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Not that it means much, however I agree in principle with Calabrese - that if NMB is going to allow sellers to use the site as a business platform, they should be held to a higher standard than Ebay or some dodgy auction house. I've been burned by our "preferred" sellers as well. Before I purchased, I read so many posts about "buy from our sellers" when I, and other folks, had doubts on a purchase. Unfortunately, that trust was misplaced. Lesson learned. I think what gets to people the most is the feeling of betrayal. You expect to be ripped off on Ebay so you are somewhat mentally guarded, however this is different, this is community. Your guard is down when buying from the site. So I can see how tempers could be flared when a sale does not go as both parties felt if should go. Just my two cents on why this is more than just caveat emptor. John C.

應鈴木照雲師求源天秀鍛之 – Responding to the order from Rev. Suzuki Shoun, Minamoto Amahide forged this. I am unsure about 求.

Regarding the Mon, I had a katana with this mon on it, and the late Vic Harris at the British Museum ID'd it as the mon of the Sakai family, though this may well have been used by other families as well. As regards the armour, it is a great study piece, and while restoring it you will learn a tremendous amount for use in future. Years back I knew John Anderson and his fabulous collection, and as John said to me, 'Don't think that all these were in this condition when I got them, many certainly weren't ! He had a garage full of armour awaiting restoration. Enjoy your armour!

I think Suzuki Shoun was a sword dealer of some sort, for there was a Gunto (Japanese military sword) store named Suzuki Shoun Dou opened in 1923, run by Suzuki Akio, so Shoun might be his art name (Shoun/"shining on clouds" is pretty artty). Also explains why there are multiple Gunto with signatures like "made to Suzuki Shoun's demand". 師 (literally "teacher") could just be used as an honorific way of addressing someone, close to Master or Sensei, but often associated with religious (like Buddhists) or instructive (say, martial instructors) occupations.

I agree: Masauji Saku. Grey

Sword is on hold pending purchase

@Bruce Pennington This is the Hon'ami OG - Hon’ami Kōtoku (光徳). Sesko has him active from 1553-1619

Lewis, no boshi? Shortened by entire kissaki? No yokote - 61 cm nagasa, doable.

I understand your position on comments and links in sale posts, it's perfectly reasonable. The NMB is just the platform and buyers are responsible for doing their own research before making a purchase. But, please dont be coy regarding this sale as if there is any question what happened here. It isnt about WHO is right or wrong, it's about someone using words to describe something, it is not. No forging flaws....No kite-ware and No kizu are absolute statements, PERIOD. The structure of that statement says very clearly that the blade has been inspected and those attributes are absent. The damage to the kissaki and the rust can both be explained beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why I can ignore them. However, 10cm and 25cm obvious flaws in the mune are impossible to miss and everyone who has ever oiled or maintained a blade knows it. NMB may not be able to sanction or step in on private sales, nor should it, but it CAN decide not turn a blind eye to obvious misrepresentation and dismiss it as something lesser. That is precisely the type of oxygen shady sellers rely on to continue selling irresponsibly unencumbered. Remember, all this seller had to do was NOT make an absolute statement. All he had to say was, "minor forging flaws" or "no flaws visible, but IM BLIND and cant see anything under 2.5cm in length". He chose NOT to do this which clearly shows either extreme carelessness or an intent to deceive. Either one, IMO, is contemptible.

Very interesting to see a Type 95 sword without sarute. I see them this way in the market very often, but kind of assumed that they had been removed relatively recently. Looks like a Tokyo example. Thanks for sharing, Best, -Sam

Hi Sam, I own a couple Kanezane, so I've always taken note when I see one of his swords. It looks like "No- Shu Seki (i think) Asano Kanezane Saku Kore. I've seen some odd renditions of Seki, but its somewhat similar to oshigata "E" in Slough's book. But, then again, Conway could be correct, because I also seen some odd "Ju" characters with his swords. Hope this helps, Tom

This must be a copy/cast tsuba I hope someone proves me wrong

Hey Sam, Also Kanezane. Looks like Noshu ju Asano Kanezane saku kore 濃州住浅野兼眞作之 Similar example here (example C): ASANO KANESANE

チヤ (Chiya) Chiya is the name of a city that had a tatara furnace in it, and it is where he produced some swords.

