Jean

Mariuszk, Thanks for this shoshin thought :D :D . You are right.

To the question often asked : Is this sword worth polishing? here is my "personnal" opinion (and I share it ) Unless : you can waste money without thinking/caring, you are sentimental, altruist : Pound this over : (an old cooking recette) put purchase cost in a bowl, add a good spoonfull of professional restoration (polishing) - mix every components, put it in the oven and after cooking go to the cake shop (sorry I meant, the dealer) and compare the result (price) between your restored blade and one bought in full polish, sometimes (not to say often) it is not worth the money.

Mark, Yo're gonna be disappointed, it looks like a Shinto nakago with some togari which could lead to some Mino influences (as more than 80% of Shinto blades). If anybody else can add any comment he is welcome. That's all one can say (I am talking of myself). Unless very characteristic (Sudareba, ...) determining the smith, the school, from bad polish blades with poor pictures is impossible. Don't be taken aback about my comments about bad pictures, I have never been able to take decent pictures of a blade. The best is to scan it, but here again you have to choose very carefully the scanner.

Not from the Hi (groove) It is not Gimei and not intended to be (for the ones who have seen the Kyo or Osaka Tamba mei)

Mei reads : Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi ...... Swing low, sweet charriot, coming for to carry me home ....

The remark was intended for Mike in case he had not noticed.

lacks the Jû (住) which should be between the second and third kanji. "Tomo" kanji different in the 2 mei

Hi Sencho, change of location? :lol: :lol:

More or less 5% in France, it stop by Customs, I had 3 katana which went through Customs without any taxes

Piers, for the small sum of ......?

Marriuszk, Roughly. If you look at an angle to the hamon and find a hamon totally different from the one you are seeing upfront you are facing hadori. For example, I have a Suruga Shimada tanto, Hirosuke. he polish shows a notare midare hamon. If you have a look at the balde from a 30° angle you will see a totally different hamon with togari, that's hadori effect. With hadori, very good polishers can give a hamon where it runs off the blade

http://home.att.net/~hofhine/beforeandafter.html

Fully agreed with Sencho. Such swords (straight ones) were forged during the 19th century (in a special political context). Ninja swords ( I have never heard of them but in fantasy comics/movies) should have been short for a practical point of view. There are a lot of tell tales on this sword : boshi, mirror polish and the square tsuba. Now, a ninja sword : just think a little. Who were ninjas? do you think they would advertise in having custom made swords? Katana were certainly not Ninja's main weapon ....

You said it all Ted, nothing to add

http://www.nihonto.ca/ratings.html

Ed, One thing which should have been added is that the Mei was very professionally scratched It makes me think of what happened in France during the Revolution (1789 and on) on the Cathedrals'sculptures

Thanks Darcy for the input, Such random thoughts on the master smiths and their top students could lead to the fact that some "Den" Juyo are by top students of a school so it could be that it will be a better kantei to state "Juyo Rai" rather than "Den Rai Kunimitsu" as it is often done for Naoe Shizu. Won't you think for your Soshu book that a subscription could help the process as Afu did for the Nihonto Koza books?

Question, is it worth it?

Many Thanks Mariuszk

Looks like : 永徳 Eitoku (1381)

Looks like "Munetsugu"

Thanks to Brian and my memory BTW Brian, Did you succeed in saving all Jim's articles?

Kuwana blades : From memory (because I have not read Jim Kurrash's article for years): At the end of the 16th century after the flood which lead to the destruction of Osafune, some Bizen smiths migrated to other provinces and in particular in Ise where they kept on signing "Bizen/Bishu ....". It is by extension, that blades forged during the 19th, not originating from Bizen and wearing "bizen" mei were called Kuwana blades.

"Kuwana blades" were traditionally made/forged, copy of Bizen blades and signed accordingly with Bizen names. I have seen a Kuwana "Norimitsu" blade which was really very good. Two give away : the mei and a nengo added later not by the same hand. Kuwana blades are not necessarily synonym of poor quality blades (refer to Usagiya comments of the blade : ; )

Agreed with Moriyama san, there was an article on the topic by late Jim Kurrash on his website.