Grey Doffin

Shrinking and expanding of the wood of the tsuka shouldn't have anything to do with the looseness. Wood doesn't shrink noticeably along its length, only in the 2 other dimensions. Grey

I think it's ubu; the bottom hole is original and the upper one was drilled when the ken was mounted in Meiji or later. I'm told the nagasa is 8.5". Are the katagana now readable, anyone? Grey

Thanks for the tip, Justin; let's see if that worked. Grey

Kanetada Saku, I believe. Grey

Ishihara Naotane Grey

I get, "Ju Roku Nen" and 2 other Kanji. If the nengo is Showa this would be 1941. Showa 1 was 1926 so Showa 16 would be 1941. If you know who it was cleaned the nakago, tell him never to do that again. Grey

Hi guys, I do have other pictures but they are huge, and I've had no luck figuring out how to make digital pictures smaller. The other side of the nakago is a poorly cut gimei. Above the katakana, carved on the ken, is a stylized dragon wrapped around a ken, of so-so quality. The carving of the sutra is low quality. I told the owner I think it's a ken from Muromachi with mei and sutra added much later to appeal to Western collectors in Japan in Meiji and later. The koshirae are nice but made to Western taste. Interesting Philip, how is it you know the katagana are post Meiji (not invented/in use till then)? Thanks for all the help, guys. Grey

Hi Peter, Just which edition of which Hawley's book are you asking after? Grey

If a sword had a ha-giri close to the machi the blade could be shortened, making the ha-giri disappear into the nakago, and therefore the crack wouldn't be fatal. A ha-giri of any length elsewhere on the blade, and especially in the monouchi, is fatal. Grey

Hi Jock, Deleting pictures from old posts is easy. At the bottom right corner of every post is an edit button. Once open, every picture has a delete button. Grey

Didn't we discussed this sword a few months ago? I remember the darkish utsuri above the yakiba and the double horizontal stroke in the Sa Kanji. Grey

Hi Kevin, I would say bad but not fatal. Ware' in the yakiba are worse than the same above the tempered area. Grey

Thanks Ed, I have a picture of one side of the nakago (not very good picture; sorry); looks like Hiragana maybe? Can anyone make sense of this please? Thanks, Grey

Maybe not cowboys but, I am a bit puzzled by, Grey

If it needs to be fixed, and if it can be fixed, it has to be done by someone with skill & experience. Not just a professional polisher, a classically trained polisher and probably in Japan. Grey

Hi, ?, This is the Japanese Gov't sword registration card. It will tell you length, signature or mumei, and that the sword has been registered. I says nothing about quality, validity of signature or attribution if mumei, or anything else you might like to learn about the sword. Grey

Dan, Your pictures are way too large. If you want help from us you should learn to take smaller pictures and also to crop them. Grey

Not 100% sure but I'm leaning heavily towards replica/fake. Grey

Thanks Chris. No promises, Brian (picture of whole blade). Maybe. Grey

Hi guys, Someone has sent me pictures of a ken with the inscription below on the blade. Beyond my feeble translation skills, I'm afraid. Any & all help will be greatly appreciated Thanks, Grey

Hi Bernard, The mei doesn't match with any oshigata in the books I own that are listed for a Kanehisa in my index. Hawley's shows between 30 and 40 Kanehisa; your blade is likely made by one of them who didn't make it into the references. I would guess either late Koto or possibly Shinshinto. I think the horimono with red lacquer was placed to disguise a flaw; seems an unlikely placement otherwise. Grey

Yes. Grey

I believe that Nihonto will be the bulk of the show. Grey

Thomas, Here is a link to a care and etiquette brochure: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm You can apply a very thin coat of machine oil to red rusty spots but don't attempt any other repairs; anything you try may cause damage and loss of value. You won't be able to purchase a handle to fit your sword; they are custom fit to each blade. One reason why the last few inches of the blade is dull may have to do with pushing it all the way into a scabbard that doesn't fit; I'd leave it less than fully in rather than risk further damaging the edge. The blade needs some care to be taken; as is it is vulnerable to breakage. At the very least it needs a shira-saya (plain wooden mounts). You have to decide if you want to keep it and be the one to spend the necessary money, or if you'd like to sell it to someone who will have the work done. In the mean time, be very careful; these swords break easily if mishandled. Grey

Brian, Do the fingernail test on the Kin Zogan. If the inlay is old it should be slightly below the surface of the nakago around it. When done, the inlay was flush but with time the iron corrodes and expands above the gold which doesn't corrode. If the inlay is flush it may be a modern addition. Grey