Marius

Evan, Nobody said anything about Kyo As said, nice tsuba

What about the shape os seppa-dai, the hitsu ana and the stylism? Whatever the attribution, a very pleasant tsuba

Curtis, it seems that you base your speculation on two factors: the futatsuji hi and what looks like a gunome hamon. This is not enough to make an attribution to a smith, be it Kaneuji or any other kaji. There are so many factors that must be taken into account in kantei, and their combinations are numerous. It is bewildering even for shinsa members However, it is great that you want to share your sword and your opinion on this Forum, because that's what people do here - try to help. Also, your enthusiasm is also a very good thing, just don't get disheartened when your sword turns out to be something less then a masterpiece (as it most likely will). It simply takes a bit more learning to make attributions, especially such bold ones, OK? :D Please don't take offence :-) I wish you luck with the sword, it is a nice find, as Brian said :-)

Boris, you know this one Bronze, 9.2 x 9.3 x 0.3cm at seppadai, 0.25mm at rim.

Thierry, Thanks for having pointed this out, I have laughed my a... off Corrected now, sorry about that, bloody screen keyboard on a tablet

Gethin, This is not a Higo tsuba, IMHO. The aesthetics is just different, although the large sukashi forming the hitsu ana and the light taper might lead to this conclusion. The iron looks good, and as Boris has said, the tsuba is appealing. No need to put it into a box, really. Of course, if someone points at a school (other than Shoami, LOL) it will be great to know what school this tsuba might come from. But a good tsuba is a good tsuba, regardless of school. Remember, there were provincial schools and in the Edo period cross-fertilisationa was pretty common (e.g. Nishigaki and Akasaka). A good buy. Enjoy it

Hank, I know you can't post a pic, but, really... What is this "Edo-like" hamon? It would be futile to try to determine the age of your sword by the type of nakago only...

Excellent photograph, it really captures utsuri, thanks for posting Is that an Ichimonji blade?

Your pics are not too good - you are using a flashlight, and that distorts colours. What makes you think it is early Edo? BTW, katana and wakizashi tsuba are displayed/photographed "edge up". Not that this is a problem, of course

funds sent a few days ago

Welcome aboard Dan :D

Markus, I can prepay my two copies if you want and just wait when you have them and are ready to ship. I think that would be a tremendous service and a favour you are doing. A lot of hassle, etc. Just tell me what to do, I can send you email. I think others would be also happy to pre-pay.

Ah! How nice to see tsuba from my now defunct blog :D My, and it was written in Polish http://gomahashi.blogspot.com/2010/02/o ... kashi.html Actually, these two were not a daisho. It is a bit hard to discern it in the pics, but one was a rather lumpy Owari, while the other was very delicate, more like Kyo sukashi. But yes, the motif was matsukawa.

Craig, using this for tameshigiri? Good luck. What if the blade has a crack (you probably won't be able to see it in its current condition)? You hit and ... bang ouch! Sorry, couldn't help it...

Arnold, you could ask Kunitaro-san who offers this service: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17115 Sashikomi is more expensive, that is for sure...

Count me in with two copies :-) I know, this is just info from your side, but maybe our answers will help to gauge the demand?

The latter, IMHO.

Timothy, What makes you even look at this tanto? The shape, I presume? Look at the sloppy nakago and stay away.

Ken, this seller sells only stuff from yahoo.jp. If you right-click on a picture in his auction, you will be able to copy its address. It will be typically something like that: http://auctions.c.yimg.jp/c032.img.auct ... g19131.jpg You don't have to read kanji to see that it is from yahoo.jp. and in this particular case you can easily guess that that the auction number is 1403514352 and the sellers nick is songyong67. As for questions 2 and 3: 2. you need a good agent, and you need to watch yahoo.jp to identufy an item that is interesting for you 3. you need to set your own price, up to which you want to bid. Just like in a any other auction service :-) I hope that helps :-)

Jordy, This eBay seller is posting pics/description from a yahoo.jp auction. If you buy at his inflated price, he will try to buy the sword on Yahoo and if successful, he will deliver it to you. Of course you will then have paid his hefty markup, if not a multiple of what the sword would cost you in Japan. This has been discussed here a few times. If you want this sword, you can get the number of the Yahoo Japan auction from one of the pics' URL, and once you have the auction, hire an agent to buy it for you at the source. I can guarantee, it will be much much cheaper.

Gents, I would love to find something matching for this little orphan :-) Thanks for looking :-)

John, Thank you

How old? Gendai, I suppose. But real, if not desirable for most. It has good points, though. The nakago is pretty good, you often see them very crudely made in this sort of tanto. The blade is in polish, although there is not much to see in terms of hada. Hamon is visible. Shinogi seems not too crisp, but hat might be your photos. The shape is a kind of shobu zukuri, but not quite and rather clumsy. Nothing wrong with that. A real nihonto, maybe not old, maybe not excellent, but real. School? You ask too much

I haven't deserved any thanks. But yeah, Ford rocks :D

Stunning!