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Hello, Here are few photos of fuchikashira and menuki set before and after cleaning. This was done with mechanical cleaning, without damaging original patina. I highly value opinions off all board members so please let me know what are your thoughts and If possible what could still be improved. This is not my work, however craftsman who did this do not speak English so I post those pictures instead. Regards, Krystian

This is a rough speckled paint example, similar to the paint found on the premium Army RS Shin Gunto. Came with the original securing lanyard as well.

You're right Chris, but everyone has different interests and my family are no different - they don't "get" my collecting tastes. Perhaps it's better for such collectables to go to people who will really appreciate them, rather than our families accepting them reluctantly and then not appreciating what they have.

Gentlemen, Some of the " old timers " on this forum will remember me. My Name is Ron Watson. I am 74 now and since my son & grandson have no real interest nor money, I wish my modest collection of Japanese Art Works to go to those who have a serious interest in preserving and studying the ARTS of the SAMURAI. I will start off slowly with three items and we'll see how things progress. I will try and add a items a week . At that rate I should finish in about a year. My entire collection is available and I do NOT plan on hanging on to but an item or two which I have promised as a keepsake to my son & grandson. I did many articles for the NMB and I believe that most of these are Archived, ... so if you scan thru the articles and see an item I have not yet listed, an email to : 766watson@gmail.com will get a reply. All sales will be FINAL and payment by International Money Order or Wire Transfer to my bank. I must warn you however that given the WORLD"S confusion and being totally frustrated with SHIPPING RULES, ... I will only ship within the rules of CANADA to International Buyers. I will not use CANADA POST as our Post Office is no longer reliable for anything which will cut and / or possibly fire a projectile ( even if ANTIQUE ). For all other items I can use CANADA POST but will have to quote individual shipping costs for both Canadian and International BUYERS. I believe Air Canada Cargo will handle or possibly Fedex but I am not sure of Fedex. Anyway Buyer is responsible for shipping and shipping costs. The First Item : Katana Sword in newly custom made Saya with period Fittings ( Fuchi, Kashira and Menuki ) and Waterwheel Tsuba of nice iron. The Fuchi Kashira with gold and silver on a Shakado base ( unsigned ) Tsuka is new and wrapped with good quality same and silk. Katana is signed : Yamashiro ( no ) Kuni Heianjo Ju ( Nobuyoshi ) Nagasa : 71.9 cm Sword Shape : Hon Zukuri Jihada : Ko Mokume Hamon : Choji Midaire Era : Late Muromachi ( 1490 - 1510 AD ) Period : Sue Koto Boshi : Kaeri-Fukashi, with Mune-Yaki extending back over the mune for about 14cm. Sunagashi is prevelent, as is occassional line of Kinsuji The Shinogi-ji has patches of hitasura spaced evenly along its entire length. APPRAISED and papered by Kotoken Kajihara in 1984 Photographs may be seen by referring to an Article I did for the NMB by typing in the search box " A Favorite Sword Ron Watson " This article is archived by NMB and was done in 2010. For additional photographs please email me. PRICE $ 10,000.00 US FIRM

David, Just looking as the photo of you tsuba (guard) and seppa I can say: You have 6 seppa...there should be 8 here. The two larger "4 lobe" seppas that match that design on the tsuba are missing. Get 2 of these 4 lobe seppa and I think you will probably find the assembly will become tight on the tang. Regards,

Another one on a Kyu gunto . Ian Brooks

Beautiful kai-gunto swords. I have two, both in almost perfect condition.

