Ed

Brian, I figure you guys had had enough, but I do have additional examples. Maybe good, maybe not

Tom, do you have a photo of the reference piece you used to come to your conclusion that #7 is shoshin and is it papered? I would love to see it.

Jeremiah, yes #3 is a Sandai example, the rest are papered by the NBTHK or come from legitimate web sites.

Ok guys, looks as though this thread has run it's course. First I would like to say thank you to everyone who participated. The point of this thread was to see if everyone had as much trouble as I do distinguishing shoshin from gimei when it comes to this smith. Reminds me of researching the Tadayoshi school. The fact that there were three generations which used this mei, combined with the looong career of the Shodai makes this a bit of a nightmare. He began using this mei along with variants in 1774. He began using his koku'in seal in 1806. In 1818 he gave the Masahide name to his son and began signing his works Suishinshi Amahide. As you can see he signed Suishinshi Masahide for 30+ years. As for the examples provided for this exercise, all are known shoshin examples with the exception being #7. A few of you deemed #7 good, some bad. Truth is, I do not know for certain as it has never been submitted to shinsa that I am aware of. My guess leans towards gimei, but with all the variations I would not begin to say definitively either way. It is my opinion that only a trip to shinsa would give relatively accurate opinion. Sadly, the owner is not interested in sending it to shinsa. BTW: 5 & 8 are the same sword. Here are a few photos of the Tanto in the event you are interested in seeing it.

Yes, I felt that I bid as much as I could justify without more proof it was a Momoyama period bowl. Again, I found very aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but without recourse where do you draw the line???? Obviously others were waaay more convinced than I. The dimensions are in the last photo in the first group of photos. Here are a few photos of the rim.

Jeremy, Are you looking for a specific theme or style?

Steve, I can't authenticate that it is a Momoyama period Chawan, but as you saw the Hakogaki says Momoyama. It is an extremely nice bowl, that I would have been happy to have regardless. I put in a bid of what I mistakenly thought was substantial. When I checked on it again, I was not even close.

Was watching this one, but it exceeded my budget at 1,501,000¥. Hope one of you guys ended up winning this.

Ok, since there has been participation and everyone seems to be having fun I will give it a little longer. *NOTE: Please keep in mind the goal is to point out any in the provided group of photos which you feel may be gimei. Please try to be clear in your answers. For instance: Jussi, you stated that 5, 6, 8 are legit. Does this mean you feel all of the others are gimei? Jeremiah, are you indicating that your guess for gimei is #6 only? ??

Brian, There is at least one shoshin example in the group. *Note: #7 was the only tanto example I could find, the others are Katana or Wakizashi. That may account for the odd looking nakago ana placement.

I have been studying the works of Suishinshi Masahide and have found there to be many variations of known good mei. It seems as though throughout his long career of sword making his mei exhibit subtle changes. Now, I realize this is not uncommon for a persons writing or in this case inscribing to change as we age due to the loss of physical strength, manual dexterity, etc. In order to get your unbiased opinions, and if you care to participate, please look over the following examples and tell me which of them, if any, you think may be gimei. *Edit: There is at least one shoshin example in the group. #7 was the only tanto example I could find, the others are Katana or Wakizashi. That may account for the odd looking nakago ana placement. The answer will be given in a reasonable amount of time, if anyone participates. Thanks, Ed

Alex, yes it is amazing at how precise steel can be manipulated by an experienced blacksmith. There are many traditional blacksmiths who will only use hand tools, no machinery. Personally, while I admire the traditionalists, I like my tools. I'm still pretty tough for an old man, but age and experience has taught me to work smart not hard. However, tools bring a lot of safety issues into the mix. Every time I see someone not using a vise to hold their work in a drill press, I cringe. This is the result of such carelessness. I keep these posted beside mine.

Ken, I didn't want to sidetrack this post, but since the OP has decided to pass I will second the point regarding chiseled vs punched nakago ana. If they were not drilled, they were punched hot as Steve described. Steel was red hot, punch cold (or cooler than red hot steel). A punch is tapered, which is why punched nakago ana are tapered. The tapered hole is what identifies a punched nakago ana from a drilled one. This was done prior to the existence or the availability of a drill. The technique is still used today by traditional blacksmiths as shown in this video. For some things a chisel is used along with a drift for making an opening in a larger chunk of steel such as a handle slot for an axe or tomahawk. A drift is a larger punch of sorts. The piece is heated to red hot then the hole is started and initially opened with a chisel, the enlarged with the drift. See below.

Wow, I have been on vacation for a few days and a lot has happened. I hate to hear Ford suffered a heart attack, but am thankful he is recovering and wish him well.

I don't have any which were over cleaned, then repatinated and papered. In essence the ones previously posted had the patina scrubbed (filed) off when the mei was removed. They were repatinated and papered, so yes it is possible and does happen.

Over cleaned and papered?

Forgot about this one. It was originally signed "Norishige" . http://yakiba.com/Tanto_Tanemitsu.htm

Someone is wabbit cwazy, this one finished at $1005.94

I agree with Guido, there is obvious loss to the nunome as the cross hatching is so prominent. Very common as the process is fine gold/silver leaf is gently tapped into the cross-hatching. A bit of soap and water might bring it out the color/shine a bit if it was intended to be brighter than it appears. Careful though, did I mention only the cross-hatching is all there is holding the nunome in place.

Ken, I was pretty lucky for three mokume tsuba by the same smith to find me. No plans to sell at this time.

Third and final Mokume Tsuba by Tsuguhide.

Hmm, I would disagree, I have picked many swords and said, "Wow, nice menuki". Have bought a number of tsuka and/or koshirae to have the menuki (same with F/K). Menuki are an integral part of the koshirae. They show prominently on a mounted sword displayed in a stand. Just my 2¥

Labeling the store front photos would be a good addition.

Great job Ray!!

No worries. I was just glad that all the vet did was clean the nakago with a little naval jelly. Fortunately, he didn't take a grinder or sandpaper to it. He actually gave the sword to me and thought he was doing me a favor by cleaning it, so what could I say, other than thank you. I rushed home and neutralized the nakago with a baking soda wash, as that naval jelly contains muriatic acid. BTW: I suspect your sword is gimei.