Grey Doffin

Hi Doug, My understanding that real tsuba weren't cast and if by punching you mean punched out of a factory prepared plate, that didn't happen either. But others who know more than I may disagree. Grey

Make a new kissaki at the break and retemper a new boshi. Buyers beware. Grey

I know the NTHK NPO will give an attribution (but not a paper) if they consider the mei to be false; don't know what happens with the other NTHK shinsa. Grey

Hi Tao, I don't think this sword is worth anywhere near $2K; you can do much better. One good way to do much better is to study more before you buy. Read books and articles online (like here), attend sword shows if possible, ask your way into see quality pieces in collections, and ask lots of questions of whomever is available. The more you know before you buy, the better buy you'll make. And if you just can't wait, buy only from trusted dealers (see the links above) and a sword with a paper might be a good idea. Grey

Hi Johnny, If you are interested in Japanese swords you would do yourself a large favor if you bought some books and studied hard. Otherwise you are very likely to throw your money at junk (like this sword). Grey

My US bound copies of Iron Tsuba arrived this morning. Thanks again Markus. Grey

Ebay knows about this; a problem for many of their customers. Hope they fix it quick so I can find the next National Treasure. Grey

Hi guys, I have a number of complicated searches for ebay bookmarked on my browser; been using them for years. Just tonight, always on one search and randomly on others, I get 0 results (normally I would get 10's to 1,000's depending on the search). Ebay claims it isn't their problem. Anyone else experiencing this or am I the only one? Thanks, Grey

Fake. Grey

I know nothing of armor preservation but I wonder if a fiberglass pen (search NMB for details) might help here. Maybe have the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner positioned to catch any rust particles and fiberglass that come loose. I know the pen will remove rust but not effect patina when used on a tsuba. Grey

Tsuba Kanshoki, the later edition with English. Tsuba Geijutsuko with the translation Tsuba: An Aesthetic Study And Sasano's books, of course. Grey

Can we see more of the sword and koshirae? Could be wrong but this doesn't look like Japanese work to me. Grey

Hi Gethin, Here is a Higo tsuba from my site that is similar to yours. http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.c ... -wonderful Grey

Hi DJ, Yes; a real, traditionally made sword. Maybe be gimei; maybe not. Same advise I gave the other guy: google the smith and see if the oshigata you find match the work you see in the sword. Grey

The beginning of the signature is beyond my ability to decipher but your smith's name is Masatsune. Grey

Toshihide. Don't know the kao. Grey

Thanks guys, The smith is Fuyuhiro, Chris (see above). Perhaps Hisayasu or Kubo is an owner's name? Grey

Hi guys, I have a stout and heavy yari signed Wakasa no Daijo Fujiwara Fuyuhiro, that came with a split saya, which allowed me to see the writing inside. I get the date but the rest of it is beyond me. Hoping to learn what it says and why it would be written somewhere no one normally would see. Also, 2 Kanji are carved below the hi on one side: Hisayasu maybe. Any idea what their significance might be? This yari will be for sale. Thanks, Grey

Are you polishing the sword? Grey

My mistake. Kaneyasu, not Kaneyoshi. Grey

Why all the suggestions to remove moisture from the wood? The problem is that the wood has shrunk from loss of moisture; drying it out would make the problem worse. Grey

Yes; those are oshigata of Shodai Kaneyoshi. Sorry; make that Kaneyasu. Try google for "Mutsu Kami Kaneyasu". The word oshigata just muddles the search. Grey

Hi In Kim, What Chris said is important to keep in mind. This could be a fake signature. The more important the smith, the more likely that a mei is gimei (forgery). Some gimei are very close to the real thing; caution is advised. Google Kaneyasu to see if you can find oshigata that show you what his work is supposed to look like. No matter the signature, the work has to be correct for the smith. Grey

Shodai because the mei matches those of the Shodai in my references. From Fujishiro's Nihon Token Jiten: Shinto-hen. Grey

A variant of Jean's method: Standing up, place the sword behind your knees and tightly grasp the saya and tsuka with your hands close together. Now hunker down. As you descend your calves and thighs will force your hands apart and, with luck, break the seal. And to insure that this problem doesn't happen in the 1st place: when returning the sword to the saya, don't force it closed. It is necessary only the the habaki is gripping the saya; the saya and tsuka don't have to touch. Grey