Jamie

I'd like to take a second and Thank you guys not only for this suggestion, but for also for sharing so much information freely. I have learned much from the wealth of knowledge shared here.

Thats probably a modern chinese fake. Either way it doesn't matter. It's $23.00 , Can't go wrong there! (kidding)

What they are saying is, the Mei does not match known examples for the smith. There are SO many gimei blades out there.

Keith, I am fairly new to this myself. If you want to learn, there are three ways I know of. One is to read read read. The first two books, will give you an excellent lead in to the third. Investing in books first, will save you a lot of money and you'll have them for reference later. Building building a library is paramount. One of the first pieces of advice I was given was to buy ten grand worth of books, THEN buy a sword. I thought this person was exaggerating, but it seems he wasn't. Second look at High end sites where you could purchase these pieces. Those sellers KNOW swords and post good pictures and descriptions (if you read the books first-you will be familiar with School's, smiths, and construction methods-Hamon types and so forth). You can try and match characteristics to the descriptions. Third, Look at any you have a chance to( in person). Depending on where you are in the country- this may or may not be tough. Attend a show. It's Invaluable how much you will learn at just ONE show. The following books will help. http://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Sword-Han ... 0804805091 http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Sword-Co ... 0870115626 http://www.amazon.com/Connoisseurs-Book ... 262&sr=1-1 I hope this helps Jamie D

Good pictures Mark. That's a nice blade.

That is very nice. I wish you the best.

I think that you like it, makes it a good enough reason.

Keith, I hear you on Koto blades. I haven't been studying nihonto too long yet, but the most beautiful pieces I have seen so far have been Koto. I looked at a sword a few weeks ago, that was Nanbakucho. And certainly a fine example. The Hada just Jumped out of it. It looked alive.

Thanks guys.

Chris, Might you expand on this a bit. I am curious as to the visible differences between Oil Quench, and Water. Thanks Jamie

The one with the Ichi mark- the Nagako should look much older right? I may be incorrect, heck I probably am, but I thought only Kamakura blades have that mark.

Welcome I am a new member myself. The wealth of info freely shared here is amazing. Enjoy yourself and again, welcome.

It does kind of look as though the Hamon runs under the Habaki and right into the Patina on the Nagako. But that could just be the pics. It's nice that you got a piece to study Jason. I bet a bit of power would go a long way on that blade. Enjoy it man.

You can take multiple scans and put them together.

Jason, I too am a beginner so I am not sure if I should comment here or not. But I would suggest looking at sales at High end sites. And as many Nihonto as you can. Go to a show. It's invaluable. Darcy's site Is VERY informative and has some VERY high end stuff to study. He has Many ranked and papered blades(along with descriptions that tel about the lines each smith was a part of). And many other do as well. I think you and I both will learn a LOT more from looking at verified blades. I'd be more than happy to share sites via PM(not sure it's OK to post them publicly) And as for Buying, there is only one seller on ebay I would purchase from(he was referred by someone I know- A Polisher). There are good sales here, that are reasonable. And the folks seem very easy to deal with. Jamie

I am 35 This Month. I've had an interest in bladed weapons since I was a young child. My first blade was an old Boy scout knife that I found while hiking. My father helped me clean and restore it and it was my first knife. I've always had interest in swords too. Shortly after- I moved to guns, and have collected them most of my life. And some knives too(Many), but nothing too fancy. I went to a Blade show a few years back and my love of bladed weapons was rekindled. I've been studying since. I have a very small collection of just a few pieces. But I am enjoying learning and looking. Thanks to many helpful and friendly folks.

Thanks Bruno

So I went and looked at a Gunto last night. Although the owner told me it was in "good" condition and had no rust or pitting- it had been lightly damaged by some type of power tool. Like Maybe a dremel with a wirebrush or something. And it had a bit of the beginnings of rust. So I cleaned it up a little bit with Uchiko powder and choji oil. After doing that I could see a faint gunome Hamon. But I couldn't tell if it was water or oil quenched. It had no Stamp on the tang, and no Mei. Nagasa was 25 3/4. Rust was dark orange, had not blackened yet. He is supposed to send me pictures today, so hopefully i'll have them soon. I couldn't see any hada whatsoever. But I also couldn't tell if that was due to the scratches or that it simply wasn't there. I'm pretty familiar with Current production monosteel blades, and the aside from the hamon- the metal looked like that moreso than a forged blade( from whwt I understand many war blades were made from bar stock steel). Also No Yokote line- but again they used some sort of abrasive power tool on it- so that could have just been filed away. More than likely it wasn't there though- I couldn't see any geometric change in it. I am not overly familiar with ginto's. I study Nihonto. And I was basiclly just making sure it wasn't an old blade. My actual question is what are the visible differences between an Oil quench and a water Quench? Anybody know? Thank you in advance. Jamie

Send it to a Proper polisher. They will give you the best opinion you can get on this blade.

at the top of the forum, there is a how to on posting pics. You can literally upload them right off our desktop, or wherever they may be on your system. I can't help with the mei though, so I'll leave that to others.

That's nice, definitely worth papering.

Robert, This might help you with some basic terminology. Mei is the signature on the Nagako (Tang)\ http://members.shaw.ca/nihontonut/glossary.html Jamie

Beautiful blade. Thanks for sharing the story.

"The third type is a traditional uchiko supplied to me by a sword polisher in Japan after I had a sword polished by him many years ago. This I understand, is the dried and filtered slurry from the final stage of polishing. It is a beautiful fine and silky powder which is not white like the other two. I use this very occasionally and lightly perhaps once every year only on my best swords, With no detrimental effect over a long period of time. I was warned that this is slightly abrasive when used frequently." I think this one.

Jason, I too am fairly new to collecting. I understand the urge to have something. But the advice of these folks-is priceless. Read, Look at real pieces-and learn. Take any cash you might waste, and attend a show. At least that way - you can get an opinion while your there- from someone who knows. I went to a Kai and just talked to some folks. There were many who were friendly and who I have asked plenty of questions since that show. Most of the folks in the community want to help us learn. You need books man. (I do too) Also That katana you'ere looking at on Ebay has no defined yokote line. It's probably a gunto- but without better pics and some of the tang- you can't be sure. Be Careful man.