Grey Doffin

Hi Lukas, If a tsuba is larger than about 8 cm, especially if there is soft metal inlay, I question authenticity. There were some large and early iron only tsuba - Tosho or katchushi maybe - but this isn't one of them. Imagine if this were mounted: Daruma would be right up against and even partially covered by the seppa and tsuka; it would look odd. My best guess is very late and made to fit western taste. I'm often wrong. Maybe those who know more will have better news. Grey

Hi Steve, To accomplish your goal and do it right, you'll have to send the koshirae and maybe $10,000 to Japan. I would enjoy the koshirae for what it is and forget about having a blade made to fit. Grey

I will be there with all the swords and tosogu from my site. Stop by Mark Jones' and my tables to say hello (& haggle:-). Grey

Hi folks, I have decided to make a major reset to my book buying and selling business. Ever since I started the website I've tried to have a large selection of swords, fittings, and especially books. I'm now at an age where it doesn't make sense for me to have a ton of paper on the shelves for my wife and daughter to have to deal with if I'm gone. Consequently, I've just finished lowering prices on nearly every title on the site – the 2nd time I've done so in the last year – and I've become quite picky about which books I'm buying to replace sold stock. I currently have a great variety of specialty titles – Sendai Han Tosho Meifu for example, at what I think is a great price - but once it sells don't expect there to be another copy. The same goes for many other books on the site: available and reasonably priced, and they won't be restocked once sold. Fair warning. I just took in 3 fine tsuba and 2 of them with dragons are still here; find them at the top of my Tsuba and Kodogu page. And 2 copies of the most difficult to find book on Nobuie: Nobuie Tsuba Kanbetsu Hikkei with a translation, just came available. Thanks, Grey

If a kinzogan mei is old it should be slightly below the surface of the nakago. When the kinzogan is applied it is even with the nakago surface but with age the iron of the nakago corrodes slightly and grows in volume. The gold doesn't corrode and doesn't gain volume. After a couple hundred years or so you can feel the difference. If there is no difference in height, maybe there is no age either. Grey

Hi Jay, Looks to be Japanese and reads Kunihiro, I believe. Cheers, Grey

Perhaps this sword is wanting us to believe it is by one of the Yasutsugu, who sometimes added the mon to their signatures. However, execution and placement relative to the original mekugi-ana are questionable. A possible gimei? Grey

Hi Ivo, Not a hagire. It is a slight ware', a very minor flaw. Grey

Hi Yvan, Prior to Mr. Yoshikawa's death, the NTHK published 3 volumes of Yushuto Zuroku, all with translations. After his death and the split of the NTHK into 2 separate organizations, ther NTHK-NPO has published a 4th which has not been translated. You can find all 4 volumes on my website: https://japaneseswor.../item-category/book/ with a search for Yushuto (some volumes are presently out of stock). And, if all translations were to become pirated PDFs, no one would go to the bother to create a translation. Best, Grey

Hi Bradley, As stated by others, doesn't make a lot of difference which style/pieces you choose because when you're done the koshirae will be modern and put together by a westerner. Nothing wrong with your plans but keep in mind that, when you're finished with the build, if you spent $5,000 on it you will have no trouble getting $2,000 back when the time comes to sell. Collectors want original, antique koshirae. I think it makes better sense to look for an existing antique koshirae mounted with tsunagi that you can display next to the tachi in its shirasaya, which is where it belongs. If you choose well you'll have no trouble getting your money back. Grey

The tsuba above that I used to own, T536, was papered by the Fittings Museum to Shonai Shoami. Grey

Hi Lewis, Send an email to me and I'll respond with Prices Realized attached. Grey gdoffin at gmail.com

I sell swords and kodogu online and I suppose I'm offering 3/10 to 6/10 range of quality. You need to consider that 9/10 and 10/10 items can't legally be exported from Japan; no wonder they aren't offered online to westerners. I have had and currently have swords that I consider quite fine and I'm proud to be able to offer them And, I would never try to disguise a defect; my pictures and descriptions always point them out to my customers. And I'm not the only online dealer who tries to warrant trust; there are others. I think, Lukrez, that you are being too harsh in your judgement. Thanks, Grey

I think mid to late Edo and a real tsuba, not cast. Not a treasure and you can do better but not a fake either. Grey

Hi Dave, Unless my eyes fail me, this isn't a sukashi tsuba. The filled openings are the ryo-hitsu, for kotsuka & kogai. They are filled because the last time the tsuba was mounted to a sword there were no kotsuka and kogai, and the owner wanted them filled. Sukashi refers to openwork design, not function. Grey

Hi Matt, My care and cleaning kit consists of a bottle of choji oil (light machine oil with a drop or 3 of clove oil for the scent), white unscented facial tissue for applying the oil, and micro fiber lens cloth to remove the oil. Nothing else is needed. Grey

Another option for the 3 early softbound books: https://japaneseswor...gory-in-one-binding/ Thanks. Grey

If it is wax on your tsuka - and this is more likely the case than lacquer, which is uncommon on shirasaya - it should come off with alcohol. You can try just a drop on the tsuka to see if it will work, before going after the whole tsuka. Grey

If the sword is salvageable and worth the effort and expense, to reshape the kissaki and save the boshi the polisher can bring the mune forward to limit the amount of reshaping necessary. Only a properly trained polisher should be considered for the work. Grey

Maybe a standard Shinto naginata with a broken kissaki and reshaped. I believe this is called Satsuma-age when it is done to a sword. Grey

Hi Josh, It is good that someone who knows more than you is going to see your sword in hand but I suggest you go that far and no further for now. You don't know anywhere near enough to make informed decisions about possible restoration and shinsa. Polish and shinsa may be appropriate for the sword but there is no reason to hurry; polish does nothing to preserve the sword - a light coating of oil does that. See: I'm new to Japanese swords and I want to get my 1st sword polished and/or have koshirae made for it. in FAQ under Nihonto Info above. The more you know before you spend money on the sword the happier you'll be with the results. Grey

Hi Josh, Do not use soot and tape and do not listen to anyone who recommends it; it causes damage to the patina. A clear photo of each side of the tang, taken with a raking light (from the side to better show markings) and on a dark background will do fine. Here you will find a care and handling brochure; you should read it twice but use micro fibre cloth rather than uchiko to remove old oil: https://nbthk-ab2.or...ord-characteristics/ Grey

In my humbled opinion, the best material on the subject in English is the 59 volume set of English Token Bijutsu written by the staff of the NBTHK: https://japaneseswor...ition-all-59-issues/ on my site. While there you can search for many of the other books mentioned here to get an idea what they're like. Cheers, Grey

The proper link is: https://nbthk-ab2.or...ord-characteristics/ Grey

Hi Jake, Hard to tell from the photo with my old eyes if that is just the hand or something else but, would a properly trained artist have even only the hand covered when mounted? Doesn't make sense to me. Perhaps this is very late work, possibly made for western tourists to Japan, and no one worried about mounting. Grey