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With reference to the replies now moved elsewhere: Guys, this is NOT the place for this, and it sets a really bad precedent. I do not want this sort of thing happening in sales posts, if we allow it then it becomes a free for all. That said, we are here to protect the community and also cannot just ignore it when sellers or buyers have an issue, and they need to hash it out with right of reply and people can make up their own minds. I have a Catch 22 here. Allow it and open the forum for fights on every sale post, or delete it completely and then we are not looking out for the community. So I am going to take the middle ground and continue with the policy of not allowing this sort of thing in sales posts. BUT I am shortly going to split this into a new thread and put it in the Sales/Sellers section, where people can discuss good and bad deals with sellers. I hope everyone understands that is best compromise I can come to right now. Shortly this will be moved, and will formulate a title there where seller/buyer can discuss this and lay out their case.

藤次郎作 – Tojiro made 白紙 – Shirogami Tojiro is a trademark of the following kitchen knife manufacturer. TOJIRO Japan I More than just sharpness Shirogami is a brand name of carbon steel made by Proterial, Ltd.

入隊時の中隊長殿（十九年四月一日） - The company commander when he enlisted (1944, 4th month, 1st day). 陸軍中尉　堀米昇殿 – Army lieutenant, Mr. Horigome Noboru

With that many sales listings you would hope for a gold membership to support the forum.....

This seems fairly simple if someone can post a link to the original sale thread. Either the flaws pictured above were clearly stated in the original sales post or they were not….period. This is a contract dispute fellas, either the description of the sword was accurate or it wasn’t, this has NOTHING to do with how anyone “felt”.

Gentlemen, last night my parcel from Czerny´s finally arrived. Packed in a sturdy manner and the tsuba match the descriptions. So I am a happy camper. Best, Danny

Sudden resurrection :D Nice T98 with crest. Habaki rising sun pattern. Looks neat. Don't ask for mei it's like 95% fake.

The Toronto Tōken Kai will be hosting a display of Japanese Swords and other items of interest as part of Toronto Doors Open at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre this Saturday and Sunday (May 23 and 24) from 10 am until 5 pm. This event is open to all and is free of charge. Come by and see us! The JCCC is located at 6 Sakura Way in Toronto, Ontario. Take the Wynford Drive exit from the DVP and go west to Sakura Way. Some map software may still list Sakura Way as Garamond Court.

@Conway i absolutely agree that it's important to honour the original context, humans are humans, these were all young men who were sent into armed conflict, and it didn't matter what side they were on. As for many collectors not being 'haunted' by the original back story, there is no judgment there on my part. We're all different, and we each have our own way of respecting the artifact and its history. I am just at the beginning of my conservation of cultural heritage training, and my views now may not be my views in the future, but for now, this is what's happening to me personally and because you are all very generous and knowledgeable, I have shared this with you to gain some insight, connection, and understanding. I would argue that the fact that my current feelings is amongst the minority in this community, doesn't mean it's less valid, just that it's different. Also I'm not a collector, I'm a conservator in training, so that already puts me on a different path than yours and others. There are people trying to repatriate gunto from Australia to Japanese descendants of original owner, but because this tanto was likely mass produced etc, we cant trace any lineage, but for me it makes it even more poignant. Thank you all of you for your insight and generosity.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/137238358374 looks like top of the range!

Hello folks, I was gifted this sword a few days ago. It was purchased from an antique store in Virginia that sells a lot of American military antique weapons. All that was said on the swords sale tag was old samurai sword. I have tried to do some research into how to be able to determine if a Japanese sword is real or a fake, unfortunately it’s pretty confusing to me and with my novice into the subject I can’t tell if what I’m looking at is real or a fake or how to determine what era it is from or anything like that. I appears to no have any markings whatsoever and thus makes it even more confusing. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated and will help determine if I should get it professionally restored. I will not be attempting to do any type of restoration on it myself as I know that is a bad idea.

One of our members here wrote the book below, and it also has a supplement. @mecox "Mino-To: Swords and Swordsmiths of Mino Province and Mino-To Supplement by Malcolm Cox. 1993." I'm not sure where it currently may be listed; but this is the first book that comes to mind. Best of luck, -Sam

Sounds like a prime question for FedEx, I’ll be curious what they say. That said, it’s likely going to be one of two things. Either they tell you not to worry about and that’s that OR (and this is what I think is more likely) they will tell you to pay the charge and only then can you start the process of jumping through hoops to have it refunded at a later date. Let us know

Thank you Grey, I be diving into the information you provided.

