ROKUJURO

Ben, as far as the MENUKI are concerned, I have seen these EBI design items too often (having one of my own here) being mass made from sheet metal in a press, so after a soft cleaning with your wife's toothbrush have a closer look yourself! The same applies to the NAMBAN TSUBA (photo is upside down). This one is possibly an original, considering the remnants of gold application. On the photo it looks quite dirty as Thomas already pointed out, so some tender care might lead to a better judgement. The SEPPA-DAI looks indeed kind of 'flat', but with this type of NAMBAN TSUBA I am always having problems - often they look cast to me without really having been made this way.

Ben, that doesn't look too bad 'in the substance' apart from the condition. HAMON is visible and might be interesting. NAKAGO looks to be a bit transformed in the shape from an older blade (not sure at all!). Broken KISSAKI may polish out. KOSHIRAE is very simple - (reproduction EBI MENUKI and cheap ITO MAKI) - but not really bad. Of course, KIZU may be hiding under the surface corrosion.... The problem with all these cheaper blades is that you have to invest a considerable amount of money for restoration to really know what you have. In the end there remains a risk to get all your money back in a sale. I see no problem for a sale in, say, 400 years from now, but considering a normal lifespan of a collector it might be difficult.

Rick, may I underline what you wrote: Martensite appears in two different forms, and the spheric form is visible on the surface of a traditionally quenched steel blade as NIOI or NIE.

James, there are always two KANJI for OSAFUNE, FUNE meaning 'boat'.

Ben, MASAMUNE is correct! But they are difficult to find these days!

Chris, these pages are not very old (egyptian papyrus are very old ), but they contain the actual basics of industrial metallurgy, especially quenching and tempering. However, Japanese swordsmiths have their own requirements and procedures which differ a bit from the above.

Larson, as I read it was a thrift shop find. I think you cannot expect an expert information from there, and it might be difficult to start a discussion being a beginner yourself! As long as you did not pay more than 15.-- or so, it was a learning experience I think. Iron TSUBA for actual use were never made by cast techniques, so age is irrelevant in this case. Copies like this one are usually quite new, say 10 to 30 years. If your TSUBA was made as a copy from an existing original, this latter one could have well been from the EDO period. This could mean you have a different design on the other side of the TSUBA.

Ben, I cannot see much in the blade pictures, but that may be related to my old eyes! The iron TSUBA is an original, so not cast or mass produced. It seems a little bit damaged in some places and lost its patina on the copper. Otherwise a nice TSUBA with bamboo and sparrow design - quite common in TSUBA. However, it is not related to the blade, if this was your question. The MON cannot necessarily be related to a SAMURAI family. In a first internet search (http://www.samurai-archives.com/crest1.html) I did not find this special MON.

Chris, yes, it's probably SAME from a rare steel ray... .

Agree, cast TSUBA. If it is a copy, the MEI is usually blurred and difficult to read.

Ben, a nice complete package! Congratulations! I do not think it might be KOTO because of the shape of the NAKAGO (not nagako!), but you will find out. Restoration of this part may prove to be difficult when you want to preserve the patina while making the MEI legible. I like the KOSHIRAE which is simple and probably quite late, but oviously in good condition. (Chris, this is no metal SAME, it is lacquered!). In general there is no period or time relation between blade and mounting, and a KOTO blade with original KOTO KOSHIRAE would be a very rare piece! The blade condition is a problem. I have the impression that it once was rusted all over, then cleaned in a non-appropriate way (sandpapered?) and had suffered from new rust again. A TOGISHI (I hope you have found a Japanese trained polisher?) will have some work with it. HADA seems to be MOKUME in places, I think. Anyway, I hope for a good outcome of the restoration! Please show photos here!

Garry, while the carbon content of TAMAHAGANE may come up to 1.4%, the carbon content of the HAGANE in a blade is generally about 0.7%, so not really low. A steel alloy of this quality can reach a max. hardness of 67 HRc after quenching. To my knowledge there is no standardized tempering process, however in some videos on Japanese blade forging you can see the smith moving his already quenched blade in the fire again, so there may be some variation in the techniques. A ''reasonably low quenching temperature'' has always to be above Curie temperature (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curie_temperature) (which is roughly 770°C for steel) to produce an hardening effect. This is the necessary temperature when the blades goes into the water, so you have to have about 800°C in the blade when it comes out of the fire to get there, and there is no 'moderate' hardening below that temperature! The literature says that the edges of traditionally forged Japanese sword blades are measured at about 60 HRc in many cases. I think that the ratio of SHINGANE and KAWAGANE versus HAGANE in a blade has a huge effect of how the blade reacts (deforms) in the quenching and what the requirements of tempering are afterwards. This ratio also decides the performance (resilience) of the finished blade in a slicing slash against a hard or soft medium.

Bruno, stylized fern sprouts? Just an idea!

John, please try again with better photos!

Could they mean a gutter cover or lid?

There are so many $ 5.-- Gallé vases on the market....

Darius, it looks like a long TSUKA for a WAKIZASHI! The TSUKA ITO is very probably leather; not uncommon at all.

Darius, your sword may not be 'very old' (how old is 'very old'?), but to me it looks like an EDO JIDAI blade, which comes down to a few hundred years at least. On the other hand, age has nothing to do with quality or desirability, so your blade might be a very nice one to look at and worth to care for. NAKAGO are usually filed so I don't think that the MEI was intentionally filed off. The problem with reading has more to do with your photos being not well focused. I think they might profit from a different angle of light. Try with artificial white light from the side or rub a small amount of talcum powder into the grooves of the MEI. Then wipe the NAKAGO clean with a soft tissu which may result in better readable KANJI. Hope that helps!

Thierry, thank you! OMURA's English is incredible, but I have the impression that he knows his stuff!

Please read http://ohmura-study.net/911.html for more information.

Sébastien, in my opinion this TSUBA is not in the typical KANEIE style, whatever signature it has.

Pictures? Not only from the NAKAGO but whole blade without HABAKI and details like KISSAKI, HADA, and HAMON as well! And please consider, we cannot replace a SHINSA panel just by looking at photos!

Yes. You can look for the smith in the internet, and maybe you find that SHINODA UJIFUSA was a SEKI swordsmith in WWII.

Looks very cosy, TSUBA can relax!

HABAKI can be hammered in place, when the NAKAGO is thicker than the blade. This prevents them from sitting too loose in their position. However, they can be removed with a piece of hardwood and a hammer.