Ken-Hawaii

Being in Florida, you have t o prepare for high humidity, as I do in Hawaii. Koshirae aren't intended for long-term storage, & although shirasaya will afford more protection, a katanadansu is what protects my collection. Look for something like this: https://www.Japanese-vintage.org/katana-dansu-1830

Jason, I strongly suggest that you ignore the mei on any blade you're considering, until you have a lot more experience. As has been said many times, "buy the blade, not the mei."

Yakidashi on both sides indicates an ubu blade, & usually Shinto. I like the hamon, but can't hazard a guess from your photos. Looking at the tsuka, I don't see any wear on the tsukimaki where they cross, so it's probably modern, but nothing wrong with that. Nice fittings, too. I'd also vote for the trade.

Welcome aboard, Thom. From the thickness of the blade, my first opinion is that you have a yoroi-doshi, in what looks to be moderm mounts. In the future, please show the completely bare blade, rather than everything else. The sugata (shape) tells the age, which leads to other info about the blade. The tosogu (everything else) was probably changed many times over, with way we change our clothes (at lest pre-pandemic), & tells nothing about the blade, itself. The markings are probably used to match up the various pieces.

Oh, it would work, but one important detail is that you should never use so much of anything that it collects, dust, dirt, and other debris that can damage your blade. With choji oil, you should apply the bare minimum needed to protect the steel from the elements.

Nice!

Nice, low humidity up in Jackson, too. Great job on your room, Jim!

Nope, it's not one of Mike's blade (Komonjo), although he finds it interesting, but very thin. He's been trying to identify the seller for some time, but hasn't had any luck.

Try posting one shot of the entire bare blade, which will tell us the blade's age.

Jason, you've gotten some excellent advice here, but it is still a very-complex subject. Our illustrious member, Markus Sesko, has done a great job of walking members through a university-level course on Nihonto https://markussesko.com/kantei/ & I think reading through that, to understand the basics, will help you more than initially trying to understand the often-inconsistent Gokaden concept. Welcome aboard, & I hope you enjoy studying.

Welcome, Neil. Age is determined by the sugata (shape of the sword),. Why don't you start reading through https://markussesko.com/kantei/ & see if you can figure it out yourself.

Jussi, you're a real jewel! That's an incredible amount of work. Thank you/

You might want to add Woody Hall, who worked for Bob Benson, polishing juyo blades. He moved to Las Vegas last year, hawaii.togishi@yahoo.com. He polishes all of my blades.

I like that outlook, JP.

Welcome aboard, John, & don't be shy about asking questions.

Looks more like a hang glider that damn near killed me!

I still think they're called uchinoke, Dan, & I like the blade. Other possibility is nie kuzure (Nagayama pg 100).

Did the blade come with shirasaya? Tosogu? I would value it at between $700-$1000, assuming at least shirasaya.

Fredd, as I pointed out on another thread, Markus sesko has done a bang-up job explaining the kantei process: https://markussesko.com/kantei/ This is a free, university-level approach, & if you will dig in, you'll find that identifying a specific smith from back in the 1600s isn't guesswork, at all.

There are shishi lions & shishi dogs.

John, the purpose of the togishi is NOT to make "everything look more crisp & attractive." His job is to restore the blade to as close to the tosho's original intent as possible, while removing the absolute minimum amount of metal. That means he must understand how the blade was made, which period it came from, & what the swordsmith intended. That isn't an easy task, & requires a huge amount of knowledge.

John, looking at only a part of a sword is similar to the parable of the blind men & an elephant. The first thing about kantei is having the entire blade to examine, otherwise, it's a waste of time. Seriously. Like Chris, I'm not a fan of Hofhine's polishing skills.

Glad you were there to capture those moments in history, Piers.

John, have you already mastered the terminology of the blade? If you have, then I suggest digging into Markus Sesko's https://markussesko.com/2015/02/06/kantei-introduction/ He has done a great job of covering the details of kantei, & there really is a scientific way of evaluating & understanding blades.

Selamat datang, Jose. People like you are what make NMB interesting.