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I may be presuming, but I think @Andrew Ickeringill will confirm that each sword requires its own style of polish, and there isn't "one size that fits all"

What said a polisher (now deceased)

Hi J, Here you will find a care and cleaning brochure: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Please read it carefully. It will help you remove and replace the handle and give you the basics of proper handling. Resist every urge to fix anything; well meaning amateurs have done serious damage. Cheers, Grey

Hello, This is not a buffet. The Togishi is an artist in his own right. This duality between "hadori bad, sashikomi good" is the wrong way to think about it. Blades are artistically elevated by a sensitive Togishi, who in the process of exercising his craft, decides on the appropriate rendition of the work. Some Togishi are better than others, and in fact this is an understatement. It is not just a matter of being traditionally trained - there are a few Togishi who far exceed all others in the field, and all great blades go to them, which in turns makes it difficult to emerging talent to gain sufficient experience in treating masterpieces appropriately. This is why there is a social component to it, and I think it's appropriate to every once and a while, give an opportunity to a recent winner of the polishing contests held by the NBHTK to work on important swords. This is correct, Ono Kokan, Fujishiro, Hon'ami Nishu, Saito, and other great masters exercise a refined gradient of Hadori appropriate to the blade. Their polishes are precious in their own right. The appropriate amount of hadori on a Masamune blade is not none. The appropriate amount on a run-of-the-mill Kanbun Shinto blade is way, way more hadori. Why? Because the nie is less deep, the nioiguchi is harder, and the hataraki are absent, leaving a 'blank' hamon that is typical of run-of-the-mill Shinto. With a heavier hadori, the otherwise blank Kanbun Shinto will appear with a stronger contrast that is meant to evoke the bright, snowy nie that is typical of Kamakura period masterpieces. The emphasis on "meant to evoke" - because with a trained eye, it of course does not pass. The intention remains. And here I say Shinto - but it's really case-by-case, there are wonderfully active blades with deep nie by smiths such as Hankei, and these should be treated closer to Norishige, which implies a light hadori touch. Another principle: Gentle notare rich in activity is perfect for some tasteful gradient of Hadori applied, the outline of the hamon can be followed by the finger of the polisher and matches the flow. Only on extremely flamboyant hamon and high quality Bizen-den should one truly opt for pure shashikomi in my opinion. When in doubt, better to ask Tanobe sensei. Best, Hoshi

You are right. Another common reading is Keiji.

This is the same blade but opposite sides. Hadori/Kesho to Sashikomi. PS Although Mumei, and papered to Sue Bizen Sukesada, many have suggested this is a blade by Yosozaemon Sukesada. From To

I am happy to say that they agreed with the notes I sent (thank you to those who gave me pointers), apologised, and I will get a full refund for the piece.

付け足し茎 reads Tsuketashi Nakago ( Extended or added tang). 足し (tashi) does not mean leg in this context.

According some polishers, a good sashikomi is much harder to achieve than a hadori

Less Decorative than my first, This one doesn't have the decoration like my osaka variant. Not removed the barrel at all but once i have it in hand i'll take some more pictures.

Thanks, Tobi. Sam records/tracks the numbers. Search online and you can get for around $13 a good Japanese sword cleaning kit. An oiled rag will clean most of the parts and improve the look of your whole sword. Here is a link to care and cleaning: Japanese Sword Care

Very personal observations: I would argue that much of "what is proper polish" reflects not so much the difference in blades as difference in collectors. I have seen people who like "Honami polish", mostly Japanese, who argue it is the proper nihonto aesthetic and if you don't like it you are a garish foreigner. Is Fujishiro better than Honami Nishu, and how do they stack against Kenji Mishima? I know my answer to these questions, but I heard exactly the opposite opinions, in some cases expressed by people significantly more experienced. Specific example, controversial one, is how does nioiguchi needs to be accented. Quite a few who studied part time under Nagayama react strongly when they see a nioiguchi where you can see it over long, like 5 inch, segment rather than about 1 inch long area, and even that at very large view angles. They immediately say its acid etched, or its not a proper Japanese polish etc. But then there are even upper grade Meiji-Gendai blades that sort of come out like this in almost any polish. Another thing is overall quality of polish varied a lot in the past 150 years. I've seen quite a few blades which were not polished ever since 1850-1900 and I was actually very impressed by the work. On the other hand some of the supposedly "really good" works from 1930s-1950s left me wondering. Better grade "Sashikomi" from 2000s and "sashikomi" today can be very different beasts. Could it be that "anti-sashikomi" feelings common 20 years ago were a reaction to some inferior early Showa polishing jobs? I don't have a strong enough experience to confirm or deny, but maybe someone else does.

