Grey Doffin

Thank you Brian, from the JSS/US, for your note above. Guys, please consider a membership in the JSS/US. You'll get 6 issues (usually 40 to 50 pages each) of our Newsletter and the satisfaction of knowing you're helping with our translation and publication projects (2 exciting endeavors in their infancy now). Also, the JSS/US website makes a difference. None of this is possible without members and their dues. jssus.org to sign up. Grey

I like it better than other tsuba with the jumble of brass applied that I've seen, much better in fact, but I don't like it at the price. Grey

Hi Monty, Do not clean the tang! Never! Looks like what Mark called it: WWII Japanese military sword, most likely machine made/oil tempered. Grey

Possible but probably not. Many edged weapons made during WWII, especially small knives, were inscribed "Sanjo Munechika". Many of them were made after the war to sell to Westerners. Never seen gold inlay on one before. Probably no way to know why yours is inlaid. Grey

Saku at the end is very common, maybe even a majority. Grey

Without a doubt, after having seen the photo, Sukesada. Grey

Hi Mark, At 2nd glance that could be Sada. Mune would be: 　宗　 and Sada:　定 You can check which would be closer. The Kanji in order read: Ei sho Ku Nen Ni Gatsu Hi and Bi shu Osa fune Suke sada/mune Saku Grey

Eisho Ku Nen Ni Gatsu Hi (A day in the 2nd month of the 9th year of Eisho: 1512.) Bishu Osafune Sukemune Saku. Grey

Hi Peter, Nothing special is ever planned for a show on Sunday, just the normal trolling for bargains and trying to take advantage. In past years I've stayed around till Monday so I could canoe the Hillsboro River, to the Northeast of Tampa. A company called Canoe Escape gives you a canoe, paddles, and life jackets, takes you to the put in and picks you up at the take out. The river is narrow, shallow, and slow, through swamp and forest, with plenty of spectacular birds, alligators, and other fauna. A great way to spend an afternoon. If I wasn't already booked to fly home on Sunday I'd join you. Grey

I also think cast. Picture 3306, showing the back, what's left of the post attachment appears to be of a piece with the menuki, not separate pieces soldered in place. The detail isn't good enough for carving; looks like a casting. Sorry. Grey

There's that word, "elitist" again; guess I'm guilty and need to mend my ways. If I ever need serious heart surgery I'm going to the guy down the block who read a book about it. He doesn't charge as much as the surgeons at the hospital and all his surviving patients say nice things about him. Seriously though, years ago I had the opportunity to see a blade that had been polished by Mr. Hofhine. It was a large, early Shinto katana by a well respected smith. Unfortunately, an also large blister (fukure) had appeared in the mono-uchi during polish and had rendered the blade close to worthless. There are 2 ways a polisher can learn how to spot a fukure about to appear and what to do about it: he can be taught by his teacher or he can learn the hard way. If Mr. Hofhine keeps at polishing, and he keeps getting lots of swords to polish, eventually most every type of problem will have presented and he will have learned the hard way how to deal with all of them. And many of his customers will have learned something else the hard way. Grey

Hi Raymond, No question; this is a fake. Grey

I don't know if it is cheap but I do know that it is an amateur US polish. Mr. Hofine has no formal training. Sorry; wrong again. As good as it can be would be a polish done properly by a properly trained polisher. I'm not looking to pick a fight with anyone here but felt that Chris shouldn't have to be the only one to stick up for proper polish. It doesn't matter how many glowing testimonials are on the polisher's website (What else would you expect?). Amateurs shouldn't be messing with Nihonto. Grey

Hi, name please, Sorry, early indications are this is a fake. Can you take a few closeups of the blade? Show us the kissaki (point), the nakago (tang), and another between. The number on the habaki is a red flag; none of the real ones ever had a number here. Your only chance is that somehow a fake habaki was put on a real sword or that the soldier who brought it out of Japan put the number on the habaki. Without that it doesn't look good. Grey

Marcello, A polisher will often remove material from the mune, decreasing the sori a bit in the process, rather than take all the reshaping from the ha of the kissaki. With this technique you are more likely to have a salvageable kissaki. However, the 1st question isn't, can this kissaki be reshaped, rather, is this sword worth the bother? Reshaping and a polish will be expensive if done properly; are you sure the sword warrants the effort and expense? Grey

Marcello, Correct on the mei and the date reads, "Ni Gatsu Hi", a day in the 2nd month. It is unusual but not unheard of for the date to tell you only this much. Grey

Thanks Chris; I should have got that one. Grey

Hi again, Which school is this, please. Thanks, Grey

Hi Stace, The shape of your wakizashi's nakago (tang) is indicative of work in the Bizen tradition, one of the 5 mainline branches of Japanese swordmaking. According to Hawley's Japanese Swordsmiths Revised, there were a few smiths working in Bizen who signed with the name Naganori in the 15th century and one in the 17th. There were smiths working earlier and later, but this sword wasn't made earlier or much later than that. Without having the sword in hand there isn't much more that I can tell you. This could be a true signature of one of these smiths and a good blade, it could be a forged signature and/or a blade with problems, or it could be something between. Hard to tell much from photos. Grey

Hi Mark, Even if the signature is wrong (gimei) this can still be a nice sword; how nice is something that's difficult to tell from pictures alone. Gimei does not automatically doom the sword to a scrap heap. Your frustration stems from your lack of experience and knowledge. We've all been there and, like you, we wished someone would give us the answer. It isn't that simple, though. We don't know if you paid too much and we don't know if you should return the sword. The best I can tell you is to study more. Grey

Years ago I saw a tea bowl (chawan) that was assembled from fragments of 3 or 4 disparate chawan and lacquer. This tsuba reminds me of that bowl. I agree with Ford. This wasn't made this way; it was assembled from 2 tsuba, likely each damaged badly on one side. I'm probably wrong but that's my guess. Grey

Well so it is. Thanks Martin, Grey

Hi guys, I'm adding a book to my index and have been stumped by this mei. Bishu Osafune ? mitsu. I find "Shi" as a reading but that doesn't make sense. It looks familiar so I'll slap my forehead when one of you tells me how this is read, but I've spent a half hour on this already and I'm ready to yell Uncle. Thanks, Grey

Hi Jerry, Militaria collectors here might have a better take on this but I think it is common, if not usual, for the blade to have a number that doesn't match those on the pieces of koshirae. Grey

Hi, name please, Sorry; not possible to track. The number was to help the arsenal/assembly shop keep track of parts as they moved through production and polish. I've never heard of these numbers being tied to individual soldiers; it wasn't a history anyone in Japan bothered or wanted to keep. Grey