ROKUJURO

Yves, compare the workmanship. They are not close.....

If only I had seen No. 1 earlier!

Yves, it is the same motive, but not the same KOZUKA!

Robert, of course we would like to help you, but with these photos it is not easy. Have a look at comparable posts, they come in every day! What we need for a guess is a photo of the naked blade (without HABAKI), and not shot at an angle so we can see the shape. Then we would need well focused shots of the NAKAGO, the different parts of the blade, and especially the KISSAKI. Photos can be helpful when they are very detailed and enlarged to show HADA and HAMON, but it may remain difficult to give a judgement to school and age. By the way, the age is of much lesser importance than you may mean. A very good sword from 1850 may be more desirable than one not so well made from 1400! In your case it looks as if a private blade (maybe SHINTO period) had been taken to war with some remaining civil parts. It could also be the case that the original SAYA of a private sword was lost and replaced by a military one. There are details which we may never know! In any case, your sword can take you on an interesting journey through Japanese history, so please read a lot here at the forums or even buy some books! This will help you with your next purchase. P.S. I have seen HABAKI like yours. They are rare, but you see them from time to time.

Michael, this signature may read as BISHU OSAFUNE NOBUUJI, but as said before, it looks quite strange. The length of more than 32 cm is WAKIZASHI, and so is the SUGATA (TANTO is up to 30.3 cm). SHINOGI-ZUKURI is very rare in TANTO. But that does not mean that you couldn't enjoy the blade!

Yes, it does! Have a look (and please sign all posts with at least your first name plus an initial so that we may address you politely): https://books.google.de/books?id=46IYtI0nkiEC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=FUJIWARA+HYAKKOKU+NYUDO+KAZUTORA&source=bl&ots=BQKeXaXTRr&sig=VrqiZmtKa7bG5fEwWOEkRsLpj7E&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJsc-Cq_vTAhXMDSwKHaCMDzQQ6AEINDAC#v=onepage&q=FUJIWARA%20HYAKKOKU%20NYUDO%20KAZUTORA&f=false

Jay, did you test it with a magnet? Does not look like SHAKUDO, but that may be the photo.

Simon, once again: a 'fold' is not the same as a layer. If you start to forge a damascus blade (which is not at all the same as a Japanese swordblade) with a package of 10 sheets of different steel alloys, you get 20 layers with one fold. The parts of a traditional Japanese swords are forged from mono-steel (= folded with the same steel) although in their final structure, they are mostly composite constructions of different steels. It may be difficult for you to see the features in your blade, but a trained polisher may well be capable to tell if it is a Japanese blade at all, the probable period it was made, and the province or even school. A KANTEI without seeing the blade is ridiculous in my eyes. That would be like identifying and relating a handwriting to a certain person just by data without seeing the script.

Jeremiah, the photos cannot be enlarged, so no close-up possible to see the workmanship. It seems to be a very nice item indeed. There is a SAN SUI (mountain and water) scene depicted on the TSUBA which is quite common since the times of KANEIYE, but I think it is a later TSUBA, and this makes it difficult to name a school for it. But if you like it, then it is fine - you would probably not love it more if it had a name on it!

Stuart, NAMIKAWA HEIBEI in Japan sells them.

Ken, I have encountered this same problem, when a greased leather sheath came into contact with brass or nickel silver (German silver/Alpacca) parts on knives. I was told that the grease, tannic acid and copper alloys (also with nickel) can react chemically and produce this green substance which I always could wipe off with a dry cloth. As there is no gold on you TSUBA, could that be a similar process?

Simon, as Brian said: No layers should be visible, a 'Japanese' NAKAGO is carefully crafted. No judgement is possible without detailed, well focused photos of the whole blade without HABAKI.

Brian, the YASURIME seems caryfully made, and the patina in the MEI does not look typical for WWII, as far as the photo allows an estimation. What about the execution of the NAKAGO in general? Good work or hastily made?

Judas, as was already explained, a TSUKA changes with age. The wood dries out, the glue (usually rice starch glue) may loose some of its bonding capacity over the years, and fine cracks can occur in the wood. The MEKUGI undergoes the same alterations. Although an original EDO period TSUKA might have been made with the best materials available at the time, it may have become inferior in terms of quality for battle use (or SUBURI). That is the reason why TSUKA are being replaced. It is just a question of safety. An old, museum quality TSUKA might be saved for display only. Concerning your friend with his dozens of Chinese swords: You won't learn much from them, I am afraid!

Amanda, if it is a true/original BIDENHÄNDER/Zweihänder in good condition, don't give it away cheaply! This could bring you a fine sum of money if sold at the right place! https://www.hampel-auctions.com/archive-catalogue-detail.php?la=de&a=83&s=247&id=88280&g=Waffen

Sales of this kind of swords with steel blades is prohibited in Japan. There are many hints that this was not made in Japan.

Stephen, these are of course not standard ones but converted private TSUBA. I have seen a fair number of them been mounted on GUNTO, all different and most of them not really precious.

Troy, many of us started with a disappointment, but maybe you can return the sword and not loose too much money. As Paul said, it is very clearly a fake. Having studied the originals for a while (NMB offers a wealth of good information), you will be able to see what is genuine and collectable. Unfortunately, this one is not.

Ken, welcome to the NMB forum! The pictures don't tell much about the blade. The shape is not bad, so a closer in-hand inspection by an expert is necessary to find out more. The quantity of the TSUBA is o.k. There is rarely more than one going with one blade... It has traits of the KINAI school, but it is not easy to judge with photos. The MENUKI replacements might just be pebbles or flint stone pieces which is not so rare with this kind of mounting. It looks indeed like SATSUMA. Please read here on the NMB about sword care and maintenance! You never know, there might be a master blade hidden under the dirt!

Well done, Gerald! A real improvement! But please talk to Ford Hallam about this matter and try to learn from him what can be done and what should not be attempted! There is always a possibility of an irreversible damage! AIZU SHOAMI is a good guess, I think.

Ford, I understand perfectly well what you and Michael are referring to. I don't really know where all the wonderful 'science of the crafts' was lost. A good craftsman used to be a serious person with a lot of knowledge that was confirmed by his own experience. I often watch videos on forging - it is a professional desease, I think - and I am surprised and disappointed at the same time to see that many of these 'smiths' obviously never heard about forging technique. They just hammer the warm steel and hope to give it a shape. They don't care about stance or height of the anvil, and they don't even know how to hold the hammer correctly. In the videos we can't see or hear it, but I am convinced many of them never heard that even the breath flow is important. These are all basics, and I cannot believe that all is forgotten! There must be something like an exaggerated self-confidence that makes these people think that they are real smiths and could teach others. But the real craft forms on the long range by watching the master and then working many hours at the anvil. What makes it look so easy when you see a master smith working comes only from having trained the basisc over and over again.

Dave, to me this looks like an open welding, and I don't consider it fatal. As far as I know, it is not a KARASUGUCHI which is found in the very tip of the blade, and I find some other mistakes in the chart you included. Maybe TORINOGUCHI is another term for that flaw. This flaw may indeed reduce the value of the blade to an extent, depending on the rank of it.

Chris, that is indeed a clean KAGA JIRI.

TARO SAN's E-Mail address is: 浅野 太郎 <asanokajiya@me.com>

ASANO TARO's website: http://asanokajiya.com His art name as swordsmith is FUSATARO.