NihontoEurope

Veli, I interpreted it the same way. I don't really see the issue. /Martin

Joe, KAI MIHARA made Suguha, Suguha based midare and Gunome midare. This is a text book example of Kai Mihara Suguha based Midare. /Martin

Here is such an example from one of my blades: [attachment=0]Owners name.JPG[/attachment] /Martin

Hello, I think Brian is correct in his judgement. The Koshirae looks interesting at first. The blade is not Japanese. It might have been real even though the bad kanji. Sometimes owners add their own name to the blade. /Martin

[attachment=0]KANJI.png[/attachment]

Justin, "a" does not rule out "b" as "b" does not rule out "a". However, If a sword is detected as a kotou sword, but not to a specific smith. It will not default as a "Gassan" och "Gassan school" and if they detect the sword as a "Gassan" or "Gassan School" they will attribute it as such. That's the way it is and works. /Martin

Jean, Either way, Kotou will be fine. I think it may boost sales if it is of good quality and it is posted here instead of sent to a personal mailbox. Hence I was asking. /Martin

Hello, It looks to be a very nice layout. Would it be possible to get a few samples with high-res single page images to view photo details? /Martin

Hello, It could mean "A prize/token from governor/high command from a specific event". So it could be an object that was given to a soldier/officer for something good or heroic he did in the war. A token of appreciation... /Martin

Grant, I can see that the tip has a clear offset from center in one of the pictures. Perhaps it is an optical illusion, but it is there. /Martin

Hello, It is probably re-listed, because it has faults which is unlisted in the text. The buyer didn't look close enough at the pictures, but saw the faults on the piece when he or she had it in hand. A returned and re-listed item. A theory... /Martin

Brian, YW. No photos on the internet yet. Perhaps soon. Nihonto is best appreciated offline. You can never catch the art in an image. As mentioned and recommended in the thread here shows and shops is the deal! /Martin

Brian, The first answer you got was from me. It was both honest and simple. Embrace it. You are most welcome to visit me and study my collection of Nihonto. /Martin

Brian&Chris, It is, as noted, a well cut hi and the forging is super tight. So super tight that it is very hard to determine the hada. Which I would say is well forged Masame. The blade was bought in the Koshirae as in the picture. Also, the tsuba has "thumb marks" on it which gives me the impression that this sword has been used on a day to day basis where the samurai rested his hands on both flat ends of the tsuba. Yes, it could be old fittings attached to newer sword. Now I might be wrong or have misunderstood a previous conversation I had with a dealer when I was i Japan the last time. He said (or words to that effect): "Martin, here you have a sword that I could sell to you very very cheap, but I will not get neither an export license for it nor a Torokusho for it. Therefore I cannot sell it to you." What I understood from the conversation was that the sword was not possible to export, due to that this sword was a gendaito/showato. So, this sword I have now is exported from Japan and had Torokusho and obviously was exported to me. This is a headscratcher for me. Do you guys know anything about this? Showato/Gendaito is thin ice for me. /Martin

Thank you all for the feedback. Do you think that it is the nakago that places this piece into the Showa period? My guess was late Edo 1800-1880. /Martin

Hello, I would call it Midare. The sword itself doesn't look right though, but that was not your question /Martin

Hello all, I have been struggling with this sword for a couple of years now and I give up! Can anyone give me some clue to what this might be? Complete picture here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/37236755/IMG_5835.JPG MOTOHABA-----------30.0mm MOTOGASANE---------7mm SAKIHABA-------------21.0mm KISSAKI---------------3.6cm NAKAGO---------------21.5cm NAGASA---------------66.5cm SORI------------------1.7cm The yasurimei, nakagogiri, hamon and boshi should give a good clue, but I fail. So far I have only been able to exclude schools. Perhaps someone has or seen an identical sword signed? /Martin

Rick, Yes, it is sad to say. The blacksmiths nowadays are not what they used to be. /Martin

Hello, Since the following Kanji could be 摂州住藤原聾長 NAGA. I vote for that the consecutive Kanji could be 綱. Nagatsuna Please try to get a picture, with full focus, at close-up range to the last Kanji, please. /Martin

We, as collectors, want to find swords that is unaltered during their long history. Ubu and if shortened rather suriage than o-suriage, original tempering, untouched and uncleanded nakago and so on... Still, when we get our hands on a sword, we tamper with it... Why not just leave it be? I know there is a thread somewhere here regarding the removal of alleged gimei. There are more smiths that signed like other smiths that we don't know about. Hizen kuni Tadayoshi, many smiths signed that way. Not only the famous one/s. Some thoughts. /Martin

Jag, I think it was around the 80's. This blade however, is authentic. It seems to have lost its Hizen characteristics due to heavy polishing. Swords are best judged in hand. That is why you should regard my comment likewise. /Martin

Veli, It is cockney rhyme and slang. It means "I have no idea", Scooby Doo - Not a clue. /Martin

Hello, 1. Are NBTHK papers legitimate in guaranteeing a piece's authenticity? There are fake papers. Also, there are papers on blades, especially Hizen blades, that are authentic that will not pass today. There are some papers during certain years that are not to be trusted. 2. I am looking at a Hizen Yukijiro blade, it is priced around £4k and claims to be around 300+ years old is this normal? A Hizen blade at that price is normal. There are cheaper and there are much more expensive blades. You must show us the blade and fittings should such exist. 3. It is a lot of money to put down and I never intend to sell this blade, however, in the future if I were to in an emergency, would I break even on it? You will never know. But if you buy it at a fair price today it will certainly not go lower in value. Supply and demand rules. 4. I am extremely nervous on importing to the U.K, what should I be careful of? And HMRC, what do I need to do? Talk to customs and postal services. Check rules. 5. Aoi-Arts - many speak very highly of Mr. Tsurtua, I have contacted him, what are others experience with dealing with him? Not a Scoobie m8! /Martin

Hello, Here is my contribution from my collection to the thread: [attachment=0]SUKENAGA.jpg[/attachment] /Martin

Hello, It could be read as: Mitsunobu /Martin