Ed

If you like mokume, this is still one of my favorites after 20 years of ownership. The tsuba is made from Nanban Tetsu. Dated 1793. 81 x 76 x 5.5mm Inscription: Obverse: Omi no Kami Tusguhide Motte Nanban Tetsu. Reverse: Oite Bushu Edo Saku Kore, Kansai 5 Toshi

The sword in question is not an investment at any price, unless you want to invest in junk. Buy ten of these at 170 GBP over the next few years and the end result will still be a collection of junk. Save your money and buy something decent.

Ford, Thanks for your input, always happy to receive positive comment from someone with your level of expertise. When I first saw this tsuba the test spots were one of the first things I noticed. At first it was kind of a turn off for me, but over time I have come to see it as a bit of added character (justification ??). Still scratching my head as to why the maker would do this on the seppa dai of such a nice tsuba. There is almost as much nanako on the seppa dai as in the body of work. I am in hope that the shinsa team doesn't see this as a negative point. The shape of the seppa dai, quality of the shakudo and work as a whole leads me to believe the tsuba will paper very well. Surely, a pre-edo work. Have several submitted for this months shinsa, all are nice but this is the one I am most interested in hearing the results.

Florian, I have been forced to conclude that this mon must be just that, a variation depicting a more naturalistic view. Thanks for the input.

My thought, Ko-Kinko. Early Tachikangushi was mentioned by a friend as a posibility. ?? At shinsa now, so we shall see.

Yeah, I am not really sure that it is a mon, but that was by best guess. regardless, I would still be interested to know what it is. Thanks for the input.

Interesting to read all the thoughts and opinions people have on this subject, and while all of your wishes are valid, the reality of what happens after you are gone may be different than you had wished for. If you plan ahead a will might help to some degree, but even so, once dispersed according to the will who can say what the recipient will do. If you fall dead tomorrow without a will, the chips will fall where they may. This topic reminds me of Dean Hartley, as he got older everything in his house was marked for the child it was to go to. I used to tell him when you are gone they are going to sell all that stuff. But he was in denial, and adamant about leaving things to his children in order that they could cherish his memory. Not to say they didn't keep some stuff, like jewelry, but guess what happened to his swords and related items? 99.5% Sold! Personally, I have been grooming my daughter since childhood to appreciate this art form. She has a couple of swords of her own, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 tanto tsuba which I have been buying her forever. My son has little or no interest, so my daughter will likely get 99% of whatever is left when I leave this earthly realm. Will she keep it or sell it, that is the question. My answer is I don't care! No need to stress over it, I'll be dead. I am pretty sure that she will keep a few pieces that are special to her. If she keeps a piece or two or sells it all to spend on something she is passionate about, then she has my blessing. Some provisions have been made, every piece of my own collection is photographed and cataloged along with what I paid for them to help in the event of my untimely death.

I have scoured every reference I have as well as online, but have been unable to find this exact Mon. Closest I have come is the one shown. Maybe a variation of that. ??? Any ideas ?

Maybe it would be easier to understand if they just wrote POS.

Well Jeremiah beat me to it, but there you go. Hopefully you can see that your swords mei looks nothing like the shoshin examples. No, it is not. They are NOT the same smith.

I don't want to come across as rude but I don't know what you read or what you are looking at. First, Darcy's write up states exactly what I told you previously: Suishinshi Masatsugu was the third generation Masahide. He (Masatsugu) did not use the mei Sadhide or Masahide. Second, if you were going to provide an example which was used to base your rationale, it should have been one signed with the same mei your sword is signed; Suikanshi Sadahide, not Masatsugu. Third, I must disagree with your comparison of the characters or "handwriting". In my opinion they look nothing alike. From what I can see the sword looks like a nice sword, but that doesn't make the mei legit. Not much more to discuss unless you have better examples to provide. Once you send this sword to shinsa, update us here with the results.

