Geraint

Dear Alexsandr. It's either: 1 A mumei shinshinto wakizashi. 2 A shinto mumei wakizashi 3 A wakizashi formed by o suriage from a katana. 4 A wakizashi formed by o suriage from a tachi 5 None of the above. I only left out a koto wakizashi because of the patina on the nakago, and that's about the only thing we can see. Asking for a kantei opinion from, with respect, fairly poor photographs of an out of polish mumei wakizashi is a stretch too far. I know there is some shape to the hamon but not being able to discern the boshi, hataraki, hada or yakidashi if it's there.......Nice fuchi though. All the best.

Sorry Peter, didn't check the link. Second row down, Bizen Norimitsu wakizashi in Hizen koshirae. All the best.

Dear Lance. What Ray said plus !. First off, slow down and go carefully. Fingerprints on swords quickly turn to rust and ruin things. These are already in need of some restoration but you might have some interesting things there. You certainly have three Shingunto that were carried in WWII, a naval dirk and two civilian wakizashi. The wakizashi with the black lacquer looks as though it was a good thing, nmow in need of some restoration, the one at the top also looks interesting so go slow and take advice. That's a fascinating gun case to have opened and you have found some interesting things. Enjoy. All the best.

Hi Sala. I assume you have seen this? http://www.shibuiswords.com/bushu-choshuSchools.htm All the best.

Looks like a nice package Paul. Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Lukas. I have to agree with Brian. This is a nice, mounted sword,in relatively good condition with some interesting features. What's not to like? OK, I know it has no papers but for this sword I don't think that matters. If was my choice I'd buy it. Let us know what happens. All the best.

I'm sorry not to have been the "first" to like this. All the best.

Can't wait to see the finished result with that fuchi kashira Ford! All the best.

Not to mention the koshirae! All the best.

Dear Daniel. I am not sure that the phrase, "clutching at straws", will translate but you seem to want to defend this sword for some reason. If the information about PETA is correct and if this sword has something to do with that then nothing about the quality of the sword changes, it's still a mess. At the very best this is a sword whose blade has been ruined by damage to the nakago and it's out of polish, the fittings have nothing of value about them, look at the shaping pf the tsuba and the nakago ana. Why would you want to own it? All the best.

Hi Tommy. Welcome to the board. First bit of good news, this is a perfectly genuine Japanese sword, though it is hard to tell a great deal because of the condition and the photographs. It is potentially something good and you should go slow! You mention cleaning, hold that thought, a little light oil on the blade is ALL you should do. It is very easy to ruin a sword and it's fittings by what seems like simple cleaning. When you get the sword you will need to remove the hilt very carefully, if this is causing difficulties someone here can advise you on how to go about it. The fittings look as if they have been with the sword for some time and as soon as we know what is under the paper and tape we can advise you on restoration. Welcome to a fascinating study and we look forward to seeing some better images when you can, plus some measurements. Lots of people will chime in with opinions and there may be someone close enough to you so that you can show them the sword in hand and get some advice. Enjoy! (Oh! And by the way it is not a military sword as such in that it is not mounted for use in WWII. This means that it is at least 19th century and possibly much earlier).

Dear Peter, This one has been bugging me but I have finally found what I was looking for, http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/swords/n110-bizen-norimitsu-ko-wakizashi-hizen-koshirae All the best.

Delighted to have been the spur to these.

As my wife said, "You will have to rein yourself in."

Well I couldn't watch the sword restoration video that Ford posted and I don't want to look at this one. https://www.aoijapan.com/tachi-koshirae-horse-design All the best.

Dear Jay. I'm not sure that I am understanding you correctly. As far as my limited experience goes all the gunto that I have seen or owned have used either same or the plastic equivalent. My kaigunto has a sharksin saya but same for the tsuka. Could you clarify? All the best.

Dear Daniel. If you can see nie then there is every chance that it is a good blade, I'm afraid I can't see any in your photographs. The shape of the kissaki and the overall geometry seems good, I really wonder what was removed from the nakago. What is the nagasa and sori? (Length from kissaki to mune machi and amount of curve). It seems to be a very straight blade which would point to either Kanbun Shinto or possibly late Shinshinto. Can you remove the habaki and get a shot of the notches in the blade? This is sometimes a tell tale for the origin of a blade. Yes, this might be a concoction of bits and pieces but I think the quality of the tsuba suggest that it is a reproduction. I can't see enough detail to help you more. Perhaps we have another member in Barcelona who could look at the sword in hand and help you out. All the best.

Dear Daniel. Lots to worry about here. The marks on the fuchi might be numbers, easy for you to check. The tsuba is a very poor casting and looks modern to me, the fuchi has a hole for a retaining clip and none of the other fittings do, the hilt does not have Japanese binding, the kabuto gane seems at the least to have been soldered together. If you manage to get the habaki off you might find that the machi are not aligned. It looks as if someone has tried to remove an inscription from the nakago. If you are thinking of buying this then be very careful. If you can get a photo of the machi area minus the habaki that could confirm what I suspect. I would run a mile. Hope this helps.

Hi John. Makie is a term used for representational work generally speaking, .ie. you would see a design or picture rather than just a texture as your example. See, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maki-e The rest of the fittings are a bit of a mixture but if you want a date then late Edo would probably do. What's the blade like? All the best.

Dear Tatyana. A very nice thing to own. Does it come in shirasaya? If not then that would be a good thing to do. If you are not familiar with the care of swords then have a look at the FAQ link at the top toolbar. For reference here is a papered sword, https://nihontoantiques.com/project/wakazashi-sword-fss-697/ Does your's have papers? What ever you call a steal this is a nice piece. Congratulations. All the best.

You are doing well! I can't even tpye strgiht and I've got no ecxuse.

Or Jakushi? All the best.

Congratulations Dave. Great to see some of your collection and well done for the programme. All the best.

Dear Bamer. (If that is not your name then please add your name to posts here.) A mixture of tsuba, not in great condition. Cast iron tsuba are bad news and some of yours are cast iron I'm afraid. Tsuba 1, cast iron I think. Tsuba 2, the most interesting for me, the circular hole in the middle suggest it has been used as a decorative element in Europe, perhaps the backing for a door knob. What does the other side look like? Tsuba 3, again, cast and crudely done. Tsuba 4, poor quality and may be cast iron. Tsuba 5, might be OK but poor condition. Tsuba 6,I think fake, the size of the seppa dai and the upside down signature. Tsuba7, Shingunto tsuba from WWII. Tsuba8, perhaps trying to be Chosu school but muddy detail and other signs that it may be cast. Bowl, sake cup, probably from WWII. Show a photo the right way up and someone may be able to read the inscription. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I hope others will correct me if I am wrong. All the best.

Dear Lex. Nothing to worry about, this is not a fake and neither is the koshirae. Comments in your other thread are pertinent, if you like this and have the ability to have the habaki repaired it will be a nice and perfectly genuine Japanese sword. All the best.