Brian

Jeff, Brian

Reinhard is being cryptic :lol: The top part where it mentions "you should buy..." is part of the answer from the last kantei. Yes, after the answer is given, these kantei swords are usually up for sale by Aoi. Brian

I would go with Nanbokucho, Naotsuna on this one too. The darkish steel, very prominent hakikake boshi, sunagashi , kinsuji and chikei. Hi well cut and looking original. Beautiful sword anyways! Someone is going to own themselves a beauty soon. Brian

Sorry folks, don't mean to be rude. But of course this one is a 100% Chinese fake, at the price of a fake, with a fake signature that doesn't read anything worth knowing. There are another million of them out there, and not much to discuss for Nihonto collectors. So going to lock this one. Brian

While I do partly agree with Reinhard, I do think that some smiths took the time to make good kogatana. This is evidenced by the fact that although the majority of kozuka are not folded, some are. Think about it. The kozuka was a general purpose knife that was meant for everyday use. So why not just hammer one out steel, and harden the whole blade and then sharpen it, similar to today's pocket knives? Instead, some are clearly made from tamahagane, and the smith took the time to add a picturesque hamon, complete with hada and in some cases hataraki. This in itself means that they regarded them as a step above just a common knife blade. I think that either a smith making a sword, or the koshirae builder who contracted out the kozuka probably had enough pride in his work to add something that wasn't sub-standard. I have one that has a beautiful hada and hamon, with nice nie. Now as far as adding gimei signatures goes, I am sure the vast majority are indeed fake. But logic says that many might have been made by students as part of their training, and I am sure smiths made many too. We can't know for sure. The amount of fine work out there indicates that not all are low class. They may be considered of lesser importance, and I think the signatures are not a reliable indicator, but that doesn't mean they can't be very well made and worthy of attention. One only has to browse the Japanese dealer sites to see that they still fetch high prices, and are put into shirasaya. Brian

Ted! Nice one. Well done to Jean for picking up the school immediately and everyone else after who got the school and/or got so close. Brian

Not much to add. The forging looks a little rough, much like many yari. They didn't always put as much care into the forging of a spear as a sword (yes, I know there are many exceptions) Mounts are, I think, later, so I stick with my guess of a remounted yari. I doubt hada and/or hamon will lead to a closer attribution of age. Brian

Thank Moriyama san, When I wrote "I doubt it.." I knew that there would be exceptions, as always in this field Very nice indeed. And at least a lot less to polish :lol: Brian

The nakago looks unusual, and not in the style a tanto is usually finished in. It definitely looks shortened from a long tang, which might well make it a shortened yari of kikuichi style. It is also a little (make that a lot) long for a traditional yoroi-doshi. Nice condition though, I love this style of blade. Let me know if it ever comes up for sale Brian

It is widely accepted that the signatures on kogatana are usually symbolic, but obviously some are genuine, and I was just wondering if anyone has ever seen a kogatana (not kozuka) receive official papers to a smith? I doubt it..which is why I expect that one will never know if a signature is genuine or not. Brian

Piers, No, that isn't one. The "whistling arrowheads" have a bulbous head with piercings. See here: http://www.ncjsc.org/gloss_yanone.htm Regards, Brian

Bobby, A good sword, worthy of TH, will receive TH origami with an orakaeshi mei. 2 Examples: http://www.nihonto.ca/nosada/index.html and http://www.choshuya.co.jp/1/0803/member_frame_sword.htm Regards, Brian

Little tip I found recently is to do a Google image search instead of a normal Google one. It pulls up images that link to pages sometimes we miss on a regular search. Using it, amongst others I found this one: http://www.japanesesword.de/menue/schwe ... 1/001.html Give it a try: http://images.google.com/ Pulls up: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q ... ages&gbv=2 Regards, Brian

Todd, Yep, it is a WW2 sword. However I would caution against jumping into a sale until you have a bit more research into whether this is a mass produced sword or a Gendaito (traditionally made) I can't tell from the pics, and you would need to examine it closer to see if it has any activity and grain. The smith seems relatively undocumented from the sources I checked, so not sure if he made both types. If a Gendaito it would be worth more than double a Showato. Even if just a mass produced sword from WW2, for a militaria collector the surrender tag adds value, and I think you would be looking at upwards of $1K as a rough guess. Brian

Morita san, No, that isn't expected It is assumed that all translations may or may not be gimei, and we obviously don't expect people to check each one. If there is access to info, or an opinion on whether it is shoshin or not, it is always welcome..but translations are always appreciated and no disclaimer necessary Brian

Chris, I am not sure of the exact composition of the wartime coating, but I am led to believe that they still coated the blades and then oil quenched them instead of water quenched. This was easier, less stressful to the blade and assisted the mass production. Obviously a smith still worked on the blade, it wasn't just stamped out of a solid billet, but it wasn't forged and folded from tamahagane, and the steel was mill steel. So the edge is hardened, but without the care and activities that traditional methods impart. Brian

Mr Chen (Don't forget to sign posts with name) The best imho for swords under $5K would be Aoi Arts, and they do get by with their English. Not sure how many you will see on display, but they have a large stock, small shop. See the links page for their info, and to other shops in Tokyo. There are some great shops, but many specialize in more expensive swords. Remember that with the deregistration process and licencing, you won't be able to take the sword with you, it will have to be sent a week or so later. Regards, Brian

Chris, It has the Seki arsenal stamp. Although this isn't a 100% indicator at all, it is very likely that this is a wartime oil quenched more mass-produced sword. Lack of grain and activity in the steel will confirm this if the polish is good enough, but I am 90% sure that it isn't a traditionally made one. Brian

Those are wonderful and huge yajiri. They gave them to you? Wow..can i get some friends like that? :D They are much larger than most I have here. I would expect most of those to have a hamon if polished. They might look very nice in tiny shirasaya and polish. Saw quite a few like that in Japan, and even for these lesser embellished examples you are looking at a few $100 each. How many of these did they have in the kura? Very jealous here Brian

Piers, Please do. I am a fan and small-time collector of yajiri. Would love to see them. Does anyone know of a book that has more info on them than the Japanese Polearms book? Brian

Well..since you are the bilingual one, I think I will delegate that task all to you. How's that for putting you on the spot? :lol: Brian

If we are going to mix our metaphors, I would hate to know what the Pope does in the woods. Brian

Contacted the buyer, as did a few others I am sure. Brian

Thanks Piers, that is good info. I should have clarified that I know a (very little) bit about them and hope i wasn't putting you on the spot. Good to have an idea of how things work there, and get a mental picture of the scene. I should imagine an old, unexplored kura must sometimes be a collectors or antique dealers dream. Brian

Heck, exaggeration and hyperbole are par for the course on eBay as Kaji said. At least the item is genuine and actually for sale, and has all the info listed. Brian