Hon’ami Kōon (光温)

I was also concerned that the kanji looked freshly cut compared to the rest of the nakago. I found our original discussion of this blade here: While there are reasons to suspect this as gimei, one of the compelling arguements for it being legit is the rounded nakago mune. In 1944, SMR was making flat mune, but of the 4 Koa Isshin '44s, and it's hard to see in most photos, but one of them - Spring '44 SE 2409 - has a rounded mune. So, tough call, but I don't see someone finding a mumei WWII blade with rounded mune, then cutting a gimei Mantetsu signature. Even the lining of Gerry's shirasaya is curved to fit the rounded mune.

This is absolutely correct, I have punished myself accordingly (no sushi today and it’s uni day, so a real dick punch) and edited the post to be more appropriate.

It is vital to ensure that all information in a dispute is correct, regardless of which party it comes from. There is a big difference between a 25mm flaw and a 25cm one, and allowing the dispute to continue with at least some of the participants working on that assumption will distort the course of the argument.

I could see why you thought it might be a stamp, John. Guess Josh settled that one, though, with it in hand. Josh, If you haven't seen Ohmura's site, it's worth going through. Full of fabulous photos of all the WWII versions of swords. After reading his pages, you'll have a better idea of how legit gunto look and can avoid the fakes. Military Swords of Japan - Ohmura

A Meiji era tassel for both Field and Company grade officers. I had read about them, but never seen one. All black, round cord, leather tassel either painted or rubberized.\ Found on this Auction.

Wow, I really did write cm instead of mm, that’s embarrassing. Rohan, thank you for your post, I didn’t even recognize the error when Brian quoted it. Apologies Brian, my eye completely glanced over that error. All that said, 25mm or 25cm makes no difference if the description is No Flaws.

10mm and 25mm

I think that is a Juyo Bunkazai sword and not the Heshigiri. The Heshigiri Hasebe with the koshirae as described looks like this: The blade you showed is a JuBun Kunishige owned by the Kurokawa institute with ties back to Tokugawa Yorinobu. Both are relatively "straight" but one retains 0.9cm of sori and the other 1.0cm. Not a lot but again both are greatly shortened with mekugi ana present near the nakago-jiri on both examples. Adding a good 15-20cm to the nagasa of each of these would no doubt bring out a bit more sori. I think you'd find quite a few shinshinto smiths who tried to emulate these blades but only the famous 2 or 3 most likely who could approach them in quality. I'm not a big shinshinto guy so I don't know if any of them tried to emulate hitatsura utsushi mono of Hasebe school Kokuho and JuBun blades. A place for more study for me as I need to spend more time in shinshinto.

Looks like a Chinese knock-off to me.

1 WWII Japanese Army Sword available. This Army Officer shin gunto sword is mounted with an old Samurai family blade. This sword would make an important addition to any collection. An IJA Officer either brought his family’s blade to an armorer to be mounted in WWII shin gunto mounts for the war, or chose and purchased an old Samurai blade from the armorer for his sword. The blade is from the Shinto period, and is handsomely signed ‘Yoshikuni’. The blade nagasa is 21 13/16″ (55.4 cm). The saya is wood with a leather combat cover. The armorer added a throat fitting to the wood saya that allows the tsuka’s locking mechanism to catch and function. The armorer also added the usual Army hanger fitting, and fixed it in place with banded wire and simple sheet metal surround around the saya and fitting to hold it firmly. The sarute is made of silk. CONDITION: The WWII Japanese Army Sword is in a beautiful state of polish. There are absolutely no weld openings of any kind on the blade. This is a beautiful blade! The tsuka is in perfect condition–and still with its original silk sarute. The leather combat cover has surface crazing, but is in solid condition. A fine sword for any collector. $1750 obo --Matthew Brice https://stcroixblades.com/home/

I would prefer a video file to see the condition of the blade and confirm owner has possession.

