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Just sharing another great work by Woody Hall on a TokuHo Ko-Kongo Hyoe blade This blade was important to me and I was very skeptical if this would be worth a shiage with how rough it came from Aoi but he has again exceeded all expectaions above an beyond. Cannot recommend him enough to anyone on the fence about restoring their blade. Pretty wild what a great togishi can do with minimal work.

Sword is sold! Please archive, thanks to everyone! I will be donating $50 to the board.

段位記[?][?]日本空手協会 Dan-rank record, Japan Karate association. Not sure what the two larger, complex characters are.

Second row far right - Shoki on the bridge - sorry it is a common casting. Bottom row - right, Chidori over waves in katakiribori. The top row look like late revival pieces mostly based on Tosho/Katchusi style models but on a smaller size scale. Middle row centre is punched flower or star pattern - I have seen a few and I know a few members have similar ones, still good and original.

Here is a tricky one spotted on Facebook. The serial number is the biggest tell, although other details are pretty well done. It’s trying to be a pattern1 copper handle, but it does not stand up to scrutiny. Mekugi is wrong for pattern1, but I didn’t highlight that because sometimes you see that on repaired swords. -Sam

A few impressions with The Usual Suspects...

I have my first opportunity to attend a sword club meeting, this one in Sacramento. It will be Tuesday, 18 Nov, at 7pm. Meeting is at the Sacramento Asian Community Center; 7334 Park City Dr., Sacramento CA 95831. Hope to see somebody there from NMB, but I don't know if we have anyone else here.

公益社団法人 (Public Interest Incorporated Association) So the full translation is: 段位記 Dan-rank record 公益社団法人日本空手協会 The Japan Karate Association (a Public Interest Incorporated Association) JKA English website: https://www.jka.or.jp/en/ More information on Public Interest Incorporated Associations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Public_Interest_Incorporated_Associations_(Japan)

If all else fails, try Chris’s email. It’s listed in his signature under each of his comments. Best of luck. Chris is a good guy to deal with -Sam

They are improving on the Kokura and Suya stamps! They still can't get the small, center, Tokyo 1st stamp, though. Yeah, that serial number is bad. No Type 95s have a zero at the beginning of the number. Another tell is the dimpling in the diamonds of the tsuka. They are raised properly, but blurred. So far, they have a hard time making clear, crisp dimples.

I am skeptical on these other tsuba as well. The open carving is very crude and the plates do not look well made. Color is often misleading in pics, but these all look similar and it looks off to me. Here is an example of one from my collection. Let me know if you can see any differences as to what I have mentioned. This theme I believe is a cherry blossom with snow on top. Your pieces also look very flat where many seem to be slightly concave. Jason

Hi Rob, yes i know they are very hard to find but they are beautiful shark skin or rayskin are like the stars of the night sky

Offered here is a tanto I am helping a friend find a new home for, papered to Ujifusa by the NBTHK (2014 shinsa). The blade is mumei, with two mekugi-ana. The paper does not specify a generation in the Ujifusa attribution. The blade is iorimune, and features a notareba hamon and itame grain in the ji. The steel is in fine condition, with no rust or notable damage. The tanto comes not in shirasaya, but in a polished black saya with a same-covered tsuka. The condition of the saya is not ideal, as there are small scuffs and one fairly significant "dent" present. Were I keeping this tanto, I would want to have shirasaya done for it. The friend I am assisting with the sale of this blade prefers to find a buyer in the U.S. because of potential issues with shipping out of the U.S. $1,250.00, plus shipping (PayPal friends and family preferred).

$50 donated. Thanks to Brian and everyone!

Jan, for a comment, we need photos correctly oriented (tip-upwards, especially the NAKAGO) and close-ups of the NAKAGO without HABAKI. At a first look, the blade does not seem to be stainless steel.