I just purchased this kodzuka and pair of menuki attributed to Araki Tomei. No certification. They are superb whether by him or not and of the quality I expect. Anyhow I share the videos. John

Geoff, To consider your question. It would be good to know (ballpark) , how many 95's and 98's were actually issued compared to RS swords. Logically, if the RS are in a real minority (numbers wise) AND they were around more-so later war (i.e. more struggle than glory) then, again logically, there may be a lot less photos. Just a thought. Rob

This was my tsuba that is similar in style to yours

I think tomorrow, too tired tonight, I will put up my Tsuba Collection, and possibly a Sword. I thank those who have already made a purchase ( from my so far unlisted items ). If there is something in Japanese Art or Weapons ( all antique ) that you collect just email me : 766watson@gmail.com I probably have at least one item of interest as I have been collecting for over 40 years and bought ONLY the best that I could / could not afford. so there are well over 100 individual items in my collection. ... Ron Watson

I would agree with all, except - I'd assume that most would have tassels, regardless of the attachment method.

I thought you might like to see this one John . It is a really well mounted katana and they have put a leather cover over the lacquered saya . They have then wrapped a sageo over the leather cover . I have never seen this before . The tassel has then been wrapped over the sageo , It was like this when I bought it forty five years ago and as there is no other form of attachment I think it must always have been attached like this. Ian Brooks

Geoff, I knew I had seen a drawing of the original RS. Nick Komiya re-posted for me. It shows the tassel tied through the hole in the kabutogane. Now, we know that Officers (and enlisted) personalized their stuff often, and it would not surprise me to find that several had sarute added to their gunto. Nick's post: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/f216/unveiling-rinjiseishiki-sword-1940-a-793016-post2194291/#post2194291

It was “A fistful of dollars” that plagiarized Yojimbo, not “For a few dollars more”. Indeed, Kurosawa sued Sergio Leone who then had to share the proceeds with him.

Hi guys, It is through circumstance that I find myself here. Long been a collector of military history, with a decent and varied collection of WW2. I decided it would be a good idea to add some Pacific to my collection, specifically by a Type 95 arsenal sword, and am now down 4 tsubas, a 1943 Nambu 94, a "Good Luck" flag, a parade and cavalry sword, a Type 95 and 98....and then I found this site. In any case, it is still a new field to me, been a long time lurker here and enjoyed learning from all the various posts. I specifically enjoy the open mindedness, fairness and respect demonstrated on this forum. So I finally bite the bullet and try contribute, despite that I am an absolute beginner in what has proven to be very deep waters from my original desire to simply have a Type 95. I would like to post my Type 98, and generally ask opinions on it, and how best to preserve it. I have some issues, looseness around the seppas, a slight "lack of tightness" on the tang in the tsuka, you can feel it. Likely millimeters, but curious on opinions. Some thoughts - a rewrap is likely, but am curious about how it clips into the saya. It catches onto the metal guard rather than the wooden saya - this piece likely lost? Am I mistaken? There is also some movement on the sword in the saya, likely due to the lost of piece of saya pictured? The seppas and tsuba can also move very slightly if pressed upon. Many thanks for any insights that may help me understand this Type 98 better. Good weekend all. David

I just bought a late Edo matchlock pistol. It's unusual and pretty ornate. It has this plaque on the side of the stock. Can anyone help with the translation or a general idea of what it's about. Thank you in advance.

Years ago I received the most extreme example of cheap packaging I've ever encountered. Seller used a Marie Callender's frozen dinner box.

In my opinion (for the 1 penny it’s worth) the seller’s prices are at the top end of the range of what the blades are worth in many cases. Not saying it’s a bad thing, it is what it is. They are experienced and know what they have and what the blades are worth… so not a lot of room to recoup any polishing or Shinsa expenses should you someday sell and probably not an opportunity for treasure hunting. But I also understand that this isn’t always important if you really like it and will be happy no matter what. There was a tanto that sold a while back I wish I would have bought but waited too long because I wasn’t sure. There was a yari that just sold I thought was interesting but did not know enough about and thought was priced on the high side for that type of yari. There is a wakizashi there now that I find the unique shape interesting, but once again do not know enough about and think is priced on the high side for the package as presented.

