Geraint

Blagoy, Have a look at the one just posted in the For Sale section by Marco. All the best.

Dear Ken. I think Aoi Art might better be translated as, "If you find long kerakubi the blade was made before the end of the Muromachi period." This would be consistent with the majority of the write ups for yari over the last few years. All the best.

Dear Bob. I like it! One to have polished I would think. The weird Namban is interesting, if you have not seen it there's an interesting read here, http://mandarinmansion.com/nanban-tsuba The cupped shape is reminiscent of Chinese guards such as this one, https://nihontoantiques.com/project/chinese-sword-nji-111/ (Hope the links work this time.) All the best.

Dear John. Are you referring to the top tsuba that Barry posted? In which case; right hand side, "Sashu no ju" and left hand side, "Toshisada" I believe. All the best.

Dear Stephen. She's looking good! A little compression of the wood around the mekugi ana, tiny bit of wear on the mekugi itself....? Very slight changes will see the tsuba moving and you won't be happy with it. If the tsuba needs sekigane go for it. Looking forward to seeing this one when completed. All the best.

Welcome to the NMB Henk. A very similar sword is shown here, https://www.japanesesword.org/archived-pages/2017/9/13/gendaito-by-kanemitsu Same sword on this thread. Yours is nice with the hi, I think you have an interesting sword. Enjoy! Mei on the mune is unusual but does occur, have a look here, http://yakiba.com/Tanto_Sadakazu.htm All the best.

The double ringed anchor without sakura is recorded.............. All the best.

Chris. I'm afraid you will need to explain your remark. All the best.

Hi John. Nice find! Modeled on French sword types but Fuller and Gregory have a line drawing of this sword which they identify as "Superior (and Junior) Petty Officers. (F&G 1996 Fig.24 They seem to suspect that it might be an 1873 variant. Obsolete in 1914. They go on to say that no examples of this type have been reported to the authors. Given their extensive research and network of contacts this must make it pretty rare, unless of course they are a common find in the US. I should say that was a result! All the best. P.S. Not sure that it has been shortened, isn't that what's called a spear point?

It goes with that light sabre sword that was posted

Hi Grev. Here's another papered example, you'll need to scroll down a bit. http://www.sanmei.com/contents/en-us/d1.html Hope this link works. All the best.

Hi Mark. It's easy to add your name to your posts so that it comes up whenever you post. I'm not that far away from you if you fancy a trip down west for a hands on look and a chat. All the best.

Dear Ronald. Please add your name to your posts. The smaller example is identified as "1911 pattern Hannin (Junior) Officials sword of the Government General of Korea". (Fuller and Gregory) They go on the say that the sword should be considered rare. It too is a purely ceremonial sword. All the best

Dear Malcolm, Have a look here, http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5347-diferent-tanto-styles/ All the best.

Hi Cyn. Please add your name to your posts as we all do here. The sword is not a Japanese officer's sword, it is similar to the unusual Naval shore patrol mounts but I can't see the fouled anchor on the lower end of the scabbard or the pommel. I can see what looks like a raised emblem on the side of the pommel, like a flower? That might be the key to this one, can we have a shot of that? I am guessing the length measured from tip to the blade ferrule, (habaki), is less than 24 inches which makes this a wakizashi. The mounts seem to be from a period before WWII and the blade is probably an older, traditionally made blade. Please don't hold the blade with your fingers, it is already suffering some condition issues and your fingerprint rust won't help, give it a wipe with some light oil. Looking forward to tracking this one down. All the best

Well Andrew. No one else has bitten so let me. I think original quality and the degree of preservation come into play. You could look at the one Stephen posted in the adjacent thread. Or if we take this one, http://nihonto.dilanhosting.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/fss-741-mounts-full-Large-full-resolution.jpg as a starting point the condition is pretty good with much original finish remaining on the fittings, the wrap is nice and tight and the same looks good underneath the tassel. The sarute is crossed hands pattern and not the plain loop of wire or even cord that is seen. I would like to have a nice thick pierced tsuba and the full set of eight seppa with the milled edge one nice and thick, all matching numbers of course. Silver mon on the menuki would be a plus, more so for me than one on the kabutugane. I would go for a wood saya covered in lacquered same, preferably with two hangers. I'd also like the tsuka to have a really nice tachi like curve to it. The release catch needs to have the nice blossom finish. After that then it's down to the quality of manufacture of the fittings, I have seen some that were pretty thin and some that were very detailed in their modelling. Of course an original red/gold tassel would be nice............ Yep! That about does it for me! All the best.

Sorry, not sure what happened there, try this and go to sales, tosogu ans so forth. http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_home.html

Hi Grev. I presume you've seen this one, http://nihontocraft.com/Sado_Toshisada.htm ? All the best.

Dear Jason. As I enlarge the image I think what you are seeing is a chip from the ha, that accounts for the fact that the machi appear to be different heights. Oh, and the uniform rust under the habaki. Be interesting to see the rest of the nakago, I suspect an older blade. Edit to add. Hmm! See what you mean Ray, that last image in particular. All the best.

Hi Chansa. Papered one here for comparison. https://www.aoijapan.net/wakizashi-hishu-kachi-kami-fujiwara-masahiro/ All the best.

Hi Josh. Please add your first name to your posts as we all do. Jussi has translated but thsi might help if you are new to all this. "Bishu", short form of Bizen which is the province, "Osafune", the village where it was made, "Tadamitsu", the smith who made it. Time to start doing some research! You will quickly find that just because it says Tadamitsu it doesn't mean that it is Tadamitsu. If you can take an overall picture of the blade someone will comment a bit more perhaps, shape is a good indicator of the age of a sword. Enjoy your find and don't set about cleaning it at any cost until you have found out a bit more, just a light wipe with some thin oil and resit the urge to touch the blade with your hands. This is an exciting study, I really hope you and your father enjoy the discovery. All the best.

Dear w201. Please add your name to your posts as we all do. Alarm bells ringing on this one, could we see some photographs of the rest of the sword? Also any fittings that it has. That would help confirm or deny what I fear. All the best.

But I'm guessing Paul meant to type Shintogo Kunimitsu.......... All the best.

Dear All. Many years ago I carted a katana to London and all around the city in a guitar case. Got me some good leads with musicians until they asked what was in the case. When I told them their interest seemed to wain a little. Sorry!

Hi Eric. Please don't misunderstand my comment, it was not directed at your difficulty with the kanji rather the fact that Gassan blades have very neat and distinctive calligraphy as well as very well finished nakago with kesho yasurime. A good place to start your comparisons is here, https://markussesko.com/2013/07/21/gassan-sadaichi/ Nothing about the nakago suggests Gassan to me so I feel you would be better off following up on the smith that Klaus suggested. I hope this helps. All the best.