Travis Clarke

Welcome to the board, Ed!

Wow! Thank you for sharing, Curran. (I will supply the crowbar)...

Happy new years from western Canada! A very quiet night at home full of movies and board games with my family. I'm not quite the party animal that I used to be. I wish you all the best for 2014!

Branson, As Adam already mentioned, one thing worth noting are the changes in mei styles during this smiths working life. His early works display the "SADA" character cut with the "E" shaped "MAKOTO" character. Later on the lower part of the "SADA" character looks like the "NO" character in some works, hence the name "NOSADA". From around 1503 the lower part of the "SADA" character was cut with the "KORE" character which is "Z" shaped. This smith was occasionally referred to as "KORESADA" because of this. Some of his work is also signed with a KIKU MON. Some key features to look for would be a high SHINOGI, a very active hamon that displays gunome choji, o-midare/notare and hoso-suguha. The hamon displays mainly nioi with small amounts of nie. This smith is said to be the only KANESADA to receive the title of "Izumi No Kami" around 1511. I'm sure someone else will jump in here as well, hope this helps.

Hi Gary, I just posted a pretty good example of Katsumitsu mei you can use for comparison. Your post this morning actually gave me some motivation to finish my listing today :lol: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17619

Albert, I'm not sure if all the photos consist of the Boston Collection or not. I don't have the book on hand. I'm sure you would be happy with it regardless. LOTS of eye candy...as Stephen said.

Albert, Here's a pretty decent book on fittings by Joe Earle. It is relatively inexpensive and full of great photography. http://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Elegance-J ... 0878467750 http://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Elegance-S ... 0878466797 Hope this helps.

Welcome, Lloyd! I recently read a little write up about you in one of the older JSSC newsletters. I'll have to dig around and try and find it again. Welcome to the board!

I just recently purchased a beautiful kinko Mino-Goto tsuba from Danny. Seems like a great guy and was a pleasure to deal with.

Good for you, Chris. Sounds like a nice little sword. I may have already missed this in a previous thread, but can you post a link for the old ebay auction if its still up? Or some pics? Every once and awhile you can find some decent swords on old ebay. Not often though...

Hi Mark, It's hard to tell from this photo but this almost resembles toppei koshirae. Well, the saya is kind of similar anyway. Toppei koshirae became popular in the Bakumatsu period (late Edo) and had a heavy western influence. With toppei koshirae there was a large metal fitting on the end of the saya called a o-jiri. Your example seems to be a little more pointed at the tip though. Here's an example of toppei koshirae... http://www.aoijapan.com/koshirae-toppei-goshirae

Joe, Thank you for your input, Joe. I haven't researched this blade much at all since I've had it. You are probably right. I'll start looking into it. John, Even with your wakizashi being in a poor state of polish, if you post a pic of the entire blade, a close up of the nakago and one of the kissaki, some of the members here might be able to give you a general idea of what you have there. Depending on the condition of the blade, someone may be able to pin down what period it was made in anyway. Good luck.

O-Yumi, I've got a wakizashi that I believe was used in WW2 and is some what new. I posted a few pics of this sword last year for some help with the translation. I think it is signed by "SukeKuni". The blade appears to be oil quenched and is mounted in antique fittings. The saya looks like its wrapped in burlap and is painted (lacquered?) black. My photography skills are poor at best, so I apologize for the low quality photos. The gentleman that I purchased this from claimed that this wakizashi was indeed brought back from WW2. Just wish I could offer some better pictures. http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/treve ... t=3&page=1

Hi Reuben, Welcome. I'm from western Canada. I live in Alberta, just south of Calgary. Where are you located?

Reeder, No. The websites that I browse regularly for nihonto don't carry items of this quality. To be completely honest, the majority of Chinese fakes I see are posted and questioned on this site. If you are in the market for a sword similar to this, but authentic, I'm sure there are quite a few people here that can point you in the right direction.

Welcome Gratiot. Another set of books worth checking out are Token Bijutsu: The Journal of Fine Art Swords: Collected Essays: No.1-No.59. These books come in a two volume set, Koto and Shinto edition.

Martin, This doesn't have much to do with your initial question, but here's a complete set that's worth a look. http://www.nihonto.com/11.8.12.html

Can't contribute much in regards to the tsuba. But Keith, Franco...you guys are hilarious...thanks for the laugh :lol: I needed that one today.

Peter, That first link that I posted didn't work but I'm sure the link on my last post should work for you. Or try this one... http://s1321.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... ranslation

http://s1321.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... ranslation

Thank you for your quick replies guys I really appreciate it. I was just trying to fix my link so you could see some full pics of the blade. Did that link work at all? I must admit, I'm not the most CPU savvy individual.

http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u55 ... 9ab4ef.jpg Morning gentlemen, I put forth a solid effort trying to translate the mei on this wakizashi and tsuba but I've come up short. I spent quite a bit of time on the kanji page here on the site and was wondering if someone might have a link for another kanji reference, or maybe a hint that might point me in the right direction? The signature on the tsuba is so faint I'm afraid that is the best picture I could manage. Let me know if you have any trouble with the link I've posted and I'll get it sorted out on my end. Any and all inquires are appreciated. Thanks and happy new year.

Thanks for your input Ludolf and John. Yes, I believe you both are correct. The signature on my fuchi is very crude in comparison with the excellent examples provided. Thank you for your replies and examples guys you were a big help.

Thanks for your quick reply Chris I appreciate it.

Hello Everyone, I've had this set for quite awhile now and I was hoping someone could help me translate the inscription on the fuchi. I believe they are Mino-Goto craftsmanship and are from Edo period. Any help at all would be appreciated. Thanks and happy holidays.