ROKUJURO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7z9pkQnz_0 Don't know if this has been shown before.

The German AI text is incredibly flawed.

I think the decoration was meant to be $, but to make the work easier, they left the vertical strokes out.

It is not a good photo to reveal everything. It would be much better to photograph it straight from above, not at an angle, to get every detail in good focus. However, I think all that has been written above is correct. But to make you feel a bit better I can tell you that from 100 random SOTEN signed TSUBA lying on a table in front of you, ALL may be fakes! Authenticated and genuine SOTEN TSUBA are very sought after and fetch high prices on the market. This was even so in the past, which explains why there are so many fakes. They are easy to spot for experts as good iron TSUBA from the SAMURAI era were never cast. Your TSUBA looks quite crude in execution, so that is just the opposite of how good SOTEN TSUBA look like.

Just found this on YouTube:

Hi Iryna, the NAKAGO (tang) photos are upside-down which makes reading more difficult. We also have a TRANSLATION section where the experts are. In my opinion, this is a WWII blade, signed KANEUJI. The date is difficult to read, but there is a SHOWAS stamp up on the NAKAGO which confirms that it is a machine-made, wartime blade. It looks as if someone has wire-brushed the rust off the NAKAGO which is always a very bad idea, but in this case, not much value was destroyed. Also, the metal mounting parts look polished which should NEVER be done!

THe photo is good, but as Steve says, there is only little information in it. One thing that could explain the spot would be an attempt to erase a tiny corrosion spot or some discoloration with a fine stone, but that is speculation only. It is certainly not caused by a chemical solvent.

Yes for the blade! The KOSHIRAE may be high-end but is not to my taste.

So KENCHO is KANENAGA?

Marsel, the first photo is upside-down. The shape looks Japanese but there is too much corrosion to say more. But please do not "clean" or grind it, leave this to an expert!

Jon, it is not a TACHI, but a KATANA blade.

Chansen, these mountings have been put together very recently. The SAMEGAWA was "repaired" with 2-component glue, and the MENUKI have been glued on the TSUKA the same way - amateur work! TSUKA-ITO is missing, so, no, this KOSHIRAE is not 'period-correct', which by the way would not be a problem in terms of quality. Mountings were often changed in the life of a blade. To me, the blade has a later MINO touch; the HAMON reminds me of SANBON SUGI. As mentioned before, you do not know what you have there, so it is much better to save your money for a moment and look for a better sword. Here on the NMB, we have reliable dealers and good offers for your money.

That will apply to most of us, so that is a good reason not to waste your money on crap TSUBA. It is certainly not about resale value to make money, but on general value. Some day, someone will have your TSUBA, and only better quality items will keep their value (or even increase in value as we learn from the past). Cheap items, on the other hand, will mostly remain cheap stuff even after a few hundred years. You will find good craftsmanship only in good TSUBA which you can study and learn from. This quality relation is not restricted to TSUBA; it is the same all over the world with any hand-made object. There is a saying that you always "buy yourself".....If you judge your self-esteem low, then buy cheap stuff.

Jon, it is not a KATANA but a military TACHI. The TSUBA is a recent imitation (not Japanese, I believe).

.....arm yourself with a lot of knowledge, time and patience..... That's it!

It does not look like a TSUBA either. YOKAI is another name for TANUKI.

I do not see a TANUKI. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_raccoon_dog

These rasps are made in different shapes and length. Quite expensive!

Please don't do this until it is a traditionally trained person, specialized in Japanese blades. Recommendation like the one by Piers should absolutely be followed!

Hi JT, welcome to the NMB! Please sign all posts at least with a first name plus an initial, so we can address you politely. It is a rule here. The blade is indeed dated 1940, and the maker seems to read KANETOSHI (TACHI MEI). Do you see stamps of any kind on the NAKAGO (tang)? They might indicate the way the blade was made.

Alex, this alteration would not have been done in a day or three. Think of making not only the NAKAGO extension, but also a new TSUKA!

One explanation I could think of would be that it was mounted as NAGAMAKI. As mentioned above by John, a very long TSUKA with a short NAKAGO is likely to break in battle.

JM (please sign all posts with a first name plus an initial so we could address you politely), the photo is completely out of focus so nothing can be seen.

I am not familiar with CATAWIKI and its experts, but if it was really such a bad and incompetent place, why not just ignore them and buy elsewhere? Verbally beating a co-worker for his employer is pointless in my opinion.

Yes, a SOSHU KANETOMO signed attempt to make an imitation.