Brian

James, Take this as just my personal opinion until verified or proved wrong by others, but I would say not. It is ugly..along with the other carbon pits there, but it looks like a bad open ware in the hamon. Does it go through to the other side? I think it would just be considered undesirable and ugly, but not fatal, and not a hagire imho. There is a vertical "shadow" mark coming down from it, but I am not sure if that is a crack..doesn't appear to be. Brian

Thanks for sharing Steve. With the leds off, and maybe using external (maybe torch?) light at different angles, looks like it may have some use for examining nie, tosogu and hataraki. I think a good camera might do the same, but definitely some interesting shots there and worth experimenting with. I assume you can angle it in place and then leave both hands free to work with lighting and the item? Like having a camera on a tripod but in macro mode? Regards, Brian

Check out Ford's forum (Following the Iron Brush - Links page) as I think there is some good discussion on the subject of patinating iron. Good luck, and keep it modern Brian

Well clearly that wouldn't work. The colors just don't match. I did check though..he does have 3 toes/claws, so definitely Japanese (Ok..I'm guilty of silliness now.) Brian

I can only shudder when I think what serious tsuba collectors reading this must be thinking right now Personally, I would just leave it as is, I don't think there is anything to be gained from gluing anything onto it (and if you remember, I have a nice horseman missing his head!) Kinda like taking sandpaper to your favorite Koto because it is a bit blunt Ah well..at least we will have this thread here for a few years in case anybody does lose "the little note" about the "restoration" Not NMB recommended practise in any event Brian

Peter, In my very humble opinion, and if it were mine, I would take the chance. Yes, there are differences, but I see differences in the shoshin mei too, and some of the hooks look very close indeed. There are a few small things that I would have expected to have been overlooked, but are present. At least try and get a few other opinions in hand before deciding against submitting. Can you get it to Clive Sinclair for an opinion maybe? Brian

I'm at work, so forgive me if i don't use the work email and rather post here I tried it earlier, but didn't notice anything different, however when I try it now, I get the news feeds that are South Africa related. Nice touch I like it..and as always your site grows better and better all the time. Thanks Michael. Brian

What it is, is something that is not antique, not genuine, and not worth a whole page of discussion :lol: How about we let this one die, and maybe someone can start a thread on genuine nagamaki tsuba like some that were shown here? Brian

As Jean said. Bundle swords aren't solely categorised by a certain era or group of makers. They are termed as such because they were made fast and for mass production. Therefore the quality and the workmanship is lacking. You should see less care in forging and less attention to detail. Sugata might not be as graceful or symmetirical, and hataraki are lacking. You need to be able to look at it with a background of seeing good works, and say to yourself "this wasn't made particularly well" There are some exellent swords made during these times, but many are just not well made, and this can be seen if you can recognise good hamon, hada and other characteristics. Of course, this depends to a large extent on a good state of polish where all of these can be identified, and it is the lower priced "eBay" type swords that are out of polish where you can't tell, and where these are often unloaded on the public. I am also led to believe that a lot of these swords are of general uchigatana and short katana length and style. There are still some good deals to be found, but the main thing is to be able to identify good work from mediocre mass produced blades. Brian

Whatever it is, it's junk. :? I wouldn't even melt it down to make a seppa :lol: Brian

Hi Marcel, I think the question of how much a koshirae costs is as difficult to say as how much a sword costs. There are simply too many factors involved. Some will purchase and use old fittings, and others will have new ones made. I have a feeling it may actually be cheaper to buy a nice set of original fittings and have the koshirae built around them. Usually in the case of koshirae, there will be many different workmen involved. Someone will make the shirasaya (you will want a shirasaya and separate fittings with tsunagi?) Someone else will do the habaki, someone else the tsuba etc etc. Either way, it will probably be best to go through an agent for this. Maybe someone like the Usagiya shop or other dealer. A good option would be to ask the swordsmith who he uses or recommends. He will likely have a network of people who he uses, and maybe some of the fittings can be made and fitted before the final polish. I would definitely ask him, and decide for yourself between original tosogu or newly made ones. Sounds like a great project, and I will eagerly wait the few years for the pics Brian

Pm was from me. Thanks for understanding...we do ask it of everyone for various reasons. Anyways..back to the sword. You do know there is a Dutch Token Society? Link is on the links page. I am sure they would enjoy seeing it. There are also a few Dutch Nihonto dealers. I like the mounts, and the polish looks ok, so it doesn't need much in the way of work. What are those 2 "chopsticks" made from? If metal, then they are wari kogai, and if wood or other natural material, they may be later fillers. Regards, Brian