Helo Zhangshilong: I'm no expert. But since the answers to the questions are both objective and subjective, I'll offer my opinion. What is a true netsuke? Objectively, a netsuke is an ornamental device that attaches to a cord for the purpose of holding another object to an obi or belt. With that definition, it can be literally anything. Subjectively, netsuke represent an art form. And like all art, it's beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I think of netsuke as a collector, I picture an historical object. I also tend to confine my collection to those objects made in Japan, since I collect Japanese items. This isn't to say that those items made elsewhere are not artistic, or not valuable, or not of high quality. I just prefer to collect those made in Japan and are at least 100 years old (how we define an antique). I think the reason for my collecting preferences are because of established provenance. Modern art, in any form, doesn't usually carry the value or prestige of older art because the artists are not yet established as "masters" of their craft. Some probaby are - and will be designated as such in the future. But for me, modern pieces do not have the same attraction as those that are antiques. I'm sure others will disagree, however I wanted to give just one collector's perspective. John C. 约翰 C.

長船 Osafuné 郷 normally read as Gō Heavy? One kilogram or more? Be careful though as there are many Sukenaga fakes, making for a wide disparity in values. The real Sukenaga worked around 1830-1850 ish

1 Japanese Nagamitsu WWII Sword available. This Army gendai sword would make an important addition to any collection. This traditionally-made gendaito katana has an expertly water-tempered wavy hamon. This Japanese WW II Army Officer’s katana is in 1944 shin-gunto mounts (aka Type 3 mounts). This sword was brought back by Lt. Robert L. Sayre of the 27th Infantry Division. A copy of the original bringback/souvenir paper accompanies this sword. The nakago is signed ‘Nagamitsu’. The blade measures 24 3/16″ (61.4 cm) (measured properly from the blade tip to the notch in the blade spine). This sword has two latch releases. The saya is a textured lacquer over wood. A handsome braided sarute is attached to the handle/tsuka. CONDITION: This sword is in excellent condition with wonderful mounts. What a fine example! The handle wrap and saya are quite nearly perfect. The sword locks in the saya, and the lock release buttons function perfectly. There are no nicks in the blade edge. The blade has the occasional staining that is expected in a sword that was brought back from Japan 80 years ago. The kissaki was sharpened. The temper line and boshi are perfectly healthy. This sword is guaranteed against fatal flaws. $2600 obo --Matthew Brice https://stcroixblades.com/home/

Well yes and no. The proper location of yokote line is bound by the swords geometry. It needs to be located precisely at the mitzukado where ha turns upward and the sword s geometry changes and turns inward towards the tip. Some swords may have a very defined geometric yokote and some less depending on the time period

I have a nagging memory that I posted these already somewhere, but cannot recall where that was, but in an article written by Richard Fuller, he's included several pictures of enlisted men, some quite low in rank, with Type 98 swords. Here are a couple from his article: Superior Private 1st Class Private 1st or Superior Private

Actually the cost was quite reasonable and was the first part of the project to be completed. Took something like 3 weeks to complete. Making the new shirasaya on the other hand is taking forever. Some interesting thoughts on the subject of originality, preservation or replacement were presented here https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/7788-retain-or-discard-old-habaki/#comment-77462

I don’t understand an attribution based on WHO OWNS a blade? Doesn’t make any sense to me. You evaluate the blade, not the person. And there is a huge difference in attribution between Koto and Gunto. Not sure how that happened. Gunto is not a “worse attribution” if that is what it honestly is… unless of course you wanted him to say Masamune. An attribution is what it is. Our expectation is what makes it ‘good or bad’ in our minds. And there is always the possibility that in some cases a really good Gunto is better than a really poor Koto depending on who is collecting what.

Hi, Is it just me or do we have Odachi here? @Carolyn can you please measure the sword? Total length and Nagasa (from Habaki-that copper thing on the sword, to the Kissaki-tip)? Also post more close-up pictures of the blade. Check swords for sale section in this forum to have understanding/examples of what pictures we need. If it is really Bizen Odachi then even as Gimei it will be worth nice sum.