Not my forte, but thought you guys might appreciate this. Made by 菊岡 Kikuoka I thought it was interesting to see a habaki designed with the inner lining fitted to the bohi. Also, his method for attaching his name to the back of the menugi seemed unique.

Second row left - sukashi. Myoga ginger plant 茗荷 鍔 slightly more elaborate designs.

Theme: Dragon School: Tachikanagushi Material: copper and silver Size: 86x82 Theme: Myoga Kamon School: Tachikanagushi Material: iron and silver. Size: 83x83 Theme: Shishi School: Yokoya ? Material: Shinchu (brass) Size: 80x78 (the thickness is about 7mm at the rim) Theme: Shishi and botan School: Nagasaki Shippo Material: copper and enamel Size: 80x78

Reduced to $1800 for all 19, $300 will still go to the board if sold here.

I just received two kaigunto. One with a koto blade (which just sold) and the second with an Ishido Teruhide. I will email you details. Best regards, Ray

Hi Ken, Just a tip in case you don't already know. You specifically mentioned rayskin. From the bottom up, sayas came in shiny black painted wood timber, shark skin (tiny diamond shaped nodules) and rayskin (round polished nodules) the bigger nodules the better (upgraded/expensive). And if your lucky enough to find either a shark or ray in good condition with an original black leather 'combat' cover you have hit the jackpot IMO. Just some thoughts. Rob

Hello I would be grateful if anyone could shed some light on a Japanese knife which belonged to my late father. I have attached a couple of photos, one of the signature on the back of the kozuka and one of the kozuka plus blade inscription. I can supply further images if required. Any info would be appreciated, such as date, maker, translation of blade inscription, etc. Many thanks in advance.

Sword is long gone. I don’t even remember what blade it had. Maybe Kawano Sadashige, but maybe another I got in that bunch. 🤷‍♂️

They are not junk. First row are well known old designs, but the execution even in such pictures feels late. XIXth century? Needs to be studied though. The one in the center to me might be the oldiest. The next on the right I would say both particularly late and sloppy. Overall its real tsubas from not the most expensive pile...

Hi Piers , yes it was very nice to bump into you too , pity we did not have more time there , Les and I just got back home today ,

Maybe we could get your opinion on this one.

This fitting was made by 尚兵館軍裝株式會社 Shōheikan Military Uniform Co., Ltd. The company specialized in cloth-wrapped and lacquered wooden scabbard fittings for military swords, and applied for (and obtained) a patent number for this design. P.S.: Swords forged by 23rd generation Kanefusa Fujiwara 二十三代藤原兼房, were sold exclusively through this company.

Hello! I found a similar signature(mei) https://asahitoken.jp/contents/02_tosogu/details/tosogu-KZ/KZ084.html The author of Nao Kinao is Shoji Nara. According to the gold engineering book, Masatsugu is apparently a doujin with Masashiki, a disciple of Nara Masanaga, and is a metalworker in the mid-Edo period.

There are so many I'm not sure if this one has been posted yet. Seller is calling it a "second type." Posting two pics - one of the seller's sword and one genuine so new folks can compare the differences. https://www.ebay.com/itm/157427026200? Regards, John C.

Every weekend this autumn we have been donning full armour and putting on displays with old smoothbore ‘Tanegashima’ guns. Busy, busy, busy. On Sunday we will be part of the Daimyō Gyōretsu at the old Honjin (inn) Sankin-kōtai stop at Yakage. The constant wear and tear of equipment means the ever-present need for running repairs. Most of these, you have to be ready to do yourself. The medieval battlefield would have been similar but more extreme. I have just finished applying glue to broken tsukamaki strings on the tachi koshirae. A cheaper fix than ordering an identical complete restring! It looks fine, except when it rains and the transparent glue sections turn milky white. Half a day I spent on reattaching loose iron plates and chain mail on the kote sleeves, and the main frontal cord of the haidate had snapped and needed replacing. Meanwhile, the matchlocks also need constant cleaning and prepping, before and after each display. (PS Yesterday with Igor I bumped into Les and Ray at the sword museum! Small world.)

