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Sword is not fake, but the description and inscription are fake enough that I think this one deserves a place here.

Very interesting sword that definitely needs to be examined in hand. But what Ray, Kiril and Grey said. This should end up with someone eventually that will consider having it professionally restored. Don't try any restoration yourself, and be wary of the inevitable offers to purchase that you may get privately until you know more about it.

Indeed, Howard Clark swords are highly regarded as cutters and for their performance, and although not Nihonto, would likely have decent value among the custom knife/sword guys.

Happy new year Dale! Thanks for sharing. That 7-artist piece is really amazing. I love the little signed plaques. And the father-son collab makes sense. As for my Myochin Yoshihisa, if you've not seen anything signed in a similar way, that is saying a lot. Not sure if that's good or bad at the moment. But I'll continue to research and do some light cleaning to see if the signature can come through more clearly. Damon

Howard Clark is a big name in contemporary blade makers and works by him tend to be quite valuable - handle with care. Paul Chen is an important name in the early days of mass-produced Chinese shinsakuto, and these range from entry-level beaters/mat cutters to high-level emulation of art Nihonto.

Damon I have seen a few "collaborative" decorated tsuba - But not signed in this way. The ones I have seen have had inlay work with a signed plaque beside each piece of inlay. Would you believe there is a collaboration of SEVEN artist on one tsuba? Walters Art Museum 51.410 https://art.thewalters.org/object/51.410/ There was another collaborative tsuba here: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2005/Japanese-and-korean-works-of-art-l05860/lot.852.html

This is what I provided for the date. 嘉永五壬子年 - Kaei 5, mizunoe-ne (zodiac date for 1852)

Happy new year!! After getting some help in the translation section, I'm here to ask your opinions on a peculiar piece. I picked up this Echizen Myochin Yoshihisa tsuba which is also signed on the other side: "水戸士 Mito shi (Retainer of the Mito clan)" and "高山千□造 Takayama...zo". Although the characters are not easy to read and not definitive, it seems to allude to a samurai from the Mito clan having/making/reworking it. The question is why the second signature? I'm not sure I've seen a piece signed this way before, so I'm wondering if this indicates: - a collaboration piece - a case of signing to show ownership - gimei signature(s) - something else If both signatures are legitimate, then this seems (to me) like a special piece given the rarity to find similarly double-signed pieces. I'm really curious and interested to hear from those with much more experience than me. Appreciate any input you have. Damon

Hi Nick, What Ray said, and here you will find care & cleaning, which you should read twice. https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Grey And if you have a bunch of questions and would appreciate talking with someone who is not an authority but has been at this for 40 years and won't try to get you to sell the sword to me, feel free to call sometime. Grey 218-340-1001 US central time

First post here! I’ve inherited an old gimei wakizashi and been learning all I can about everything. Namely Funada Ikkin who I believe made the fuchi and kashira. From a couple different sources they are dated 1852. I haven’t been able to find too many examples of his work but I had a fun discussion with Ray Singer and he gave me some great insights and believes it is likely the shodai which was a fun discovery considering it seems like he has less known works. Well if I’m right here’s a couple more! This whole process has been fascinating, and any extra resources would be great to have! Also, I had a friend of mine who enjoys studying old kanji and he wasn’t able to decipher everything but said something about a father/son when reading the left side. And he knew nothing about the fact there were two generations of artist so I’d be curious if someone could shed some light on that as I’ve noticed the mei on the left differs from others I’ve seen with a couple extra characters. Thanks, Cole

Thank you!

Honestly, considering the clumsy writing of 藤原, I thought the third kanji was a poor attempt at 兼. The last one could well be a partial 是, or a partial 恒.

Would welcome any further opinions on the third character, perhaps @Nobody or @SteveM could lend their expertise?

So catawiki keeps their standards. @Scogg could you move this thread to fake’s tab?

It is possible the next kanji is Tsune. Bishu Osafune Tsune__. Several smiths used this kanji including Tsunehiro and Tsunenao. https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch?type=All&mei_op=contains&mei=備前長船恒

Clinton, as noted Yoshisada from Seki. Produced a lot. WW2 made, not traditional methods, this one is in wartime civilian mounts. There were earlier posts on him.

I replied to you on reddit. My comment there is repeated below. Wonderful find. This appears to be a Nanbokucho period or earlier tachi, signed Bishu Osafune __ (the remainder of the inscription is not readable in the photos, however please do not do anything at all to try to improve the visibility of the inscription). There may have been a date on the other side of the nakago, not presently readable. Do not try to remove rust on the nakago (tang), or to clean or polish the blade in any way. It has every indication of being a valuable sword. Best regards, Ray

There is nothing here even remotely resembling a Yasukuni-To, clearly an oil tempered junker.

Hopefully no one here will bid on this. It is certainly not an authentic Yasukuni-to. At best, it is a showato arsenal blade, doctored up with a gimei and frankenstein'd koshirae. i'm sorry to be so blunt, and I don't like to comment on active auctions, but this is one of the worst things that I've seen posted to the group.

Hi Dekabyu, I bought my KaneZane in 1980 from the old vet who brought it back. It was the second Japanese sword I ever owned and at the time I couldn't even translate the tang. (I think I paid $250 for it). I knew an old sword collector who translated the signature for me, I guess I got VERY lucky and got something nice. Later I bought Richard Fuller and Ron Gregory's book "Military Swords of Japan 1868-1945" they had published a letter from a collector who wrote to Asano Shinichi (KaneZane) and received an answer from him. I think that article really established KaneZane's fame, and showed just how much care he and his students poured into each sword. He spoke about his work as a swordsmith as being "the flower of (his) life" and a "fragile dream" that ended when the war was over. After reading that, how can you not be romantic about Japanese Swords? I really don't know the going price of KaneZane's swords, over the years I have seen quite a number come up for sale. (KaneZane stated that he was making swords full time for 10 years) As mecox alluded to, the sword is in good polish, the fittings look to be in great shape, so I think its a great example of a '98 with a tassel. But, it is more than likely not a traditionally made sword. Good luck with the purchase, buying from an unknown person can be nerve-racking! Tom

Sort of feels like authentic Bizen[???] Osafune signature which is almost gone. The blade can be early-mid Muromachi.

This blade is coming back from time to time. September 1940. As You like those shrine works maybe someone would want to bid on it. Monouchi is imo badly damaged on both sides. https://www.catawiki.com/pl/l/100253437-katana-autentyczny-yasukunito-miecz-oficera-ija-z-ii-wojny-swiatowej-w-nietypowych-osadzeniach-typ-98-japonia

I was referred to this message board by some people on r/katanas. I honestly still don't know for sure if it's authentic (being weary of what people say on reddit) but quite a few people telling to not touch it. I need help identifying it and how to care for it.

Ishihara Yoshisada. A WWII era showato smith. This one has a Seki arsenal stamp. It is not traditionally made.

@rebcannonshooter did you get checked out ? Shall I buy it ? How much is it worth for collectors ? and where did you get yours ? I want to buy this but it’s online not sure to trust the guy