Brian

That is a good question, but one I wouldn't be able to answer. The trouble is that when spending large amounts of money, people would want papers to say who did make it, and those couldn't be had without removing the kinpunmei (which would remove the curiosity and attraction of the papers that it does come with) and submitting it to shinsa. So bit of a catch 22. The papers it does have are very interesting historically. But the real name of the smith is important to the value, and can't be had without removing the gimei. :? I would love to know the gist of what the Honami attribution says, and whether this was a case of a favor being done for someone in ancient times, or maybe a gift that had to be above average, or one of the many other ways in which false attributions came to exist back then. Seems to me it wasn't even frowned upon too much back then, as it was fairly customary when giving gifts or doing favors? All very confusing and intriguing Brian Edit to add: Without an oshigata of the nakago, can we say for certain that the papers belong with this sword? Not suggecting anything, just that the kissaki oshigata shown doesn't match the sword completely from the pics I can see. Not sure, just a thought though.

IIRC, there was a post here about kashira and/or fuchi that have a separate rim like this. But I have been searching, and can't think of the correct terms to use in the search. I seem to remember Milt mentioning one he has. I agree with Dr L's statements. Will have to search a bit harder and see if I can come up with the post. Brian

Ford, That's all true. But the seller (who IS in Japan) would have to be pretty...umm....incompetent/negligent... if he hadn't run it past every single possible person there before selling it on eBay, unless he himself was 100% sure it was dodgy :lol: :D I have a feeling if there is any doubt at all whether it is "mis-attributed"...there are a few other avenues to sell it in Japan? Nice blade though either way. Looks like it would have had to be a pretty top piece to even get the attribution, and the polish looks very nice indeed. I would love to know what it would kantei to if mumei. Brian

Pics look the same to me too. Thought it was a cached images thing maybe, but they are hosted on Photobucket, so can't be. Upload the new pics there under new filenames maybe? Brian

The next word on the kissaki controversy from anyone will lead to a warning or a ban. I am serious about this. Brian

Take it to pm. Not another word on that subject of the broken kissaki here again. We already had several pages on it before. Subject is c-l-o-s-e-d Brian

See the post on the old forum at http://www.militaria.co.za/nihontomessa ... c&start=15 Brian

As mentioned, the most important thing is to preserve the boshi. You are I am sure aware that if the hamon drops off the edge anywhere on the blade, that is a fatal flaw. So the kissaki can be reshaped only as far as it still allows the boshi to remain in the kissaki. If the reshaping would allow the hamon to drop off the edge anywhere, you are looking at a fatal flaw that will generally ruin most fo the value and integrity of the blade. Brian

Agreed Dr B. Seems there are always lots of folks willing to spend lots of money on the 0.5% off chance that something will turn out to be shoshin, when it almost never is in these cases. I would hope that people would ask for much better pics before laying down serious funds. Either that, or be personal drinking buddies with a decent polisher :lol: :lol: Brian

The second one I have held swords that are almost identical size wise, and yet one feels very light, balanced and easy to work with, while the other just feels front-heavy and clumsy. Balance, shape and profile have a lot to do with it. Some I describe as a "quick" sword and some feel like huge choppers. All in the forging and balance. Brian

I actually don't think it would be too hard to make a half-decent tsunagi without the blade. Since it is all hidden, it doesn't have to be full length. It is just to hold everything together. I would start out by finding out the shape of the tang. Use something soft like balsa-wood and keep adjusting where you see the pressure marks slowly until you have the basic shape. Then using that as a template, you make the actual tsunagi. Must be something else that you can use to find the inside dimensions of the tsuka. All in all, since wood isn't that expensive, I think it could be done fairly cheaply. Once you have a working one, you can always make one out of decent wood. I don't think a tsunagi has to be of honoki wood? Worth doing imho. (in my honest opinion) Brian

Well..I am glad to have another esteemed author on board here (occasionally) Didn't know about the book Serge. Consider having it translated oneday? Very nice indeed. We are in good company here, wish I could meet you all oneday. (Where was my Nihonto interests 7 years ago when I visited Paris? :? ) Regards, Brian

Wilfrid, If you are looking to spend around $20K or more, then you do need to slow down a bit and wait for the right sword to come along. I think in that budget, you can pick up something very nice. You obviously are leaning towards an early Koto, and for that price it must have papers. I understand what you mean when you say that you aren't doing it for the money, but would still like to know you have a sound investment for the future. For $30K (negotiate a bit with them?) how about this Juyo: http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/sale/07616.html There will be many good swords in the $20K bracket. Most of them will sell offline at shows and among collectors. Let's see what suggestions the members here can come up with. So the question to everyone I guess, is a treasure hunt. If you have approx $20K to spend on a sword..what would you snap up? :D Brian Edit to add: Myself...although not early (shinshinto) and not with koshirae, I think I could easily be persuaded to go for this one: http://www.ricecracker.com/japanese_swo ... na/sk5.htm TH papers, with Tanobe Michihiro Sayagaki and i think it is gorgeous for the price ($25K)