Wordsworth said something about emotion recollected in tranquillity. On Saturday I laid out a table of objects, this and that, and with the help of the organizers, gave a talk to an audience of local citizens. Since then I have heard back through the grapevine that it was an acceptable afternoon and that people enjoyed it. I may have put a noose around my own neck though, as the city has now asked me to do a static display for their children's event later this month. Hmmm... Onko Chishin, 温故知新, learning from the past, to fashion the future? The past can teach you about the future?

Rai Kunizane juyo token .. sorry coz he's my main target this year lol

In 2023, a french guy, Mr LAVIGNE, was able to return a Gifu or Showa stamped Type 3 showato (not even a nihonto) to the owner family. He bought the sword at an auction in Tours (France) without knowing what it was. Then he decided to return the sword to Japan. It was even on a local Japanese TV news. So never say never... https://quinzaine.japonoccitanie.fr/evenements/temoignage-echange-la-belle-histoire-du-retour-dun-sabre-au-japon-par-michel-lavigne-et-madame-marie-fiton-presidente-de-lassociation-les-amis-de-nishinomiya/

When a yari from the kubi to kissaki meets or exceeds 12 inches.

I would take Grey up on his offer. He's too modest. He knows more than most of us here, and will be able to guide you properly. I agree with the statements above about returning swords. The successful ones are by far in the minority, and most modern Japanese do not want reminders of this past, and regard these as weapons. Plus the logistics are considerable. Preserving and researching it would be a fitting tribute. Nice sword that does deserve some research, and appears in decent condition.

Hi Julian! You have quite an interesting sword, there. The all-brown tassel was used by the civilian branch of the military called Gunzuko. You can google that and learn about them, but they did support functions like maintenance, admin., officer training, and many more functions. See Nick Komiya's discussion on the brown tassel here: The All Brown Tassel. But the sword fittings are not war fittings, but for a presentation sword. The style is called "tachi" and was seen during WWII as presentations in various context. My final point is that the signature, or "mei" as it is called, includes a kakihan, or kao, at the end that I have not seen before. There are 6 WWII smiths listed in Sesko's book with the Masatsugu name, but not with this mei. But that is not unusual as Sesko's book does not show 100% of the swordsmiths working during the war. It is possible your sword was the Suishinshi Masatsugu of the 1800's but that would require evaluation of the Nihonto experts. Here is the bio on him: "MASATSUGU (正次), Tenpō (天保, 1830-1844), Musashi – “Kawabe Hokushi Suishinshi Fujiwara Masatsugu” (河部北司水心子藤原正次), “Ushū Yamagata-sh Masatsugu” (羽州山形士正次), “Suishinshi Masatsugu” (水心子正次), “Tatebayashi-shin Kawabe Suishinshi Fujiwara Masatsugu” (館林臣河部水心子藤原正次), “Masatsugu” (正次), “Masatsugu saku” (正次作), real name Kawabe Hokushi (河部北司), gō Suishinshi (水心子), he was the son of the 2nd gen. Suishinshi Masahide and succeeded as 3rd gen. of this lineage but without using the name Masahide, his father died early so he had to finish his apprenticeship under Taikei Naotane (大慶直胤), he also married Naotanes daughter and worked for the Akimoto family (秋元), the daimyō of the Tatebayashi fief (館林藩), but from Edo´s Shitaya-Kachimachi (下谷徒町), he died on the eleventh day of the third month Man´en one (万延, 1860), he was well versed in all traditions and hardened for example a narrow kō-chōji-midare in the Bizen tradition or a chū-suguha- – 573 – hotsure in the Yamashiro tradition, sometimes Honjō Yoshitane (義胤) carved horimono onto his blades, we find also works with a kijimomo-gata nakago, the yasurime are kiri and he mostly signed with a kaō, jō-saku"

Fuchi kashira with design of Ink Bamboo