Yes, I wrote „combined with” but it’s meaningless. Blade speaks for itself.

Thanks for all the comments. It doesn't have any stamps so I am going to agree with the comments.

Excellent example of an NCO tassel that has had the end 'cap' undone, or never crimped at all. Found by Marcin, @Rawa:

1 WWII Japanese Naval Sword available. A WW2 Japanese Naval Officer’s sword would make an important addition to any collection. All military fittings are of excellent quality. The saya has the collector-coveted sharkskin covering. The fine sharkskin surface is protected by a rare Naval combat cover. The blade measures 25 5/16″ (64.3 cm) from blade tip to notch in the blade spine. The nakago/tang is signed with three kanji. The naval anchor stamp is also present. This WW2 Navy Officer’s sword has gold-gilt fittings. The blade is made of no-rust (stainless steel). This katana has a straight hamon/temper line. CONDITION: This WWII Japanese Naval Sword is in exceptional condition. The handle wrap is perfect. The sharkskin saya is perfect. The black leather combat cover is in excellent condition–the combat cover can be restitched by hand (it is likely that a vet or collector wanted to see if the sharkskin was in good condition so had carefully cut the stitches). The temper line and boshi are perfectly healthy. This sword is guaranteed against fatal flaws. $2750 obo --Matthew Brice https://stcroixblades.com/home/

I am afraid the days are long gone where this was a safe method.

More on the contrary. Clean evenly build jigane can be found not only in highest ranked blades. I don’t want to stray You from the path more likely to show You other maybe equally good or better route. Clean and fat, not longest around but shogunate forced max length of swords. It’s hard for me to even point any particular swordsmith. It will always find both sides of community. Someone pointed a need to use 3rd party with this kind of buy.

Ernie @Stegel has one (or is it 2) coppers with original brass-ended saya with what appears to be original welded-on drags. I don't recall serial numbers, but he believes them to be possible transitions to the newer styled saya with drag.

Inoue Shinkai. Dated Enpo roku nen ni hatsu hi. (井上真改 / 延宝六年二月日 - A day in the second month of the 6th year of Enpō, 1678) Echigo no kami Kanesada, made with nanbantetsu. Sagami no kuni Tsunahiro, dated Bunka go nen hachi gatsu hi (相模国綱廣 / 文化五年八月日 - a day in the eighth month of the 5th year of the Bunka era, 1808)

I’m certainly learning from all the thoughtful responses by our generous members. That said, I do have some concern that many of these detailed replies appear to be directed toward content from the OP that seems heavily AI generated. Using AI as a translation tool is one thing, but in this case the posts across a couple threads now read more like fully generated responses rather than translated personal communication. I do appreciate the expertise people are contributing, and I only mention this because every “thank you” reply so far appears largely copy-pasted from an AI prompt... For a purchase of this caliber; I would personally feel a more sincere form of engagement would go a long way. Sorry if my views toward AI are a bit strict; but all this just gives me cause for concern... When this happens; it can be really hard to distinguish between what could be a bot, versus what could be a sincere inquiry. -Sam

I would agree with this, if you agree its far more important for a seller to ACCURATELY describe their item for sale in the first place instead of trying to deceive a buyer with poor pictures and false descriptions.

Welcome Raouf, at a glance, Edo, although the pics are a bit blurry and not much detail is to spot (which is important to determine the set in terms of age as well as if it is composite or not). Like Colin already stated, the condition is (especially of the urushi) not good. That’s a problem in so far that there is no trained armor restorer in the states (as far as I know) except maybe one…but I think he does not accept orders?! What can be said for the time being is that the helmet is a so called Momonari-kabuto “桃形兜” (peach shaped helmet) sporting a Suigyō maedate “水牛角” (water buffalo horn). The crest on the fukigaeshi of the shikoro is based on “Ken-katabami” (oxalis with old style swords). I can try to narrow it down if you like… There is much more to say, but I prefer to wait for better images!

Some I found