Hi all, Here is the pic that George emailed me to post. I think it was just the length that was a bit oversize, by a little bit. I hope someone is able to identify the maker, or he will just have to remain one of the many currently undocumented smiths. Where is Dr T. when we need him? He is an expert on these lesser known smiths I think. Brian

Just to confuse matters (which have been very nicely explained by everyone so far) I see on Rich's page he also has a description which is listed as such: Just wondering if this is a common term, and if it would only be used in the case that the sukashi is in the form of a mon? Brian

I do not want to lock this topic Please keep it civil. I think we all respect the right of others to have an opinion, and I think we are all mature enough to give ours without becomming aggressive or argumentative. Everyone is entitled to a bad temper day, the point is can we get over it and get back to being civil and polite please. I expect better from you guys whom I hold in high regard. Brian

No idea..there were many, and I don't think you will match up the right one purely with the mei alone. But... There was a possible that signed nijimei: Kanenaga Koto, Mino no kuni (Tenbun) KAN1685 (15pts) TTp106 large two character signature Has the nakago been badly cleaned and/or filed? Brian

Something seems to have opened up the hada a lot on that one. :? That's not just stones imho. Hmmmm. Brian

Yep. Very easy to do in Photoshop or one of the others, but I know not everyone is familiar with them. Just reduce the resolution down to maybe 100 or 120 (that will already make a huge difference, as sometimes they are on 300 dpi) Then resize the whole image (not just crop) and it should be fine. But email the pic to one of the guys here, and I am sure they will be glad to post them for you. Can send to me too, but please not if they are over 1 meg each, as I am still on dial-up Brian

Convert the pics to .jpg. The tif is likely way too big to upload, and can't be viewed by everyone. What are the indicators that it is a Gendai-to and not an earlier blade in gunto mounts? Always possible someone did a good job without needing to drill another ana? There are however quite a few undocumented smiths still. Brian

Sebastian, There is very little chance that the inside of the tsuka is going to fit perfectly and just need the ana repositioned. It will either be too tight, too loose, or just sloppy. Good for you, for asking opinions first. But all the opinions agree, so I guess there isn't any doubt. You have a sword with papers. And a koshirae with papers and tsunagi. Putting them together like you want to do is going to do serious damage to the blade. Extra mekugi-ana are something we live with in old swords due to the fact that we cannot do anythign about it. But it is never something we desire, and would be a very bad idea. Yes..I think your papers showing only 2 ana are going to devalue your sword when they can prove that the new ana was done recently. Everything says don't do it. A professional tsuka-shi can fill the old hole perfectly and drill a new one in the tsuka to match the existing ana. This only if the tsuka fits the new nakago perfectly (which I doubt) Not sure how this would affect the papers on the koshirae though. Brian

I think people are pretty brave to make some of these calls based on the little we can see. My advice would be to get it looked at in hand at one of the sword shows. I don't see a boring uninspired gunome there, I see quite a wild hamon with maybe even some tobiyaki, and a polish that is not showing off anything that is there. I also see indications of plenty of hataraki and hada. To me, shinshin-to and would be very nice in polish. But as I said, there are not enough pics and the polish isn't good enough to make out any of this for sure. With a 30" nagasa and that kissaki, I would be surprised if it turned out to be simply a gendai-to made for the war effort. Not impossible of course, but wouldn't be typical. Nakago patina is never certain..as removal of a tight tsuka can wear the high points..and climate can advance surface rust. So can artificial methods. If it was bought at a gunshow and not a sword show, I would expect it to have been with the guy for many years as a WW2 bring-back, with less chance of faking. But you never know nowdays. Take it to a show or sword study group, and prove one half of us here wrong Brian

Hi, I would trust these guy's call, and it is well spotted. A very good exercise. Remember that these tagane are like our own handwriting. If you tend to write your letters of the alphabet a certain way, there isn't much chance you are suddenly going to write the strokes backwards. Of course, when you chisel a stroke, you are always going to show the direction of the stroke from thicker to thinner. (Same as a pen stroke) Brian

Sebastian, I would never drill another ana in the nakago to fit the blade to another tsuka. Certainly, this cannot have any advantage at all to the preservation of the sword or its value. Especially if it has hozon papers! Rather get an expert to modify the tsuka, or take it apart and use the fittings to make a new tsuka to match the nakago. My opinion...don't do it! Brian