Geraint

Dear All. While browsing subjects of interest I came across this little piece on YouTube, you only need to watch the first minute or so to see the presentation, unfortunately a bit grainy. It would be really nice to know what was presented and what happened to it. All the best.

Dear Johan. Just to amplify Brian's point, when we use the term chisel we assume that the cut will remove metal leaving a channel in the surface. In fact swords are signed in a manner resembling chasing, a shaped chisel deforms the metal leaving a channel but with raised metal on either side. In Japanese these are referred to as tagane makura, or chisel pillows. One way of observing the age of a signature is to note whether these are still present or have been rubbed down over time. They also feature when a mei is properly removed. As no metal has been lost when the mei was cut a skilled smith can move the metal back, effectively restoring the nakago to an unsigned state. The triangular shaped marks that you have observed are left by the point of the chisel which is held at an angle to the work and tapped gently. In the very thin metal and with the very small kanji these are easy to see. The characteristic line left by the tagane is one of the indicators that a blade is Japanese as most fakers tend to engrave the mei, cutting metal away and leaving a smooth sided groove. All the best

Dear Johan. Good to see someone who likes a challenge!! Minute kanji in a slightly chippy style on a kogatana blade! If you can't get this one I would not be too disheartened. May I suggest that you post it in the Translation section? All the best.

Dear Bjorn. Some further information here, https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/tsuba/sanmai.htm All the best.

Dear Bob. I really like this one! It's a beautiful piece of work. All the best.

Dear Kaspar. Can I just say, that's a lovely naginata! All the best.

Dear Johnathan. Nice find! Certainly looks to be naginata naoshi. What does the boshi do? All the best.

Dear Roger. I'm sure you know this one but just in case. A great deal of information and discussion on Namban guards here, https://www.facebook.com/Asian-Export-sword-guards-and-Nanban-tsuba-564035753684007/ All the best

Dear Roger. Have to agree with Piers, I can see why you bought it, never mind the 500 miles. Bruce will be grabbing a shot of that habaki for his thread. Basically you have a signed, ubu, Shinto wakizashi in good condition and nice koshirae, (shell inlaid saya?) plus a good combat cover. You have owned it and enjoyed it for some years by the sound of it, that's worth a lot. Prices go up and down over the years but owning a nice sword never gets stale. All the best.

Dear Florian. Please do tell us how you came across the sword and what happened between then and the papers. Love a good story to go with a lovely sword! All the best.

Dear Jaques. Lovely sword! That's just how a nakago should look and we see so many that have suffered neglect. Any more pictures of the blade? All the best.

Care to share? I have an interest in the school and it's nice to see the one that Florian has posted. Florian, tell us the story. All the best.

Tricky Brian, it's mumei! And a lovely sword, congratulations. All the best.

Dear Miche. I think it's real, and a tourist piece. I don't think there is anything of quality here and you would be better off saving your money. I am suspicious about the sugta in that it looks very sharp, as if someone has removed quite a lot of material from the edge toward the front of the blade. All the best.

Dear Chris. I am sorry, I am not quite sure what you mean. Sanmai tsuba are three layers, usually embossed faces on a copper core. This one is definitely etched iron. Or do you mean something else? All the best.

Dear All. A new toy has just arrived and I would be interested in your thoughts. It's quite large at 86mms by 83mms, about 5mms thick at the seppa dai and much the same at the mimi. Both ryo hitsu are original and plugged with nekko gake gilt copper and it has been mounted in the past. The base material is iron and the design is a Ho oh and Paulownia. The surface was migaki ji before the etch. The patina is a little thin but much better in hand than in the images. Any thoughts? All the best.

Hi Steve. Look up kiridashi knives. All the best.

Dear Joe. Compare with this one, https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-bishu-osafune-sukesada/ and it would seem possible that the lower mekugi ana on your sword is the original, hence you can get a good idea about the original length. You might also find this article interesting, https://markussesko.com/2018/04/25/tensho-suriage-and-keicho-suriage/ Can we see a shot of the whole blade please? All the best.

Dear James. I love the idea that you have had this kicking around for a few years and then discover it is a Kamakura piece! Thank for sharing that one. All the best.

Dear Joe. There are several reasons for shortening a sword and no way of telling which one applies to this sword. What is it's length now? All the best.

And that feeling when you are opening the parcel! Yes indeed, very nice! All the best

Sweet! And not bad habaki either. Is this in shirasaya? Enjoy!

It's a dragon Bruce. All the best

Is there something on the backstrap ears on that last one, or is that wishful thinking? All the best.

Dear Neil. I can sense your excitement, now slow down a bit and start from the beginning. Your sword is signed, "Bishu Osafune Sukesada". The one you have identified is one who signed as, "Sakushu", not Bizen. (if you have clicked on the spoiler from Piers then you already know that.) As I am sure you will have noticed there are a lot of smiths signing Sukesada. A lot. Out of all of them this mei is the commonest so pinning it down to a specific smith is very unlikely. Even if you get this sword put into a proper polish and submit for papers it is likely to come back confirming the mei as Sukesada without defining the individual smith. The link Ken has given you will get you started on sugata but don't be surprised if you find this tricky, swords posted here get estimates from several hundred years apart sometimes. (You don't give dimensions which would be useful.) As the sword is out of polish you are going to have to have a good look and see what you can see of the hamon and boshi and fit those to the work of Bizen smiths. As to the combat damage make what you like of it but I should think it is as likely to be the JimmyandBen ryu school of kenjutsu when they got hold of Dad's swords and played samurai with them. Enjoy the journey! All the best.