Grey Doffin

That is my impression also, but I'm not 100% sure of it. I think someone who knows Nihonto well (a properly trained polisher, for example) should take a look at the blade before we toss it on the scrap heap. Grey

Hi Steve, And before you go make sure you are 100% up to snuff with sword etiquette/handling. Grey

Chris, There is no question that the sword is genuine; it is. What is being questioned is the authenticity of the signature. Just like with oil paintings, for centuries there have been fake signatures affixed to Japanese swords. Grey

Mick, Rather than ask us to volunteer to make enemies (who to stay away from) you should ask the polishers you're considering to tell you about their training. Those with proper training should be fine; the rest you should stay clear of. Grey

Hi Geoff, The date is, "Showa Ju Ku Nen Shichi Gatsu Hi". A day in the 7th month of Showa 19, July 1944. The signature isn't as easy for me. Something Tomokane Saku? Maybe. Grey

For me too. Grey

I don't have the whole mei, just Takahashi Naganobu for the smith's name and bits here and there of the rest. I looked in Hawleys for some help and the listing says he never signed the same way twice. Interesting. Grey

How do I insert smilies? Drag & drop doesn't work for me and I can't think how else makes sense. Thanks, Grey

Hi Ray, I checked Harry Watson's translation of Nihonto Koza, volume 2, page 49. It has an Aya no Koji family tree that shows 2 generations of Sadatoshi followed by Sadasuke who was in turn followed by Sukeyuki. If the dates for Sadatoshi are 1264-75 (according to this book), then 3 generations later could be mid Nambokucho. That's all I can come up with as an answer to your question. This is obviously not early sugata. Early Aya no Koji work is wonderful; some of the best in my estimation. I have a Meiji era full length oshigata of a Sadatoshi tachi hanging next to my desk, a pre WWII Kokuho. The Sadatoshi Kokuho at the Metropolitan in New York recently was among the favorites of the show for me. Grey

Checking my index I find the following references with oshigata/information about Kashu (Kaga) Iyetada Shinto Taikan, vol. 1 page 19. Nihonto Zuikan, page 737. Nihonto Jiten, page 144. Zuikan Tomei Soran, page 16. Fujishiro's Shinto-hen, page 3. Boston Museum book, page 101. Grey

I agree (mostly) with George. Shortening the blade further would be a mistake, from the preservation aspect and the financial one as well. If the sword is not to be polished there is no reason I can think of not to leave it as is, in the koshirae. If it is to be polished then it goes to shira-saya and a tsunagi holds the koshirae together. The one alteration I would consider, and I'm not sure if this would be advisable or even possible, is to have the nakago bent backwards to reestablish the concave curvature on the nakago mune. It seems that this might give the nakago a more conventional sugata (the reverse curvature of the present nakago bothers me) and it wouldn't require the removal of steel. But, as I said, I don't know if this should be done. Can we have some other opinions? Ted, what would a polisher do about this? Grey

That's what it looks like to me, but I can't be sure with only pictures to go on. Besides, I don't know much about Gendaito/Gunto/Showato; never made the jump from Koto. Grey

Hi Klaus, The seller is Mike Yamaguchi. Try asking him again; he's usually very good at answering and very honest about it. I think the sword is traditionally made, though possibly or probably not with tamahagane. Grey

Noshu Seki no Ju Fukumoto Amahide. Grey

Grey makes mistakes by the dozens every day of his life. The purpose of this etiquette brochure, which I made for the NBTHK American Branch, is to educate the general public, those looking online for useful information about proper handling of Nihonto. I wasn't aware that the left hand should be used when passing a bare blade but even if I were, I wouldn't have mentioned it. For the purpose, right or left hand doesn't matter; only that neither the sword nor the people are damaged. Too many arcane details might scare off the audience and defeat the purpose. Clive's brochure on the subject is much more thorough, and more correct. Grey

Your wakizashi isn't of the line of Soden Bizen Kanemitsu; they all signed Bizen/Bishu Osafune. None of the references in my index contain oshigata by this smith; chances are there isn't much you can learn about him. Grey

Justin, It's real; no doubt here. The tsuka has an unusual shape which is what threw me and maybe some of the others off after the 1st pictures. No telling from the pictures much more about it but it is real. Buy some books and study and the next one can be real good. Grey

Sebastien, Saw your post and then did my search on ebay and came up with this tsuba: http://cgi.ebay.com/CAS-Hanwei-Bamboo-Iron-Tsuba-For-Samurai-Katana-Sword_W0QQitemZ170454185942QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item27afdc77d6 By the same maker, possibly? The granularity of the steel would be a give away for me. Grey

Nakago looks real. How about a pic of the tsuka, tsuba,kissaki, and overall of the bare blade. Grey

Hi guys, If you were a member of the JSS/US last year and haven't reupped yet, please get your dues in quick. The 1st issue of the "Newsletter" will go out next week and if you send in dues before it goes out we save a bundle on mailing costs. If you weren't a member last year, what are you waiting for? Get all the information you need and pay with paypal if you like at jssus.org Thanks, Grey

Books. You need to study before you buy swords, seriously. The sword looks very much like a Chinese piece made yesterday. The antique dealer in San Francisco with a validating expert sounds fishy also; beware. Buy books and study. Attend sword shows and study. Ask to see collections and study. Study first; then buy swords. Grey

Jonnie, The age is yesterday or possibly slightly earlier. It has no true collectible value, only what someone who wants a sharp, shiny object sitting around will pay. Grey

Another approach to tsuka-ito color choice is to find someone who can do a great job of wrapping and ask him what he would recommend. He will have had tons of experience; should have good advice to offer. Grey

Hi Patrick, You could ask someone in you area, who is both knowledgeable and honest, to look at it. Shinsa doesn't work because we already know it's gimei and a shinsa team will say so and not much else. You could also just forget about it. If you don't plan to become a serious collector of Nihonto and you don't plan to sell the sword, just keep it and enjoy it for what it is. Grey

My index has 2 names listed that start like this: Kunimitsu and Kunishige; no other smiths made it into the references. Of the 2 this could be Kunishige, with much of the 2 Kanji lost to time and corrosion. The signature doesn't look well done, which is often a sign of gimei. Mizuta Kunishige (various generations) had a very distinctive signature that doesn't look a lot like the one in question. My guess would be gimei of Kunishige. Grey