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Joe, They don't look like menuki per se. Regards, Hoanh

Harvg, That's a good start, with the similarities & differences you compiled. Here are some of my observations: 1. As Bazza and Brian already mentioned, the way the kanji are chiseled are so different. IMHO, they cannot be chiseled by the same hands. I don't means just the Kane kanji. All of them are chiseled very differently. 2. The papered sword is signed tachi mei, and your sword is signed katana mei. I assume both swords are katana length. 3. The mekugi ana of the papered sword touches the bottom right of the Kuni kanji, whereas the mekugi ana on your sword is entirely above the Kuni kanji. 4. The mei on the papered sword does not have the Ju kanji, whereas yours does. Points 1 through 4 above are very important, make-or-break differences, not minor nitpicking issues. It's important to also realize that while you can find different yasurime and different nakago jiri on Hizento by different Hizen smiths, each smith has a specific and consistent way for yasurime, nakago jiri, mei placement relative to the mekugi ana, and mei chisel and syntax that don't change that drastically over time. On the mei syntax, unless at some point, they receive a new title or move to a different province, the mei syntax tends to remain unchanged over the years. The goals of my posts are: 1. to give you a little bit of info and some possible questions to ask your Hizento expert when he arrives at an opinion, and 2. to form your own opinion. I hope you receive them as a constructive and educational dialog. Happy collecting! Regards, Hoanh

Harvg, IMHO, a simple gimei/shoshin answer does not enrich one's knowledge, but knowing the path to the answer is immeasureably helpful. Independent of your Hizento expert, let's explore one path. Starting with the papered sword which link I posted, can you list similarities and differences your see, based on the nakago, with your own sword? After you make a list, we can take the next step. Regards, Hoanh

Harvg, Gimei, IMHO. A quick search on the web gives me this sword, http://www.japaneseswordsocietyofcanada ... cs.html#3., by the same smith and papered. Can you compare/contrast your sword with this papered sword (and therein lies the answer)? Regards, Hoanh

The only Kunisada in the neighborhood of this time frame I can think of is Izumi no Kami Kunisada, father/teacher of Inoue Shinkai. Even then, it's about 10-15 years before his time. Hoanh

My apologies. Again, in 1597, he was under 10 years of age. Regards, Hoanh

I believe it's gimei for several reasons: 1. In 1592, when the sword was purportedly made, Oya Kunisada was at best 2-3 years old. 2. His work has very nice, even ji nie and his hamon is nie deki. I don't see nie on this sword. 3. The mei is not his recorded mei, and see #1. Regards, Hoanh

Greetings, I just listed a pair of menuki on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/151358770682?ss ... 1555.l2649 Please take a look if you are interested. Regards, Hoanh

Dear Markus, I'll be happy to prepay for 1 copy. Regards, Hoanh

The placement of the nakago ana is weird. The nakago looks funky - not quite correct but not obviously wrong. The yasurime seems to have been messed with. Peter already mentioned the mei. The cincher is the black leather saya cover that looks spanking new. The stitching seems to be new, too. This is something to avoid in the future. Even if it were not a Chinese fake, it would be a low-quality item not worth your hard earned dollars. Save your money for a good sword. There seems to have been a sleuth of them for sale here recently at very good prices. If you can return it, I would do so. If not, chalk it down as a learning experience. Regards, Hoanh

Craig, Your question is a loaded question, though I am sure that is not your intention. Personally, I would not pay $1 for this sword because it has no potential and any amount I pay for it would be money down the drain. Another person might say, hey, it's 70 years old and must be worth $250/$xxx for being a historical artifact. Dunno...it's a very personal decision. Regards, Hoanh

Andres, Hypothetically speaking, if a sword is so out of polish and rusty that one cannot see any part of the hamon or hada, then I would look at the following: 1. Nakago - this is the point Brian made: shape, yasurime (filing pattern), patina, nakagojiri (the end of the nakago), shinogi ji in the nakago, mei if present (chiseled versus dremmel tool, syntax). 2. Kissaki, especially the fukura and yokote. 3. Shinogi ji - crisp line or rounded? 4. Overall shape of the sword. 5. Habaki if present. 6. The way the itomaki is done, if the tsuka comes with the sword. I am sure there are more telltale signs, but this is off the top of my head. Regards, Hoanh

Andres, Here is a link at the top of the page http://jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html Regards, Hoanh

Timothy, To my eyes, it looks like the very top end of a sword was lopped off and a new nakago was (poorly) fashioned. It wasn't born a tanto (in my opinion). Regards, Hoanh

Very nice, tasteful tsuba in excellent condition. Hoanh

You should be playing in the World Cup Hoanh

Looking at the picture reminds me of watching movies in a theater's very front row. It gives me a headache. Can you give us a picture of the entire nakago? I get the impression that the kanji is inlaid and is raised compared to the surface of the nakago, whereas the situation is quite opposite when the kanji is chiseled. It could just be the picture's super-warped perspective. Also, one kanji won't give you enough info to identify the smith. Sometimes, even a full-fledged mei won't pinpoint the smith, either. Regards, Hoanh