I must add that the polisher's job is to highlight the swordsmith's workmanship and nothing else.

Thank you @uwe @Nobody @Bugyotsuji !!!

Loving the dark patina on this one. A trusty Ashigaru battlefield gun. Possibly Inatomi-Ryū school of gunnery, and possibly made in Kunitomo. Also I have a special attraction to the 鉄線 Tessen clematis Mon. Yours is Tessen-guruma or ‘clematis wheel’ design. Congratulations! Looking forward to your updates.

So maybe 啓司 (Hiroshi), do you think?

I did not purchase this one, I was just studying. This went for 2,555,000 yen, $17,300 USD. I was looking for a gift for myself, but this was a bit steep . It is also not my taste in tsuba. I would spend $17,000 much differently if I had that amount to spend. Jason

I recently picked up this lovely tsuba signed Tatsutoshi. Three Minogame are carved with beautiful detail, these are turtles from Japanese folklore that are said to live up to 10,000 years old and have long strands of algae growing from their shells, which resembles a straw raincoat—or mino—from which they get their name. Best, Tom

I'm proud to announce that my Kirishitan tsuba got awarded the 4th Effort Award in this year's NBTHK contest! This is an incredible reward for my hard work on improving my skills. To my knowledge i'm the only foreigner to win an award in this category for NBTHK competitions ( Ford Hallam only achieved Nyusen before moving to NBSK). My work will be featured in the catalogue and the exhibition, so please take a look if you have the chance. Following there are the pictures and a link to a video that shows the special feature of the mimi Link to the video https://drive.google.com/file/d/15HyBoEufhpyEx98n4Y9BETWOtrMtt5o6/view?usp=drive_link

Thank you Thomas! The “I owe you one’s” keep piling up . Much appreciated. Sincerely, -Sam

I cannot make it this year due to unemployment. Once I get that next job, I hope to go to this show next year and say hello to some of my old friends.

Correct, 越 as in Echizen’ya-Tazaki Store. It has shown up before but without the enclosing circle. So this logo variation is a first appearance for me. 越前屋多崎商店 = Echizen’ya Tazaki Shōten. Cross-Reference Arsenal Stamps.

Curran, in total agreement with you, I did not think this piece was worth much more than 3K, I would have at least expected papers at that price considering in came from Japan. Jason

Pretty sure this IS a Showato, yip. And is illegal in Japan.

Roger, One thing you should check on is whether a Seki-stamped blade can be imported to Japan. They seem to still occupy a legal gray area. If it can’t be imported it might be destroyed before it even gets to a potential family member. The Japanese embassy folks might be under the impression you are trying to return an actual antique sword.

The sword IS interesting. When I bought it, I was very concerned that it was completely dull. I sent pics of it to a friend and he asked to see the Saya. The wood Saya was completely severed the entire length of the blade. He surmised that follow-on owners had improperly displayed the sword for many years which had split the Saya and dulled the blade. Additionally, the cloth wrappings on the Tsuka were heavily soiled (extremely soiled), leading me to speculate where the sword had seen conflict. For that reason, I wanted to return the sword. After many years in the Army, I felt the sword/Soldier spoke to me. Kind of corny but that's what drove me to find it's owner's family. Some pictures are attached. 西澤一守刀　Sword of Nishizawa Kazumori 昭和十八年　18th Year of Shōwa (1943) Pic.2, 良重　Yoshishige Yoshishige was the art-name of swordsmith, his real name was Komiyama Ryōzō 小宮山良三　（1902- ?) from Seki, Gifu Prefecture.

The stamp looks like 越 which could be pronounced “koshi.” I might be very off with pronunciation since I have no formal training in spoken Japanese

Sam, I don’t think the green marking partially obscured by the seppa would be a duplicate maker or inspection stamp. I think it could be a sub-assembly number as I have seen these on guards before in the form of Arabic numerals and katakana.

Thanks, Sam, haven't seen that one. We should be able to get a read on that from @Kiipu or @SteveM

A good Sashikomi polish is best in my opinion, much better when on display also.

Here’s a head scratcher. Is this two stamps ontop of each other? Found on Reddit, on a Japanese saber known as “Taiwan sword for sonin level officials” in Dawsons.

