Grey Doffin

I think Moritoshi. Grey

In a straight line. Grey

Hi Swami, Your yari's signature is more properly read, "Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara no Kunishige Saku." The date reads Bunsei 4 year, 10 month, 11 day. Grey

Hi Andrew, I was willing to look but the 1st picture is too large, takes too long to expand. I'm afraid I'd spend the better part of a half hour waiting for your pictures. If you took smaller (digitally) pictures and cropped out the useless background you'd get more response. Grey

Gilles, hawley's has him (KAN 2643) as working in Mino , 1865. He didn't make it into any of the references in my index. Grey

"Mano Masayasu Kore wo Kitau". Mano Masayasu forged this. Grey

Hi, whoever you are, This time buy books and study first; then look for a sword to buy. Grey

Hi Steven, The mei looks wrong. Tentative, weakly cut, clumsy, just wrong. Grab a book of oshigata and look closely at every mei in the book. Then look at the mei on this sword. Maybe you'll see what I see. And that lower horizontal stroke: why is it cut twice? When we tell newbies to buy books and study before buying blades this is what we're getting at. After looking at thousands of real signatures the fake ones stand out. So the reason I think this is a gimei of O-Sa, rather than a real signature of one of the other smiths who signed Sa, is because it looks wrong. It doesn't look like someone's signature; it looks like a crude attempt to copy one. Grey

Hi Joe, I don't think it matters to anyone other than yourself what you do. No damage will be done to the blade so no one can carp about that. There are no Gunto koshirae that will be separated from the blade; once again no problem. If you want to put together a set of koshirae for this blade choose what pleases you. Nothing you choose will be appropriate; only Gunto or shira-saya fits that bill. Whatever you choose will be worth less as a unit than the individual parts were when you put them together, and together they will add less value to the Gendai blade than you paid for them, so go into this realizing that it isn't a money maker. Otherwise, have fun. Grey

I'm not sure that the kissaki has been broken; what we're seeing may just be foreshortening due to the photo angle. A picture of the kissaki from straight on should decide this one. Grey

Hi Don, The koshirae is WWII but the blade is earlier, and it used to be longer. Grey

Steven, While it is possible that this is signed by one of the other smiths who used Sa as a name (11 total in Hawley's), because the mei is a bit crudely cut I'm guessing that this is a gimei of O-Sa, one of Masamune's 10 students and a very important smith. Pity the nakago has been so brutally cleaned. Grey

Rich, Just my luck I'd be around the corner. Grey

That isn't origami; it is the sword's registration paper from the Japanese gov't. It tells you only that it is a sword and that it has been registered; it says nothing about quality, correctness of mei, age, condition, etc. Grey

Arnaud, If you crop your pictures, get rid of the floor, you should be able to post. Any digital camera software will allow easy cropping. Grey

Thanks Ron, Sounds like exactly what would be done to a bent sword. I don't own the gun in question but saw one this past weekend. I was curious about the procedure; now I know. Thanks, Grey

Hi guys, If the barrel of a matchlock were to suffer a slight and gradual bend, how difficult would it be, or is it even possible, to straighten? I know how to straighten a sword; never had any experience with a matchlock barrel. Thanks, Grey

Afu Research under the Books Link. Grey

If you have something you want translated that is longer than lower level papers, Juyo papers for instance, Harry Afu Watson (see links on NMB) does a great job at a reasonable fee. Grey

Hi Steve, When I think of active red rust I think of something building up from the surface of the tsuba. In the 3 examples you present I see nothing of concern. At most, I see a red tinge that is likely just the color amplification you mention. In deed, I often find when I photograph iron tsuba, that they appear redder in the pictures than in life. When I clean an iron tsuba I try to remove anything on the tsuba that appears built up, obviously red, and/or crumbly and easily removed. Once I'm down to the original surface I can figure that the tsuba is stable and that the patina will take care of itself. This is oversimplification, I know, but not far off what usually happens. Grey

This is news to me; I thought anyone could own a sword as long as it was registered with the government. Can someone explain, please? Grey

Kore wo Tsukuru. Made this. Grey

From Fujishiro's Nihon Toko Jiten: Shinto Hen Grey

Hi Dave, Definitely hand made and earlier than WWII. Hard to tell much more without seeing at least better pictures, and may even require in hand viewing by someone who knows Nihonto to tell more. The habaki, the soft metal collar on the blade: is that a gold foil over copper? If so, it would be a good sign of quality as better made habaki tend to be found on better made blades. Where do you live? Perhaps we can put you in touch with someone to take a look. In the mean time, you need to get the scabbard and handle back together so they can protect the blade. There is a simple way to do this that won't do any damage and is totally reversible if need be; should take you about half an hour. If you live in the States feel free to give me a call and I'll talk you through it. If not, let me know and I'll take the time to type up directions and post them here. Cheers, Grey 218-726-0395 central time

None of the Yasusada who made it into any of my references signed like this; maybe it isn't Yasusada. My gut reaction on seeing the nakago was Shinshin-to up to meiji. My gut reaction and a buck gets you on the bus. Grey