SAS

Still getting used to attaching photos, sorry for the mess.

Dang autocorrect, that was supposed to say shinogi and mune. More photos.

Just got this from a smith up in Washington; he picked it up at a gun show a while back for $50. My good camera needs batteries, so I took some photos with my iPad, hope they are of some use to try to ID this blade. 22 inches overall, 18 inch nagasa, shindig slopes dramatically towards the june, which is hiramune. Seems to be o suriage, with the end of the nakago seeming to have been nearly cut through then snapped off, and not filed smooth. Patina on the nakago seems to be oil quench residue as near as I can tell. Someone got happy with the grinder and screwed up the geometry of the kissaki on one side, and the ha. There is an indication of a notare hamon visible to the eye, if not the camera. This doesn't seem like a national treasure blade at this point (pardon the pun), and I plan on trying to salvage it by correcting the obvious flaws and polishing to better see its qualities, unless someone screams "STOP!"

Can't see the photo.

Very nice!

Pretty amazing optical effect!

Is that blade really fullered in the ji?!

Nice save, I like them.

Thanks for the comments and the link; I always enjoy reading Markus's blog. Hamish, your tsuba is an excellent example of the style, and I hope you soon have a buyer who appreciates its qualities.

I will firstly admit that i know very little in the way of sword furniture other than its utility; please tell me why your tsuba is valuable. I see the work that went into it by the craftsman; he was probably not well-paid for it when he made it. I can admire it as a metal worker myself, but the artistic theme does not speak to me. Some work does, just personal preference I guess as I am uneducated as I said. I defer to you who are more knowledgeable, but will not spend money on something that does not move me. Sword related expenditures are hard for me to justify as I am on disability and trying to build a house (however I just got an Aizu Kunisada wakizashi dated 1660 and am looking for suitable hardware.)

Great site, thank you very much Markus!

Nice site, look forward to seeing more.

Does your fingernail catch on it if you run it over the area in question? As a blade smith, I have had cracks that were only on one side.

stupid auto change i meant m….e….i….

I think for me it was the shiny appearance of the blade in some photos and the heavy rust and faintness of the men on the nakago that had me wondering…..thanks for the insight.

Is it just me or do something seem weird about this sword?

I do not yet have the sword in hand, but will enquire at the appropriate time, thank you very much.

If you are not comfortable stating the cost in public, please PM me….the reason I ask is that i just bought a nice wakizashi Aizu Kawachi Diajo Kunisada from Ed and I will be looking for koshirae and yours is very nice. Steve

Thanks very much for all who commented on this thread; it helped with my decision and confirmed my own feeling about the sword. Arigato and onegaishimasu! Steve

I am not in the league of doing kantei, but my impression was a Muromachi cut down nodachi. Beautiful sword and polish seems very good.

I am no expert but it looks like the real deal to me, somewhat out of polish, and i can't tell much more from the photos. is it signed? What a great flea market find, wish I had a flea market like that here!

Lovely theme.

Now i am hearing that the elephant's forge is in Kirkland.

Nice koshirae, how much did that cost?