I appreciate your input. Thank you very much.

Hi Travis, I agree with Kantaro and Grey, it is a real Japanese sword (not a Chinese fake). Your sword is a wakizashi, that is, a sword whose blade length is between 12 inches and 24 inches. Although the blade condition is poor, a couple of pics show a hamon (the outline of the hardened edge which appears as whitish metal). The tsuba (sword guard) and tsuka (handle) were of good quality, but also now in poor condition. As far as the restoration goes, the bad news is that its going to be a very expensive process. There are only a few qualified sword polishers in the US and that very high cost (combined with the handle repair) would far exceed the value of the sword. All of that being said, search the message board for info on the care and handling, as Grey says avoid attempting to clean the blade, keep the sword lightly oiled and enjoy being the caretaker of a real Japanese sword. Tom PS what part of Pa are you from? I live in the Altoona/ Johnstown area half the year and could give your sword a look if your close.

Hi Travis, The sword is real but appears to be fairly low end. Do not have it professionally restored; you don't know any where near enough about it to make that decision. Here you will find a care and handling brochure you should read: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Grey

Hi Les , i would say there are lots to see pretty much everywhere , but i would go to Nagoya to the new Museum there , it is well worth a trip .

It seems the mune-machi (and ha-machi for that matter) is deeply cut. I wonder if the blade were a little too wide and it was done to fit a scabbard? Otherwise, I would think iori-mune would be standard. John C.

I anyone compiling these into a pdf? Thank you Rohan, we all appreciate you sharing.

No it is not. It is a fact that I got something different from you than what you advertised. Huge chunk on Mune is missing. You call that small issue? Again, are you serious? What about these 2 Mune cracks? Also the rust on your flawless blade. You told me that it must catch rust during shipment, but per info from polisher it is to deep to be only 1,5 month (yes, that is how long it took to have the sword shipped) old. You wrote Iaito Koshirae. Whoever want to use this for Iaito would ask for suicide. It is a poorly assembled from different sword parts Frankenstein. I assumed that Iaito Koshirae means this has been made for this sword, not assembled by you with paper (yes, cut paper) extra Seppa ... Extra Mekugi-ana in Tsuka that was done poorly with Mekugi cut to fit just a bit, old Mekugi-ana was glued to cover it. Saya is to big, sword rattles like crazy in it. In other words s**t! Not what you stated "Iaito Koshirae". I will leave admin to decide what to do with this. I'm off for a weekend and ain't planning to be online till Monday. And to you @djcollection you didn't want to take responsibility for your sale, fine, but I will make sure your reputation is known. To close the topic before weekend. Everyone, it is word against word, you will do as you wish. Cheers!

That was the guy who "cleaned" his car with an angle-grinder....

That is your point of view. You have your screenshots, I have your sword pictures and description VS what I have at hand (with my pictures). I tried to 'parle' with you on PMs, you said 'end of topic' I told you not for me. I proposed a fair solution (refund) you started to ignore me. You are again joking right? What about 2 Mune cracks? I stand my ground and again. I recommend to stay away from doing business with you!

@oli is a trustworthy person! Based on my experience I highly recommend doing business with him. What you see/read is what you get. Thanks Oliver!

@oli is a trustworthy person! Based on my experience I highly recommend doing business with him. What you see/read is what you get. Thanks Oliver!

Apologies for drifting off topic a little, but it looks like this one was so aggressively cleaned that the spine has gone from iori-mune to maru-mune or mitsu-mune. Amongst wartime Gendaito and Showato, do we ever see maru-mune or mitsu-mune? I’m not sure I recall ever seeing something other than iori-mune. Best, -Sam

Yes Bruce it’s the North China Railway emblem. The emblem is located on several areas. The ishizuki, menuki and kabutogane.

I agree with Grey, that the chip is more than likely the result of mishandling. Battle damage usually looks pretty different. This sword was sold in January on facebook from a well-known seller. That seller did not state in the description anything about fire damage or re-tempering. I believe that this seller would have mentioned that, because i've seen him sell blades with fire damage before (if i remember correctly). Best, -Sam Description from that facebook seller in January:

Hello everyone, Fuchi-Kashira in Shibuichi with a depiction of the guardian deity Niō named Agyo, one of the two guardian deities of Japanese mythology, protectors of Buddhist temples and the teachings of Buddha. Agyo is usually depicted with his mouth open and associated with the sound « ah, » the first sound of birth. Edo period. Dimensions : Fuchi : 38,3 x 19,7 x 6,9 mm Kashira : 34 x 19 mm 600 € (plus shipping)

Thank you for the help Very interesting information. I was very happy to pick it up from the family of the veteran.

