Ian B3HR2UH

Unfortunately it is a modern Chinese fake Ian Brooks

Save your money Mark . It has NO chance of being by Horikawa Kunihiro. Ian Brooks

I cannot get this piece out of my mind . What on earth possessed you to buy it ? The only value it has as a study piece is to teach you not to buy junk like this again . There are board members in the UK who know what they are about . Why not seek their advice before you make your next purchase. Ian Brooks

Hi Alexi , as no one has stuck their neck out on the blade I will . I think it is shinshinto at best and probably from the Showa era . These swords with the hada that looks like it is made from two steels mixed together I have heard described as half swords . My understanding of this is that they are only partly made using traditional methods . This conclusion would be strengthened if the piece had ububa and a Showa era habaki . It follows that I think that you should save your money on the Shinsa . There I have stuck my neck out , what do others think? Ian Brooks

Almost all Naval swords that I have seen have the blackened tsuba and plated mounts or at least show vestiges of these . Does anyone else think that this one may have been heavily "cleaned" and "improved" by the addition of the brass strip Ian Brooks

I always thought that the reason for the pins was to keep the Kabuto gane on when it would otherwise fall off . You see them ( rarely) when the ito doesn't go over or through the kabuto gane and where the barrel that the sarute goes into is not part of the kabuto gane .The use of pins then stops the Kaboto gane falling off . I can only recall seeing four pins on each side in these and not six on each side like on this one . Given that both the ito and a barrel through the kabuto gane would hold this kabuto gane on these pins are not necessary and I wonder if they are later additions . Ian Brooks

I think you are all dreamers ! Why "cut" off one tassel and not the other ? The Japanese only had to surrender their swords which is why we don't see many belts or hangers with them . Why not simply take the tassel off as well . Perhaps that is the explanation for why we see so many swords without tassels on them , the Japanese took them off prior to surrendering the sword !! ( I am not being serious here). Is a more likely explanation simply that the tassel became unstitched or wore out. ? Ian Brooks

Hi Brian , i purchased a set in Japan about three years ago for thirty or forty thousand yen . These were from a sword book dealer so that price is about the market price. Ian Brooks

I too would describe it as a katana , based on the mounting. Ian Brooks

You hit the nail on the head Bruce . Some of these have probably been through numerous hands since the war and who can say what is original and what is not . The attached one came to me ,many years ago ,from the family of the man who bought it back, so it is almost certainly original . The blade is koto and signed Kunitoshi . The green cord was also with it . Ian Brooks

Hello Adam , I agree with all that Paul has said . To say that it looks like others by the same smith online is pretty unhelpful . You need to look at lots of genuine examples in books and to compare the way each character is cut on the genuine ones with the way that the same character is cut on yours .For example if you look at the Kami character on genuine ones the " box" part of the character on the real ones is generally much longer and narrower than the "box" part on yours . The absence of visible filemarks on your tang is also a worry . These mainline Tadayoshi nakago are always really well finished and you would expect to see yasurimei on the real thing . Ian Brooks

Hi George, I think a more likely explanation is that Oshima is the owners name rather than the hilt binders/ mounters name . I came across a Kai gunto where the name written on the wood under the Fuchi corresponded with the surname on the surrender tag that came with the sword. Ian Brooks

This piece looks anything but original and should be given no credence . Ian Brooks

And a clearer shot of the kabuto gane

And a couple more shots

I was shown this sword during the week . The father of the man who owns it was the Clerk of Courts in rural Victoria in the 60's . The sword was an exhibit in a court case and at the conclusion of the case no one claimed it so the Clerk wound up with it .Another son had buffed the blade and tsuba and had glued the handle on The kabuto gane is interesting as it is a crude copy of a shin gunto one . The cherry blossoms have been cast separately from the main body . The fuchi is plain iron without a base plate . The menuki appear to be a cherry blossom flanked by two smaller ones . There are no marks on anything other than some hard to read red writing on the saya cover, one of which appears to be Gun It seems to me that this has been made during the war in the south west Pacific area . The finer details make me think that it is a bit too good to have been knocked out in an Australian workshop . I concluded that it was Japanese made in the Islands . I have attached photos for posterity and in case anyone turns up a similar one. Ian Brooks

Warning bells everywhere on that one , avoid it and whoever is selling it , Ian Brooks

HI Jaykob , might I ask what is your grandfathers name and where did he reside ?.Do you know how he acquired the sword ? There may be references to him and the sword in old sword society magazines or old collectors here may have met him , assuming he was a collector . Ian Brooks

Why would you send an out of polish blade to the NBTHK , when the blade is so obviously not by Sadamune ? Just a waste of money . Ian Brooks

Thanks Matt , I must admit that I expected to see a piece of new wood under the fuchi but what is there looks absolutely right . The cream coloured binding in the Plimpton book looked way off as well whereas the colour in your photo looks correct . What is the blade like ? Ian Brooks

Hi Matthew , I see that your earlier post says that the Majors name was on the wooden liner but in the book it is said to be " on the blade " That doesn't say much about the author . I for one would like to see some more pictures . The wood under the fuchi would be interesting to me . Ian Brooks

When I see pieces like this illustrated, with short inaccurate descriptions and no references to the blades in them, I wonder if the book is something that I should bother getting. Ian Brooks

Thank God you didn't get your hands on a real one . Ian Brooks

This reminds me of one that I purchased from the family of the man who bought it back ( so it is all original ) . As you can see there is a purple sageo tied over the leather cover below the carrying ring and the kurigata . The blue and brown rank tassle has then been tied over the sageo . I guess they didn't want to drill a hole for the sarute through the same. Ian Brooks

Adam you are dreaming if you think that the Japanese dealer has got this one wrong and that you are smart enough to pick the diamond in the rough . The dealer will probably have forgotten more than you know, so it makes no sense pitting your knowledge against theirs . They are really being upfront saying that the piece is a later copy. Ian Brooks