Grey Doffin

Hi Ben, Sewing machine or light machine oil will be fine; follow instructions in the care & cleaning I linked to. Stay away from specially formulated, fancy gun oils. Some of them have additives that can affect the patina of your sword. Grey

Thanks; that would have been my next guess Grey

Hi guys, When I buy libraries I often end up with books I don't need to put on my website but that are too good to take to Goodwill. I currently have these 3. A History of Metallography: The Development of Ideas on the Structure of Metals Before 1890. by Cyril Stanley Smith, 1960, Clothbound, 7 x 10", 280 pages in English. Lots of illustrations and a chapter on Japanese swords and fittings. Raku Shimu Nihonto (or possibly Gaku Shimu). 1972. Clothbound with jacket and plastic jacket, 6 x 8 1/2", 244 pages in Japanese. Photos, oshigata, text. Nipponto by Yamada Hide. 1964. Clothbound with slipcase, 7 1/4 x 10 1/4" 300 pages in Japanese plus 50 or so unnumbered pages of black & white photos. Conditions are good or better. Hoping not to have to bother with photos or more thorough descriptions. All 3 for $40 plus post. If you want these please send an email: gdoffin at gmail.com The books are sold. Thanks, Grey

Hi Ben, I suggest you leave well enough alone until you learn more about Japanese swords. The loose tsuba isn't doing any damage but beginning collectors trying to fix a sword often do damage. Here is a care and cleaning brochure you should read twice: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Welcome. Grey

I have 2 copies at $165 plus post. https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/sword-books/b510-swords-of-imperial-japan-1868-1945-cyclopedia-edition/ If interested send a request through my website please. Grey

Hi Gary, What is the length of your cutting edge (nagasa, from where the tip used to be to the notch at the back in a straight line)? If much greater than 60 cm. (24") it is a katana and should be signed on the side of the nakago opposite to where your signature is. This is common, if not expected, for the Hizen School. Another reason to question the correctness of the signature. Don't spend money on a polish before you know it is right. Grey

Hi James, Here is a care and handling brochure you should read: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Someone knowledgeable and honest will have to see the sword in hand before you'll be able to learn much more about it. Grey

Hi Filip, Your tanto looks to be quite nice; I doubt anyone would go to the expense of the quality lacquer job on the scabbard if the blade wasn't quality also. Here is a more thorough care and cleaning brochure with pictures: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Nothing wrong with you finding a decent set of menuki and a competent handle wrapper to have the handle restored now but I'm going to suggest you hold off on polish. As long as there is no active red rust on the blade (which appears to be the case), a polish will do nothing to preserve the blade; it won't degrade and there is no need to hurry. Polishes are easily spoiled (scratched, stained, whatever) and beginning collectors are often the culprits. Polishes are expensive and every one removes precious skin steel, eventually exposing the less refined core steel (at which point we call the blade "tired"); you don't want to waste a polish. I suggest you take some time to learn more than you presently know about Nihonto. The more you know before you have the tanto polished, the happier you'll be with the results. When the time comes, expect a proper polish to include: polishing the blade, possibly a new habaki, shirasaya (plain wood mounts, you don't put a newly polished blade into the old lacquered scabbard because there may be something inside that would degrade the polish), and a tsunagi (wood blade to hold the old mounts together). This will cost at least $1,500, most likely more. You could save some money if you gave the tanto to an improperly trained, amateur polisher but that would be a terrible thing to do (and may, in the long run, be far more expensive if he makes a mess of it). Decent menuki and handle wrap will cost maybe another $500 or so. Waiting to have both jobs done at the same time likely will save money. Take the time to understand what you're up to; I doubt you'll regret it. Grey

I could very well be wrong on this; I do that a lot. But this presents an excellent learning opportunity for Shad. Do some online research on Bizen and Mino, 2 of the 5 traditions of Koto, and see if you can answer the question for yourself. Come back to us with your thoughts; tell us what you think you know. None of us will be bothered if you make mistakes; they go with the task. I can guarantee you'll be amazed by how much you learn in the process. Grey