I thought you might want a picture of my railroad tassel. Tom

I would say there wouldn’t be many collectors of Japanese swords or military artifacts if we were all haunted by the potential back story of the items or their owners. For me, it’s important to place these items within their historical context and have some level of respect for people who served their nation and were thrust into armed conflict by their political leaders, regardless of being a member of an “Allied” or “Axis” force.

Hi Luke, That’s quite the post, but it’s a good sign you take your work seriously. The majority of these naval dirks were neither intended, nor built for combat use. Being a naval dirk, I think both the owner and dirk would have gone down with the ship had the owner perished. More than likely, its current condition is the result of its conservators of the last 80 years not taking care of it.

Hello everyone, Tsuba made in Shibuichi with high-quality Kebori and katakiri-bori work depicting a tiger. Edo period. Dimensions: 70.3 x 66.2 x 4.1 mm 500 € (plus shipping)

@Sukaira Yea i ve accepted that I ll always have a Kiyomitsu 😆 And yes a lot of intense chikei and kinsuji.

Hi Ken, Sorry, I'm not going to be able to tell you too much about your sword, but lets start with what we can see. The sword is a real Japanese sword called a wakizashi, traditionally a sword between 12 and 24 inches. For Samurai it was a companion sword carried along with a long sword (katana). Merchants and non-samurai could carry a sword of this length, but not a katana. The sword was carried edge up inserted through an obi. I'm guessing it is a Shinto period sword. That is, a sword made between 1596 and circa 1780. The condition of the polish is not good, so no details of the grain or hamon can be seen to help us evaluate it. Hawley lists only four Tadayuki working in Higo or Hizen, all between 1661 and 1845. Perhaps one of our better sword evaluators will weigh in, and can provide a better appraisal for you. Hope this helps, Tom

Haynes lists a Meiju as a student of Araki Tomei (H09800) working about 1865-75 and that there is a relationship, or the same person as Inoue Akiyoshi (H00089) The kanji are the same. I have a tsuba signed Akiyoshi which was an early name used by Kiyotoshi (H03368.0, 1804-1876). Not sure if its the same guy. An entry in ‘The Early Famed Works of the Kyoto Smiths (Kyomono no Ko-Meisaku)’, tanslated by Gordon Robson lists a tsuba by Akiyoshi with a shakudo ground. The text states that ‘Akiyoshi is among the skilled kinko of the Aizu during the late Edo priod’ ‘There must be some connection with Kawano Haruaki, and because of his signature and kao, we can agree to such a conjecture.’ There appears to be a similarity between the kao on this tsuba and examples attributed to Kono Haruaki, so it looks like the artisan of this tsuba is probably the one referred to. Akiyoshi seems to have worked around the mid 19thC and changed his name several times Not sure if this helps, or just muddies the picture further. Best regards, John

There are many options at this price, if you're prepared to pay that amount it could be a better idea to travel to Japan to inspect some first class swords in hand.

Thanks Conway and Bruce. I’ve dug out my copy of Dawsons to refresh my memory on these police sabers. @Ghaad47, according to Dawsons on pages 300-313, your sword with that half-decorated backstrap is a sword for police lieutenants. The police logo on yours looks like what Dawson describes as a 16 ray badge, found on lieutenant and superintendent swords. Whereas a sword with a fully decorated backstrap (similar to the army field grade counterparts), are for police superintendents. These are shown on dawsons page 314-315. *Dawson, Jim. Swords of Imperial Japan, 1868–1945. Cyclopedia ed. Newnan, Ga.: Stenger-Scott Publishing, 2007. All the best, -Sam

Thanks for all the updates. Even today, many advanced collectors recommend these newsletters for beginning collectors.

Miyabi is reseller. Check this at yahoo Japan or jauce if want to buy

Has this appeared before? https://www.tessier-sarrou.com/lot/116199/15882152-koto-wakizashi-epoque-muromachi-1333-1573-signe-mei You need to search through the images.

Hi Adam, the mei reads: 尾州住真野国泰鍛造之 = Mano Kuniyasu, resident of Bishū forged this 堀場好明佩帯之 = Horiba Yoshiaki owns this (literally: wears this on his belt).

Jean is right, it's Kanemasa. A few more details: 濃州住栗木兼正謹作 = carefully made by Kuriki Kanemasa, resident of Nōshū