Grey Doffin

Echizen no Kami means Lord of Echizen Province, an honorary title. Minamoto is a clan name and Sukehiro is the smith's name. A famous name so forgery (fake signature) is a strong possibility. Do not take steel wool to the blade!!! Anything like that you try is very likely to do serious damage and, in the long run, cost you serious money. Put on a very light coat of sewing machine oil and get it to someone who knows Nihonto and who can give you a better idea what you have. Grey

Echizen no Kami Minamoto Sukehiro. No sandblasting, please. Grey

Hi Matt, Care & etiquette: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm Grey

I am not an expert but I see no indication that this is a cast copy. Don't file on it until someone who knows more than I tells you it is cast. Grey

Hi (name please), The Chicago sword show comes up in 2 weeks. You can have all your questions answered there and you'll learn a lot more. Given how close you might be, living in Indiana, you should take advantage. And you have done yourself a huge favor by not trying to clean it; damage happens easily if you don't know what to do. When you put it back together make sure there is a pin through the hole in the handle; it locks the blade in the handle so it can't fall into the bottom of the scabbard and shatter the point. Grey

Thanks Henry, That could be but I'm not able to see any of those characters in the tsuba. Some of the forms look animalistic but others don't and it is still a puzzle to me. Any one else know? Grey

Hi Louie, If this is done intentionally for some useful purpose, wouldn't you expect it to be done better? There isn't a true line anywhere on the nakago, the mekugi-ana is misplaced, and it looks like poop. Why would Japanese sword and koshirae smiths, who tend to do everything else nicely if not meticulously, choose to do this one process in such a slap-dash manner? Grey

Best guess is bad corrosion or abuse; don't think it was supposed to be that way. Grey

Hi guys, I'm assuming that this tsuba (which is for sale on my site) has something to say. Can anyone supply me with Romanji and a literal meaning in English? Thanks, Grey

I wouldn't try to alter the leather on the saya. As is it is original; anything you add will make it less so. Grey

I doubt that the rust will get worse; the oil will stop the process. And there is nothing else you can do to make it better. Grey

Very low end tourist trap, about as bad as it gets. Bone saya. Grey

I don't think the raised seppa-dai is a product of erosion of the surrounding plate; I think the tsuba was made to have the raised dai. Look at the border of the seppa-dai. It is actually a uniform double line. No way this could have been done by corrosion. Doubtless the plate has seen corrosion and in places the seppa-dai has also, but when this tsuba was made the seppa-dai was raised with a carefully carved border. Grey

I would guess that a properly trained polisher could repatinate the nakago so well that only someone with extensive experience would know the difference. Since shinsa panels are populated by people with extensive experience, you're back on the sliding scale I mentioned in my 1st post above. As for value, something as major as a repatinated nakago can't help but affect it negatively. Grey

Hi John, Not sure but best guess is it would be a large negative. If a blade would have been borderline with the nakago intact it would be unpassable with a compromised nakago. Maybe if the blade is otherwise spectacular and/or important it would pass. Grey

Hi guys, I just listed 9 new to me tsuba to my website, including 4 Namban and 3 signed Jakushi. Have a peek if you're interested. Thanks, Grey http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/Tsuba-&-Kodogu

where on an antique nihonto would be most useful to take a sample for metallurgical analysis, without diminishing the value/risking its overall integrity? From the side of the mekugi-ana on the nakago would do the least damage but still would do damage. Anywhere else on the blade, even if only a cubic mm, would be desecration. If you can find a broken blade have at it, but since this analysis has been done before and you would be adding nothing new, leave intact blades alone please. Grey

From Gyobutsu Tohaku Meito Oshigata, page 94. Grey

If I understand the book correctly and if I haven't made a mistake with my listing in the index, a sword by this smith was in the Imperial collection when the book was made. Grey

I do believe this is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle from San Francisco, or at least that's what we called him back when he 1st surfaced. My first knowledge of his work was when a friend (who should have known better) gave him a nice wakizashi for polish. The blade came back completely screwed up, a godawful ugly mess. When the friend complained he was told that this had been a particularly difficult job and it could be put right if the friend would allow the polisher to make the wakizashi into a tanto. I kid you not. Grey

Report him every time you see his sale on ebay. Maybe ebay will finally take him down and we will have saved a sword. Grey

Hi guys, Just took in multiple copies of a brand new book by Mike yamasaki and others: Jidai: Timeless Works of Samurai Art. Very nicely done and reasonably priced; here it is on my site, from where you can order a copy if you like. http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b921-jidai-timeless-works-samurai-art Thanks, Grey

Hi Bryan, I don't think those are delaminations in the shinogi ji, just slightly coarse grain. Always a good idea to ask who would we recommend for the polish before you send the sword for polish. If you can get to one of the sword shows in the US you can show your sword to Bob Benson (a properly trained polisher, one of 2 in the US, the other isn't Mr. Lohman) and ask his opinion. Grey

I would draw on the glossy side. Grey

I will be there, 1st table inside the door (it helps to share tables with The Big Kahuna). Since I drive to the Chicago show I can bring books. If there is anything on my site you'd like to see and maybe even purchase and not have to pay post on, let me know. Grey