If that is the case, why did you ask? You already knew the maker and sounds like your mind is made up, in which case there was no reason for me or others to waste our time! It would have been just as productive and less dishonest to have simply asked for second opinions in the beginning. Nothing is set in stone, nor do I claim to have seen every shoshin example. With that said, I have never seen a known good example of Sadhide signing Masatsugu. My understanding is that it was Sandai Masahide, the son of Sadahide (nidai Masahide), who signed Masatsugu. If you have conclusive information of Sadhide signing Masatsugu, I would be interested in seeing it. I have a better idea. Why don't you show your references, which validate your opinion and confidence. Having viewed all three generational mei, I stand by my call of gimei. Do let us know how that works out for you.

I hope for your sake I am wrong, but in my opinion there is a high probability of your sword being gimei. The mei is poorly cut and there are numerous discrepancies when compared to shoshin mei.

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/3-how-to-uploadpost-a-pic-or-file-max-widths-sizes-etc/

I think opinions will vary, some will like it others will not. Boils down to your own preferences, sense of aesthetics and budget. If it ticks all these boxes then, be happy and don't worry about the opinions of others. There are a number of people who appreciate and collect these run of the mill Nanban tsuba. Personally, they don't appeal to me, though I have seen a few better quality ones which were nice.

Very simple mei, though a high probability of gimei, very high.

I suspect the pole on your naginta( ) was cut down for ease of shipping, as they can be 7-8 feet in length. You need to remove it from the pole in order that we can see the nakago (tang).

It is signed Mino Kaneshige.

It would help to see a photo of the mei. You sure it's not Akamatsu instead of Akasaka? Could be: KANEHIRO (兼裕), Heisei (平成, 1989- ), Kumamoto – “Higo no Kuni-jū Akamatsu Tarō Kanehiro” (肥後国住赤松太郎兼裕), real name Kimura Iwao (木村馨), born February 4th 1961, third son of Kimura Kaneshige (木村兼重)

I would like to add one thing no one else has regarding the structural integrity of antique blades. Depending on the age, construction methods and number of polishes over it's lifetime an antique sword will certainly be less sound than it was originally was. A sword which was constructed using the technique of wrapping harder blade steel around softer core steel and subsequently subjected to several polishes over the centuries looses a good deal of the harder blade steel (think Hizen). This results in a weakened, or at least an uncertain state of durability. Even one-piece construction after polishing becomes structurally weakened. Think of a sword which started out with a 6-8mm kasane and over time is polished down to 4-5mm, add the length and leverage of your arm and the sword, kinetic energy produced when it is used, force of impact . All of these factors produce a significant load on the blade. Even more so on a structurally compromised blade, thus increasing the likelihood of damage to the sword, yourself or others. So, to answer your question, no! With so many good, modern options available, please reserve antiques for preservation and study.

Atlanta?? The end of a long tradition in Tampa. That borders on Sacrilege

IMHO the horimono are not well done, but not as bad as you see on some of the Chinese fakes, and they are far from great. It is a quality thing. Once you have seen some nice horimono, you will look at these and say ah, ok, I get it.

Glycerine and distilled water. https://sciencing.com/make-fogmachine-fluid-6168233.html https://www.froggysfog.com/fluids/fog-juice-machine-fluids.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_machine

Ken, I am not certain about condensation per se, but regardless of temperature, humidity or any other factors, if the fog is swirling around the sword for the photos surely some of it will settle, stick, adhere, fuse, bond or in some manner end up on the surface of the blade. Any way you cut it, moisture on metal = increased risk of oxidation.

The photos are well done, but even so most people here are traditionalists. Even if the composition is not necessarily my taste, as long as you like them and are able to enjoy quality time with your child, then it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. If you are having fun then keep on keeping on. Two concerns, first having a 9y/o in close proximity to a sharp and pointy sword could be dangerous. Accidents are much less forgiving with roses than swords. Second, isn't "fog" made from water and glycerin. That sounds like a great way to produce rust on your swords. It appears that you have a couple of nice swords, so be very diligent in cleaning them after your shoot.