Thank you Franco for clarification. I understand what you meant and in general I fully agree. There is very difficult to judge the condition and based on that decide how far to go with cleaning. In this particular case it might also be a problem with my poor quality work with flash photography. In real life I do not see a problem that you mentioned. Here are few photos made with a phone.

Franco- Not every piece can be restored as completely as shown in Ford’s work and Ford would be unlikely to even accept the initial pieces for restoration. "Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” Pretty damn good, I’d say.

So this is just for show

Geraint and everyone else, thanks for your comments/feedback. I am buying it.

Jon, there have been numerous responses to this very question and they all point to Mike Hickman Smith

David, you have a good looking Type 98, can we see photos of the signature and date?

I think the ones I would expect would be more "3D" in their carving. Yours are lovely, but the pics in this thread show what I mean by deeper and more 3 dimensional. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/6983-images-needed-araki-tomei-milet/ Also these:

Hello forum/Guys.. 1st. - I did not want to bother any Togishi with this question, because they are busy Polishing/working , and they must have many important e-mails / messages to reply/answer. I was wondering... If there is a blade that people might want a small section polished, ( Window ) to see " what the blade has/shows " What if , or can we, ask for the Kissaski is Polished, to see the Boshi 1st? I remember Steward Ueno. said , the Boshi can be unique, showing the Swordsmith's or School's traits.. If so, isn't that want the window was trying to do? 1) I don't know if it is a "cost" factor, as, many be a window is cheaper to do? Or, any other reasons, like the finished Kissaski might get scratched if the rest of the Blade is "worked on/polished " later. 2) Another thing is, if there is a window made, and the blade is not worth polishing: Would the blade look odd with a polished section? And, would it be more acceptable and still look O.K. if just the Kissaki was polished and the rest of the Blade was not? Here's the link to the video. The whole series is time well spent. "Beauty of the Blade" - Episode 2 6:40 timeline into the Video:

How extraordinary, thank you for sharing. Sheer coincidence but it has the same uncommon herringbone weave on the tassel straps as the example above.

Fantastic Ed! These Kai Gunto photos are making me salivate. Lol!

Jean Can I get the job cleaning up under the conveyor belts.

If I remember correctly, Ford Hallam once wrote in a post about the famous millet depiction by TOMEI and showed an example by his own hand. I am absolutely not an expert on this, but I think I remember that the TOMEI original was much finer than the items above.

Of coarse the kissaki can polished to the point that all features are visible during an madoake. That does not mean that the whole narume procedure is done. After uchigumori the hamon should be clearly visible, the narume is only for whitening. Here is an example why it is an good idea to open a window. Part of the blade is healthy, the rest is nearly dead. Will be the madoake damaged during the polishing process of the wohle blade. Well, the foundation is there, only the finish will be done again in order to blend with the rest of the balde.

A small typo: TOSHIRO MIFUNE

And a remake of it. What movie did Clint Eastwood make as a spaghetti western wher he played town bosses against each other was that few $$ more? Made from Yojimbo.. It tells the story of a rōnin, portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords vie for supremacy. The two bosses each try to hire the newcomer as a bodyguard. Bruce Willis made one too set in the 30s

The problem is that there is no name at all for this variant. In his article Unveiling Rinjiseishiki Sword in 1940 (a very good read, BTW), Nick states: "This word, "Rinjiseishiki", was a social buzz word in 1938, as even the new coinage issued to conserve war-critical metals were called Rinjiseishiki Coins, reflecting an overall shortage of raw materials caused by the China Incident of July 1937." and after explaining the Uniform Regulation "loop hole" that allowed the creation of the variant, he says "If "Rinjiseishiki" is too much of a mouthful, now we can call it a "Type 98 Wartime Variant Version", as it was approved by the emperor as a package with the Type 98." Much of our lingo is for ease of communication, so I like "RS" as well. Much less typing!

Very nice Neil...that particular sarute matches so well with the whole RS concept of 'more serviceable' ...'robust'....impressive piece. Rob

I also had an identical Shin-Gunto mounted sword like this , sold the sword , got it back 10yrs later , but with a normal Gunto Tsuba , still chasing the last owner who says he has the original tsuba somewhere ? I am still hoping to get it back .

