Ganko

There are no laws written or unwritten regarding your quandary. After having observed many old original mountings for a number of decades, I find there is frequently no apparent rhyme nor reason for menuki choices. Non-Japanese individuals have an inclination to make all the fittings ensuite which may have not been the original configuration. The original choice may have related to personnel preference, zodiac year of birth or availability? Late Edo period mountings where all the fittings are by the same artisan, would most certainly have had matching menuki. In your situation I feel the dragons would be fine as long as they are of a comparable quality/time period relative to the rest of the fittings. You should definitely have the tsuka wrapped by a properly skilled individual. (Incidentally, your images have the menuki oriented improperly) My two cents worth.

Sui shin shi Masahide with kao

So sorry to hear this, he will be sorely missed by all of us in the sword community.

It sounds like it may have originated in California.

Unfortunately,it has no merit whatsoever. Hopefully you didn't pay very much for it or can return it. I hope this does not discourage you from having further interest in Japanese swords.

It is "Kanemoto"

Hamon looks suguha based with small gunome and ashi. I think early Shinto.

Everything in moderation.

Very informative, great job Markus.

Looks like "Hachi Man Dai Jin" an invocation to the god of war.

Separating them like that seems disrespectful to the blade as well as the koshirae to me.

Worthless poor copy, as bad as it gets,may be suitable for chopping brush.

Welcome Drew, seems you have acquired the affliction. It is incurable.

It's Seki Shu

Well worth polishing, I recently saw a similar shaped one by Chounsai Toshimune. Looking forward to seeing the signature on yours.

I agree with Gilles, also the signature is engraved (material carved out) rather than stamped in with the point of a chisel. This is not normal for Japanese signatures, but there are some exceptions such as "Hankei".

Just think what the shinsa teams from Japan are up against when evaluating blades in the US,they only have a few minutes per blade to make a judgment.

It may have been cleaned in the past and has lost it's original patina?

Nice work, Artur. Looks great.

Not too desirable from a collecting standpoint, could be theater made. Not a keeper.

Seems there are more pitfalls out there than I had realized.

Real shibui, great piece of work.

Modern replica suitable for iaido.

Sometimes a blade is shortened because it was damaged during use near the habaki, such as a chip or crack. The damage is subsequently removed by moving the habaki up past the damaged area.

It is signed Noshu Ju Ido Hidetoshi saku kore