Just came across this odd looking nakago on a nagamichi katana. Does anyone have any idea why they would weld on an extra piece of nakago to original one? It's like the opposite of a suriage nakago.

The problem is not in the tsuba.... it's in our brain. Pareidolia is the tendency of human mind to give meaningful interpretation of a visual input. That's my opinion.

Not much to offer, but I see the same theme on another pair of menuki for sale in Japan, from a dealer who, for some reason, has restricted access to his site. (maybe a spam/spoof site). Anyway, I will attach the photo here just for comparison. I don't know the story behind the theme.

Hey guys, A recent acquisition to collection and I felt it deserved to be shared. It's a Tokubetsu Kaga koshirae, original to the sword, resided in the private collection of an armor collector in Japan for over 50 years. Sword it was made for is a Naokatsu, made in Echigo. I would appreciate it if you could share additional information, as I have only just started studying it yesterday. Thanks

Wow - discussion with Chris Bowen and George Trotter taking active and as always participation that is measured, polite and includes reasoning for some of their opinions and preference based on many years of study and expertise - thanks for this. - Personally - Sashikomi all the way !

Thank you for your comments Charlie. A subject of which I have no knowledge whatsoever as my collecting has been mainly concentrated on gendaito swords from WW2. Having posted this for comments I have been reading some old threads about gold menuki on this forum and have quickly realised that cast and modern is not so desirable and I can appreciate the reasons. I am reluctant to name the gentleman who I initially asked for his thoughts as his main interest are tsubas and he freely admitted that in so far as menuki were concerned, there were gaps in his knowledge. He has written books on oriental art and I was informed was a curator in a museum with oriental artefacts, so he is someone who I respect. I will attach his email, name redacted, so others can read his thoughts. Whatever conclusions the more informed reach, nothing will take away from my joy at finding something like this on what was a dirty but very affordable tanto. I’m not trying to sell them or deceive anyone. Just after observations / comments.

Please carefully remove the handle and show a clear vertical photo of the nakago (tang) on each side.

Or 啓?

The beauty of these matchlocks is that almost everything can be easily made without specialist tools. A pan cover can be made out of a chunk of brass, hand files and a lot of patience. I've made two now.

In my case, the Togishi told me he could reduce the blade to sashikomi, so I asked him to do just the one side. At the NBTHK local meeting we brought the blade for everyone to see, and among the members there was a more ‘senior’ Togishi whom he respectfully consulted for advice. When everyone finally recommended the sashikomi side (for Sue Bizen), then he was happy to go with that, especially to bring out the characteristic Sukesada Hamon.

Tobi, Don Schlickman in the US makes reproduction parts for Type 95s. I don’t know if he could mail to NZ, but might be worth contacting him. https://www.nambuworld.com/donspartslist.htm

Here is the link to this particular sword. https://www.e-sword.jp/katana/2510-1062.htm In person I have only seen one ōdachi that has had nakago extension, and it was performed in slightly different manner but much more smoothly than this. I think the extension in the linked sword seems quite crude fix.

Love to hear it, thank you Thomas! I will be diving into some AOE reading to prepare Thanks, -Sam

Sam - The NBTHK/AB have put together a display of AOE blades which will be very much worth your while. Once again another excellent opportunity for study from the American Branch...

I've had this sword from my father for over 50 years that was given to him at the end of the war. Any info on type and such would be greatly appreciated. The tag translates to a captain's name.

@Bruce Pennington Didn't have a Souvenir in my collection but got this Toyosuke recently. Not in hand so can't send any more photos yet for you Bruce. 48 in paint and the tsuba has 45 on it

Hi Jason, similar thread here: Also on some impressive pieces. See also: [ title needs an 'S' removed !] The link to the auction in the thread does not work anymore but I tracked down the auction records. link here to the 2014 tsuba auction: https://www.batemans.com/catalogue/afb4f32c61312999f80895cc7c754b1c/9f72c1814b6f84555a7fe5bc5d559a1b/two-day-sale-of-fine-art-antiques-collectables-to-include/?view=grid-wide&searchTerm=tsuba&searchOption=1 Four have punched numbers added - unfortunately the provenance does not tell who or where they came from. Two show consecutive numbers, so it is likely they are all from one collection originally. Images even at the time, were very dark and hard to see the numbers. Image is enhanced with numbers shown.