Saw one of these years ago (when Stephen was still a naughty little boy), can't really be certain, but at the time "we" thought it was just a battlefield damaged tsuba that had its damaged rim taken off and just carried on being used "as-is". I agree with Tom and Stephen, just a "customised" rim....probably as a field repair that was never replaced later on with a "new" tsuba by its owner. Interesting....I'd keep it as is... Regards,

So, what is there not to like about a Kai Gunto? And what is there not to like if it has a MINATAGOWA JINJA blade? Here is a January, 1943, MASANAO. A colleague recently commented that war time blades normally have a badly cut nakago, this one proves that some are cut pretty nicely.

John, what do you think of the sakura on the fuchi??

Here is a blog entry by a fellow collector, speaking on flaws on old blades. I'd recommend giving it a read: https://blog.yuhindo.com/fatality/ Trust what Darcy says, man knows his stuff!

Dear Brian. You are asking a question that is impossible to answer. You say that it is by a certain maker and ask if it would be worth upgrading the status; it already has papers. So far so good. If the flaws in the shinogi ji, which by the way would be described as kitae ware, or forging flaws, are what you are asking about then welcome to the world of Koto, these are not serious. However you don't even tell us if this is a katana or wakizashi. I assume that it is a katana. So, you have a katana with papers by a known maker which is suriage but still retains it's mei, it seems to be in good polish and we can assume shirasaya but what about koshirae? It is being offered by a friend who you, 'really trust and respect', so what is the question? You trust the seller, you can afford it, (I hope!) and presumably you like it. So buy it. A lot of people will tell you that you can get a better deal but at the end of the day regard this a s a hobby which is going to cost you. The rewards in terms of satisfaction and delight are tremendous, they are worth the money. You will study this and learn a lot about swords from owning it, it will start to create your mental map of the history of the sword and Japan. What's not to like? Will you be able to sell it and make your money back? Who knows? Do you really care about that? In effect you are paying to rent a piece of history and high craft, if not art. It will bring you a measure of joy if it can be owned without too much financial pressure. Let us know what you decide. All the best.

Item No. 112 Iron Sukashi Tsuba 7.50 cm x 7.42 cm x 0.59 cm Subject of crescent moon & bats ? School unknown . Beautiful , silky , dark patina on iron . This is a recent addition to the collection - any ideas about subject ? This is all new material to me and I know there are a lot of Iron Tsuba specialists out there , if I could kindly ask for some assistance ... The piece seems to have been valued at some time - it has its own high quality custom made box . Thanks !

Thank you for posting Steve. You're such a helpful guy.. Guys, I can "see" the dilemmas when looking to obtain/renewal an old blade. The risk maybe costly, rewards may be wonderful. I was thinking, it might be better to just buy a Blade that's polished, in a shirasaya and has Origaml. Since I'm here.. Polishing Trivia : I was reading "THE ART OF Japanese SWORD POLISHING" ( Taikaiwa,Yoshihara, Kapp) Chapter 4 - History of Polishing - Had this.... Blades excavated in the 6th century and 7oo's had some preserved sections that has a polish similar to the Nagura stone, which was said to often " bring out most of the details of the Hamon". Thanks for viewing.. Alton

Fujiwara ju Ieyoshi (your pics are upside down btw) Probably Kaga

Found a simple tsuba I think matches. Wanted to streamline some of the cleanliness of its simple design.

As Michael mentioned, the sayagaki reads “加州兼宗作” (Kashū Kanemune saku).

Quick update, UPS is not able to retrieve the sword. So per the UPS store, they will contact me once the insurance check comes in. Its a bummer since this sword was a true gem. Healthy Sukesada koto sword and priced to accommodate a polish. It literally got lost in the last mile towards restoration after 700 odd years. Hopefully it will turn up again.