John, What does the blade look like on the other side? If they are indeed hagiri, you should see them on the other side, too. Regards, Hoanh

Stephen: Here is my set up. It shows my rig to hold the sword in place. The sword can be tilted and angled as I wish. I have tested this rig with a 29" daito (the biggest one in my collection), a naginata naoshi (as shown in picture), and a tanto. They all fit into this single all-purpose rig. The laptop shown is connected to my Canon XSi with LiveView so I can see on the computer screen what I will get before I take the picture. An IR remote trigger helps a lot in eliminating unnecessary camera movement. The pictures taken are stored directly on my laptop. After a shooting session, I can simply detach the USB cable and take the laptop to my desk to choose/edit/crop the pictures. Bond: Thank you for the comment. I used the camera in Manual (M) mode. The graininess is due to the fact that in order to capture a fairly large chunk of the sword in focus, I had to reduce the aperture. This is a Canon 60mm f/2.8 lens, so with fully opened aperture, the depth-of-field is fairly limited. As I reduce the aperture, I have to increase the exposure time to compensate, hence the noise, or graininess. I notice the graininess, too. For close up to show details of hataraki or for pictures of tosugu, the Canon 60mm f/2.8 is perfect. For suguta, I can back up the tripod sufficiently far to use this same lens, or switch to the crappy kit lens (18-55 mm f/4.5) since I don't need to see details. For intermediate applications such as pictures posted in this thread, I think I need another lens for better quality. Any suggestions for a lens? Uwe: Thank you! How do you change the background to black in Photoshop? This is a trick I would like to learn. Haven't figured it out yet. Thank you all for the compliments on sword and pictures. This is a beautiful sword that I truly enjoy studying. Regards, Hoanh

Jeremy, I like your blade, especially the elegant shape with the very high shinogi ji (as seen in the habaki itself). Regards, Hoanh

Jeremy, Very nice mounts and in good shape! I like it. Regards, Hoanh

More pics. Regards, Hoanh

Greetings, I have been revamping my photography equipment and photo station. I have also acquired a new sword - a Sue Sa naginata naoshi. After lots of tinkering with my set up, I took a few pictures worthy of posting for your enjoyment. Camera equipment: Canon XSi, Canon EFS 60mm f/2.8 macro lens, mounted on tripod, hooked up to my laptop via LiveView, IR remote trigger. Lighting: Two monster 100W LED mounted on tripods. They illuminate almost tangentially on the sword: one from the kissaki side and one from the nakago side. Sword: Sue Sa naginata naoshi , mounted on an apparatus that can be tilted and rotated in any direction, hands-free. So, absolutely no vibration on the sword or the camera equipment. The background is black satin to eliminate reflection from the background into the lens. Enjoy the pictures, and any/all comments regarding the sword, camera equipment, photography set up, shooting techniques, etc. are always much welcome and appreciated. My goal is to keep improving my pictures and there is no ego involved. I have a few other nice swords and tanto that I will attempt to photograph and will post them in due course. Regards, Hoanh

Greetings, I recently shipped a WW2 Gendaito in Type 3 mounts to the UK and would like to share my experience with you. It was my first such shipment to the UK, and having horror stories of similar shipments, I was nervous to say the least. The sword made it safely from my local Post Office in the US to the buyer's local Post Office in the UK in only 6 days (Customs clearance time is included in the 6-day trip). Perhaps, I was very lucky, but I would like to share with you how I shipped. 1. Use USPS Express Mail. This will turn into EMS once it gets to Europe or Australia. Surprisingly, the additional cost compared to USPS Priority International is very nominal (~$25 more for Priority Express for a 6 lbs package). 2. Use Tariff Code 9705.00.00 for collectible/antique for historical interest. The buyer specifically asked me to use this code. The local UK Post Office even held the sword for my buyer for 12 days as he was out of the country. My buyer just picked up the sword today and was very pleased with it. Happy ending! Regards, Hoanh Arrival at Post Office UNITED KINGDOM June 11, 2014 11:39 pm Customs clearance processing complete UNITED KINGDOM June 11, 2014 7:06 am Customs Clearance UNITED KINGDOM June 9, 2014 10:18 am Customs Clearance UNITED KINGDOM June 9, 2014 10:17 am Customs Clearance UNITED KINGDOM June 9, 2014 9:55 am Customs Clearance UNITED KINGDOM June 9, 2014 9:54 am Processed Through Sort Facility UNITED KINGDOM June 9, 2014 8:57 am Arrived at Sort Facility ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS) June 6, 2014 9:36 pm Processed Through Sort Facility ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS) June 6, 2014 9:36 pm Depart USPS Sort Facility LOS ANGELES, CA 90009 June 6, 2014 10:14 am Processed through USPS Sort Facility LOS ANGELES, CA 90009 June 6, 2014 3:21 am Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility SANTA ANA, CA 92799 June 5, 2014 10:04 pm Electronic Shipping Info Received June 5, 2014 Acceptance HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92615 June 5, 2014 3:42 pm

Stephen, Ah, now I see what you mean after looking at the picture more carefully. Hoanh