Hi Shad, Your sword is indeed signed Morimitsu and, I think, it most likely is by one of the smiths of Bizen Provence who signed with that name in late Koto time (15th & 16yh centuries). Not sure what you're referring to with rebuilt handle but nearly 100% of old Japanese swords have had their handles replaced at least a few times as the originals and replacements have worn out; this is nothing to be concerned about. Looks to be a good introduction to Nihonto; welcome. Here is a link to a care and cleaning brochure; you should read it at least once. https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Grey

When shipping a sword or something else of value in the US, I always use registered mail. Everyone who handles the package has to sign for it and if it spends a night in a post office it has to be in a safe. Absolutely the safest option and, because it is so safe, insurance costs less. Grey

Bunmei is a nengo, time period. Began in 1469 and lasted 18 years. Can't tell much of anything about the sword from the tiny pictures. Grey

Hi Steve, Maybe we have confused you. This sword is not a main-line Hizen-to; it is something else with the signature of a main-line Hizen smith. The signature is cut too deep to be easily removed without leaving evidence of the forgery, which likely means it won't make sense to have it polished. What you'll have is a suriage (shortened), if not o-suriage (greatly shortened), Shinto katana with a fake signature and no up side, no place to go to make improvements. Not what you should want to collect; I think you can do better. Grey

Hi Steve, If all the pictures in this post are of the same blade (hard to tell for certain) the signature is Hizen no Kuni no Junin Tadayoshi Saku. This is a very big name and forged signatures are common. If it is a true main-line Hizen-to I'd expect it to be priced much higher than $2K (if sold by a knowledgeable seller). The hada doesn't look to be typical for the school and the sugata may be wrong (looks to be a typical shape for Kanbun era but the Hizen smiths often, if not usually, worked with a stronger sori. Not saying this is gimei; just that you need to be careful (coming here before purchase was smart). Other guys might have a different take on the sword; I'm often wrong. If you are a beginner you need to work with a seller you can trust. Grey

Hi guys, Any of you who have inquired about an item or tried to contact me through the site have not received an answer. There is a glitch and customer messages aren't getting through to me. I'll try to get this fixed as soon as possible; in the mean time, if you need me, my email is gdoffin at gmail.com. Grey

Thanks Jesse, That was my mistake and I fixed it. The new site can do a thousand things, maybe a dozen of which I understand; I'm learning. And Luca, I'm aware the site is slow. I'll be asking the 2 site developers if it can be made quicker. Grey

Thanks guys and, Alex, I'm hoping to add to my sold pages Grey

Hi guys, My site was built on outdated technology; it had to be rebuilt. Just in the last few minutes the new site has gone live. If you have bookmarked the old site your bookmark should work for the new site; if not, here it is: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/ I've tried to keep most of the new site familiar; I don't think you'll have too much trouble finding your way around it. If you have comments or suggestions please let me know. If you have trouble using it, and especially if you try to contact me through it and don't get a reply, for sure let me know about that. If you subscribed to my New Product monthly email notice, you should continue to receive the new one. Thanks for all your support in the past and hoping for the same in the future. Grey

Not 100% certain but best guess is not made in Japan. Grey

Thanks guys, 2 pix of the tsuba. Grey

Hi guys, I'm about to list a tsuba signed Teiei to my site. Can someone tell me what the paper says before "Tsuba Mei Teiei"? Thanks, Grey

Hi Cathy, A care and handling brochure: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Everyone should know this. Grey

Let me add: what I can see of the horimono does not look promising, clumsy, not well done. Almost certainly not a good prospect for polish. Take time to learn a lot more than you do now. No need for hurry; there will always be good Japanese swords to buy and the more you know before you purchase the happier you'll be with what you get. Grey

Iga no Kami Fujiwara Kinmichi. There were a variety of smiths using this signature between the late 16th and 18th centuries. The sword will have to be seen in hand by someone knowledgeable and honest before much more can be known about it. Grey

I think the markings mean the blades were made yesterday in China. Grey