Hi. May I please ask you to sign with a first name and inital as per the rules, thanks. Bit hard to call you Lord or Mr Thanatos :lol: Search the forum for Bishu Osafune Sukesada, as there is a lot of info on the group. The paperwork you have there is just the Japanese registration paper, which is handed back once the sword leaves Japan. It just signifies the sword is genuine and licenced. It doesn't give any info on the sword at all. Condition looks good, and it is a nice complete package. Make sure you read up on the care and handling of it, as it requires care to keep it in good condition for future generations. The Sukesadas were prolific makers, making everything from warring period "mass produced" swords to decent swords. If the price was good, then it looks like a nice starter piece. Regards, Brian

Another thing is the spacing of the kanji. Almost as though they were placed deliberately around the ana, and not before. However as you said, you aren't expecting a national treasure, just an interesting piece that can be speculated about. Brian

Tyler, The hi look much too well cut to not have been a decent sword at some stage. The sugata is really lovely..that classic tachi shape. Fire damaged swords tend to have a lot of masame in the ji I think. Grey? did a good article in the JSSUS newsletter recently on what to look out for. Hmm..it is an interesting one indeed. If it is early koto (and the nakago does look to have considerable age) then you might want to have it checked out closer. Even with fatal flaws, historical swords might paper. That assumes the mei is not gimei, and as pointed out that is very likely. Brian

If the pics are wider than 800 pixels, to prevent forced scrolling, it converts them to a link instead of displaying inline. You can edit the posts, delete the attachments and upload resized ones if you like. I would do it, but don't have Photoshop installed on this new pc at work yet. Regards, Brian

Hi Jim, There isn't too much that can be said without a decent polish so that the hamon and hada can be seen. What does strike me is that the curve makes it appear to be a kanbun shinto which would date it around the mid to late 1600's. It is of course shortened quite a bit, and may have lost its signature then. With the current length, it much have been quite a monster of a blade originally. Tsuba looks ok, but needs some tlc by a professional. The tip can be repaired by a professional, but of course a decent polish is going to run you around $2000, so you would need to decide if you are just going to keep it as it, or go for the restoration. It would need a shirasaya too. A nice original blade that needs some tlc but with no major problems that I can see besides the tip. Of course a polish may turn up other flaws like hagire, so you should probably get it to one of the various sword shows so that someone can look at it in hand. Regards, Brian

James, That's good news, good luck with it. I am not sure if you were getting an opinion from the polisher himself or just the agent making up his own mind. Seems very odd. Brian

James, If there is any doubt, by all means never give up. There are definitely similarities. It is always easier to find differences, and there are some. At this point, it would be impossible to come to a conclusion..and the work should be used for further input. This means maybe having it polished or sending it for a window. However you guys do have a shinsa coming up there sometime. This one might be worth using a slot if you have one. Everyone here expresses their opinion on gimei knowing and expecting that the owner should take note of the limitations of the internet and use the info to get more feedback in hand. Brian

Welcome John, A lot of us started out with a military sword or 2, and then found ourselves plunged headlong into the wonderful world of Nihonto. Hope we can be of some assistance. (Does that make us addiction enablers? ) Regards, Brian

Thank you very much all. Much appreciated. I had the Noshu Seki ju.... saku kore part, and had actually guessed at Kanefusa, but hadn't explored it more yet. I will forward all the info to the owner. Thanks Rich, it was one of the first pages I came across once I knew the translation, and it is excellent as always Regards, Brian

Hi all, At the recent South African Japanese Sword Society meeting, the following sword was brought in by a member of the public for any info. It has a prominent showa stamp, but is in quite a nice original polish, and is definitely not mass produced. It has a nice tight hada and what looks like a choji hamon. I was wondering if anyone is able to assist with the mei? This is the only pic I was able to get at the time, so hopefully it is visible. I have attempted the translation here at work, but keep getting interrupted and didn't make too much progress. Appears to be the full smith name. Thanks, Brian

The Fujishiro books? (which I am sure are) or the tsuba/bottle opener? (which is what I think Moriyama san was refering to) :D :lol: Brian

I agree completely with Guido, and will add that I seriously doubt that he thinks it was burned merely because it is thin. He might be saying that it was easily detempered because of the thin blade, but he wouldn't assume something like that without checking or opening a window. Is this through Brian Pedersen, or someone else? Frankly, I wouldn't hold much hope if the guy does know blades, as detempering is not repairable. The sanding may have been done to hide the fact that there is no hamon, or maybe the polisher is mistaken and the hamon is there. Try and get a second opinion if possible. Brian

I might hopefully have a solution for those few browsing with javascript off. If it is off, hopefully the text will still show. Can those who have javascript turned off check the following spoiler and let me know if the text was still visible? Brian