Grey Doffin

Hi Jonathan, 1st, to reinforce what has been said already, don't buy this sword. It is nothing anybody should want to collect and it is far too compromised to warrant restoration. I suggest you buy your next sword after you have put some serious time into study. If you wanted to collect old master oils you wouldn't start by going to a flea market; it is no different with Nihonto. Only with knowledge can you understand and appreciate what you purchase. Grey

Still waiting for a reply, please. Grey

PM sent, Grey

Hi Mike, There was no show in 2019 and I have heard nothing about a 2020 show, which would have been cancelled in any case. Grey

Hi Dan, Unless there is a delay for some unknown reason, surface post from Japan to the US should take only 2 months. Grey

Hi George, If it is repurposed it would have been polished originally, there is no way to know, other than general tanto mounts, what the original mounts looked like, and a properly trained polisher (not a self taught amateur) can tell you if it would make sense to spend the money for polish and shirasaya. Grey

Hi Geoffry, What Christian said is so true. You have saved money on a polish and done serious damage to the sword and significantly reduced its value. Your friend has no business polishing Japanese swords; he doesn't have proper training. You said it looks a lot better than how it was before. When I look at your before picture I see a fine old blade with real potential. When I look at the pictures after polish I see a mess that may not be repairable. Grey

Hi, is Yosaton your name? This is some variety of fake Japanese sword, most likely made sometime after WWII. The temper (hamon) is cosmetic only and it looks like the whole edge is quite dull. This was made as a collectible; it isn't anywhere near authentic for WWII or any other time of Nihonto history. Grey

Hi Pete, I have shipped hundreds, maybe a thousand packages overseas with my website. I have never once written a weight on a customs form; the postal clerk writes the weight of the package and that is sufficient. If a customer asks for a lower than actual value on the customs form I explain that I am limited by that value for the insurance I can buy and it will be the customer's risk of loss. I have never once had a package refused by any customs. And to figuring out which is the city and which is the province, if there is any confusion (doesn't seem likely to be the case) it doesn't matter. USPS will send it to the proper country and the postal employees in that country will know which is which. You can use any shipping service you like, nothing to me, but you're making shipping with the postal service far more complicated than necessary. Grey

Hi Pete, The hassle of international shipping is that you have to fill in a customs form; takes about a minute. Otherwise shipping international is about the same as shipping anywhere else: you take it to the post office, pay the price, and you're done. Grey

Bruce, I don't think hiro works. There are only 6 kanji with radical 10 and 2 extra strokes and moto is the only one that makes sense in this context. Mike, I'll leave it to those who know more about the military swords to answer the silver plate question. Grey

Hi Ozymay (if that isn't your name please let us know what is), Best guess is this was put together sometime no earlier than Meiji (late 19th century) and maybe as late as 1950, to sell to western tourist or the occupation force as a souvenir. The mounts are way too low end for a real samurai sword. If I'm correct, there won't be much to gain from removing the handle; what's underneath isn't very exciting. The blade is either glued in or a friction fit and attempts at removal risk damage. Where abouts in Minnesota? NMB is overrun with us lately. Cheers, Grey

Hi Mike, The sword is dated Showa Ju Go Nen Hachi Gatsu Hi (Showa period, 15 year, 8 month day. Or: a day in August of 1940.) The signature is Masa and then all I can think of for that 2nd character is Moto (odd way to write Moto; I may be mistaken). Masamoto, if I'm correct, is the smith's working name. Now go whittle a new pin. Grey

I wouldn't polish the mirror. Anything more aggressive than mild soap & water is likely to remove plating and might decrease value. If you need to see what you look like there's probably a better mirror in your bathroom. Grey

Be sure to replace the pin. Without a pin, the blade can fall out of the handle and shatter its point on the floor or slide down inside the scabbard and shatter its point in the scabbard bottom. Either way you just lost a lot of money. Grey