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Might they be 'revival' pieces, harking back to the distant past but at the same time having "modern" convenience features, I.e. the hitsu? That 'big' one of mine also should not have a hitsu-ana if it was originally for a tachi [or nodachi 野太刀?] and it is obvious in all the cases they were not added later. No real idea what is true but I do like the mystery of it all. [ boring if there are no secrets to uncover, I love it!]

@Matsunoki Absolutely stunning work Colin ! A real labour of love I think. Unfortunately, as is usual, it quite probably wasn't you who stood to get the most reward out of your excellent craft and dedication! Did you by anychance take any before and during pictures while you were restoring these? Regrettably, I have rarely done so, and that is something that I greatly regret now. All too often, especially when I have been in a rush to deliver something, I haven't even taken photos of the finished item. Awesome work Colin, and something to be extremely proud of!

Morning @The Blacksmith Russ, while you were hammering, and purely for interest, the tusk vases in this link were the type of things I was restoring. I bought these as total wrecks from Paul Peters in Harrogate years ago. They had massive sections of inlay missing…at least 50% of both eagles, large areas of tree trunks, god knows how many leaves and flowers. The stands were in pieces and they were filthy. But they were obviously superb. Using exactly the correct shells etc they took me months to finish. I sold them to Kevin Page in London and since then they have obviously changed hands again prior to this auction. They are probably the pieces I am most proud of. Please note what the auctioneers say about their condition!, Apologies for letting my ego out🙂 https://www.zacke.at...tands/?lot=2676&sd=1

Hi Phil, It's a bit of a vague memory but I recall that sometimes notches were added to the tang to help the tsuka grip - I can't remember where I have this idea from so apply a suitable amount of skepticism. Alternatively and more likely, as Chris says, the condition of the tang (the patina and the additional peg holes) suggests an older blade that has been shortened, in which case it might have been damage to what was the actual blade itself from use way back when and whoever did the shortening simply didn't go to the trouble of removing it.

You found some nice items lately, Piers. You always had a good eye 🙂 Love the small Naminohira tanto. Classic red Satsuma color. A matchlock and a tanto from Satsuma; Mr O would have loved em’ 😉 Well done my friend! Jan

That's tragic Colin, but something that I can only too well understand. After nearly fifty years of hammering metal the body is suffering somewhat. For me, this is why perhaps making an okimono would be a nice little 'sit down job'! I can all to well understand your wife's comments too, sometimes we are just having too much fun in the workshop, and time just runs away.

The Sayagaki describes it as a "Kuroda masamune". It is probably an Odawara Soshu blade from the late Muromachi.

I also realized the banners appear to have been carved with 'ha tsu u ma' (はつうま) or something like that as well. Easier to see when enhanced. What do you think? Damon

Show the whole blade without habaki. This partial details say nothing. The three nakago ana makes no sense on a wartime blade. It indicates often an older blade. In older times the nakago filemarks where used to mark owner for sword and koshirae during assembling.

No mate.

Thanks Les, looks like a very nice Koshirae. Funny that until a few years back that Gunto mounts were the afterthought, rather than an old blade.

In other words, if you consider the double-bubble hole a kozuka hitsu ana, then these tsuba are not necessarily for a tachi...

The rust looks much older than a month in customs, as if someone had already tried to remove some of it even beforehand. I can understand why the seller might want to claim that it must have happened in transit. No use crying over spilt milk though, and no way to prove anything. Suspicions will rot you from the inside, so just bite the bullet and move forward. Thus we grow! (And learn for next time, hopefully...)

Phill: Are there any similar notches on the end of the habaki? Sometimes we see this as roman numeral assembly marks. John C.

My wife recently bought me a 4" miniature sword keychain as a gag gift. It too was held up in customs for a month. John C.

Wow indeed! Fabulous things, too much for me to take in at one sitting. And kudos on the photography, Randell, considering the less-than-optimal circumstances.

PS Handle is blank, no writing.

Yves: Do you think that Daisho would typically have had matching menuki? I'd sort of wonder of they might not have had different but related menuki sometimes, to sort of extend the symbolism - like symbols for perseverance and for strength.

Brendan: That's crazy. What's going on with Border Control? Shortage of staff/funding? I brought a sword into Canada from Japan recently, and it took less than a day to make it through customs... and they declined to charge me duty or tax... although I suspect that may be an error, so I'm not mentioning it :-)

Thanks for that Bruce, that's great information much appreciated. While I have your attention,I have my own personal WW2 Sword that i picked up at an auction some years ago. It has quite a story, I noticed it had nine deliberately cut notches in the handle, I thought they would off been done by the original owner. After a few phone calls I eventually got the sword tested and examined at the Metals Department of the University of NSW. Turns out it's an authentic WW2 era sword but the notches were made from an individual who had taken the sword from the original owner and notched it. They said probably an allied soldier, that makes sense as the sword was from a deceased estate. Could you elaborate if possible please. Phill

John, Here's the kai-gunto, from one of the NCJSC Cherry Blossom Festival photos (see Tom's post in General Discussion). I'm no expert about these things, but the mounts appear to be in wonderful condition, the saya is same, the tsuka has "honest" wear. I can do better detail photos if you wish. The bonus blade is 26.25 inches nagasa, has typical Mino features with togari hamon, a few ware, and the boshi is ??? As I wrote, I thought I was buying the mounts. They came from a very experienced dealer who told me, as I walked away with it "oh, by the way, there's an old blade inside." Les

They probably still exist but getting them out of other peoples collections is tricky! Check out what Gary Montgomery did to "ruin" a daisho [no disrespect to Gary, he was honest about it!] https://www.tsukamak...ary_montgomery01.pdf Tsuba, but it would still apply to fittings.

Wow! John C.

Thanks a lot man. Lifesaver for real. Was this a prolific swords maker at all? Or was he making the modern day equivalent of Target Light Sabers? Looks like you have a website too? That's real dope

https://markussesko....tles-were-conferred/