Grey Doffin

Hi Jon, I can't see every character clearly but if the smith was true to his form it says, Noshu Seki no Ju Ni JU San Dai Fujiwara Kanefusa Kore wo Saku. Grey

Masa. Grey

Yoshimune is the mei and Showa Ju Ku Nen Go Gatsu (April of 1944) is the date. Grey

Brian Tschernega lives in the Seattle area and he can do the work. Grey

Maybe shinshinto or later but could be earlier. As you say, not much to go on. Grey

Kanekado. Grey

I agree with Stephen; for things of value within the US it has to be registered mail from the post office. Beyond what Stephen said, if the package spends a night in a post office it has to be in a safe. And it isn't expensive. I'm about to ship a large tube with 5 swords and some boxed fittings to the east coast. 10 pounds and $20,000 on value will be about $108 with full insurance. Registered can't get lost; as my guy at the PO says, "If you lose registered you lose your job." Grey

What Uwe said except: the sword is signed on the wrong side of the nakago (tang). No wakizashi should ever be signed on this side so I think we can assume that the signature is a fantasy. Grey

The tsuba is signed Kunihiro, I believe. Grey

Hi Steve, Noshu Masuda Kanetaka Saku (made by Masuda Kanetaka of Noshu). The paint is the number 388. Grey

Hi Ron, What John said and: your shirasaya is the best protection for the blade so you want to keep it there, which means that you can go ahead and buy an older koshirae that you can display next to your blade in shirasaya but never try to put the blade in the koshirae. This is far less expensive than having koshirae built to fit your blade, which means you can get better quality koshirae than you would have been able to afford had you built the koshirae to fit. Grey

I apply oil with a piece of facial tissue (paper). I remove oil 1st with another piece of tissue, to get the most of it, and then with microfiber. Grey

Hi Rocky, Normally, but there are exceptions, the mei would face forward when the sword is worn on the hip. Grey

Whenever I see a sale of a sword with the pin missing I always contact the seller and tell him or her to make a replacement and why it is important. If I save one Nihonto it is worth the effort. Grey

Hi Jon, To my eyes and in my opinion, maybe a tiny bit tired (see the dark spots in the 1st picture) but not much. Looks to be a very nice sword. Grey