Grey Doffin

Inouye Shinkai, but that isn't his signature. Grey

Hi guys, Please have a look at this tsnto by Yoshindo: http://www.e-sword.jp/tantou/1610-3051.htm Scroll to the bottom to see pictures of the nakago that appears to be split from ha to mune. I'm unable to read the text; does it explain this and if not does anyone know why the piece was made this way? Thanks, Grey

Care and etiquette: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm No oil on the fittings. Grey

Hi Ryan, This looks like the business end of a broken sword; I think it's too short to have been a wakizashi that was shortened an inch or so. This is nothing you would want to have restored; it is worth far less than what restoration would cost. Grey

I'm not familiar with Markus' book but Gotoke Ju Shichi Dai is 17 generations of the Goto Family. No books solely in English come to mind but Gai So Shi by Haynes and The Art Appreciation of Japanese Sword Fittings are English and heavy on Kinko. Grey

Some possibilities, linked to their listings on my site. Tosogu Machibori Meihin Shusei http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b638-tosogu-machibori-meihin-shusei-fukushi-shigeo Tosogu Gokecho Meihin Shusei http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b381-tosogu-gokecho-meihin-shusei-fukushi-shigeo Tosogu no Kansho http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b426-tosogu-no-kansho Gotoke Ju Shichi Dai no Tosogu http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b112-gotoke-ju-shichi-dai-no-tosogu-sano-museum Studies in Kyo Goto http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b640-studies-kyo-goto-kasahara-koju-%26-akimoto-shigeo Toso Kinko Gotoke Ju Shichi Dai http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b515-toso-kinko-gotoke-jushichidai-shimada And there are quite a few others; I could go on. Copenhagen and The Baur Collection come to mind. Hope this helps. Grey

Hi Joe, Let me be the 1st among what I'm sure will be many to tell you that you can't teach yourself how to properly polish a Japanese sword. A typical apprenticeship in Japan for a polisher is about 10 years; no one can gain that education by buying stones. Sure, you plan to start on scrap swords but you also plan to graduate to better and that is a fool's errand. You will not learn how to do the job properly; you will only risk causing serious damage or ruin to something you claim to have huge respect for. And I am not being alarmist; I'm perfectly serious and 100% certain that I'm correct (I've seen too many of the results of amateur polishes). Please do us all a huge favor and find another hobby (or get the proper education before you start). And this has nothing to say about you or your skill level; the most skillful person on earth could not teach himself to properly polish. Grey

Never-Dull is probably OK to use on machine made Gunto but if you use it on anything nicer or older it will make the sword look like a machine made Gunto. Grey

Hi Grev, I'm puzzled 2 ways by your probability of Kanji appearing in a mei. 1st, at the top of your list is mitsu and at the bottom tsugu, and it seems that they are both fairly common in swordsmiths' names. 2nd, what use is it to know the probability? I'm the one who published the Kanji Flashcards; here they are on my site: http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/other/kanji-flashcards Nice, I think, because they are writing, not print, and therefore closer to what is found in signatures. I hope to reprint the set someday but the problem at the moment is a broken safety switch on my print shop's paper cutter. Because of liability concerns they won't let me use the cutter. I have to do the cutting because I won't trust anyone else to do the collating (I found out the hard way some years ago what a mess it is to have 27,500 cards out of order). When they replace their cutter I plan to reprint the set. Grey

Hi Stephan, You should soon receive your copy of the 6th JSS/US Newsletter for 2016, this being the color issue on Ko Kogai. Inside you will find an insert with instructions for ordering the Fukushi books. If you don't get the Newsletter let me know, but I think you will have it before long. Grey

That's the idea Ken. The savings on the 5 volumes more than pays for your membership, plus your membership gives us funds so we can go out and do new projects like this one. Everybody wins; everybody should join in. Thanks, Grey

Aw shucks guys; you're making me blush. Thank you for the kind words, Grey

Hi guys, 3 sword study groups in the west: The Japanese Sword Society of the US, The NBTHK American Branch, and The NBTHK European Branch have pooled resources to translate from Japanese to English and publish what will become a very important reference on the history of sword fittings. TOSOGU CLASSROOM For 18 years, noted author and scholar Fukushi Shigeo wrote a monthly article on Tosogu (sword fittings) titled “Toso: Tosogu Shogaku Kyoshitsu” that appeared in the NBTHK's “Token Bijutsu”. Our 5 volume book Tosogu Classroom is a translation of the complete 18 year run. As a whole, these 5 volumes will present today's understanding of the history of Tosogu and easily will be the most comprehensive treatment of the subject ever in English. Volume 1 is hardbound with a dust jacket, 8 ½ x 11”, and more than 500 pages of text with hundreds of black & white pictures. It includes an introduction to fittings, materials, design, surface treatment, carving, inlay, coloring, early tsuba (both iron and kinko), and begins a discussion of artists and schools who worked in iron, going into great detail on the artists and the work they produced. Volume 2 continues the discussion of iron, volumes 3 & 4 cover Kinko, and volume 5 will be illustrations in color. This is a great reference at a great price; don't miss out. The 5 volumes are being released serially (Volume 1 is available currently; we hope to have all 5 out by the end of 2017) and for the next few months only to members of the 3 organizations and at cost of printing plus post. If you are a member of one of these 3 you can buy one set at cost: $40 plus post each for volumes 1 to 4 and $80 plus post for the color Volume 5. Midway through 2017 anyone can buy the volumes for $60 each for 1 to 4 and $120 for #5. Again, you must be a member to get the member price, members can purchase only 1 set at the member price, and non members won't be able to buy any of the volumes until sometime in 2017. After you have joined one of the groups contact the group for instructions to buy the books. If you join the JSS/US (jssus.org) you can contact me (grey at japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com) for instructions. I have read all 5 volumes and can highly recomment the set; you won't be disappointed. Grey

The rust will disappear with a polish but given that this is a wakizashi with a fantasy signature in shairsaya, there is little chance the blade is worth even close to the cost of polish. Don't spend much if any money on this; there are far nicer blades to collect. Grey

Rai Kunimasa but like you said katana-mei so not Rai School. No idea who this was. Grey

Hi Brian & guys, Unless someone else wants to take this on, I'll write an article about packing and shipping. Let me know if I have the job. Grey

What you've shown says Noshu Seki Ju Grey

Sword care and etiquette: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm Grey

Hi Grant, How do you know this is an old, war time polish and not something done yesterday? The seller says in polish but doesn't specify when the polish happened. Grey

Thank you Morita-san. Grey

Hi guys, A tanto (which will be for sale) just came in, Gendai I believe, and signed in Sosho which I can't read. Showa something for the date and the rest has me stumped. Help will be appreciated. Thank you, Grey

Hi gang, I just took in and have listed to my site a group of nanban tsuba, some of which are quite nice, I think. The 1st 10 listings under Tsuba & Kodogu on my site if you're interested. http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/Tsuba-&-Kodogu Thanks, Grey

Hi Ken, Your signature doesn't match either of those in the link you posted. Given the chippiness of your signature it is unlikely that anything is known about the man who signed your sword. By chippiness I mean the cat scratch quality of the calligraphy. Most Gunto were made by untrained laborers, about whom little or nothing is known, and their signatures often have this inelegant look. Grey

Looks like Yoshisada to me. Grey

2 books on Nobuhide and students that I am aware of: http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b528-kurihara-nobuhide-no-kenkyu-nbthk http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b794-kurihara-nobuhide-%26-modern-sword-artisans Not sure if either is the book referenced. Grey