and I can see patina too. Maybe a fake one like Ray said. An old fake tanto to seems like a "small katana"? I don't know.
  25. It is made in China and exists in many variations from different sellers with or without hamon or folded steel but all of them have the same shape and Hi Etsy
  26. @William Jennings This one was posted recently on the forum. Are you sure you're communicating with the actual owner? In the thread below, @Kiipu makes a good point about the handle being a replacement. As for the mismatched serial numbers, does it bother you? There's no shortage of matched examples out there. Conway oe
  27. William: First impressions are that it is legit. Mismatched numbers does affect the value, however that is offset by the presence of the tassel (assuming it is legit as well). Currently similar swords with tassel are selling in the 1100-1400 dollar range on ebay (if you can find one with tassel). John C.
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