AikiScott1

Umm...i saw this sword for sale and the seller told me there was hagiri. I think i saw it in the tip. Sorry, just so you know. ---Scott M.

Books, research, more books, more research. ---Scott M.

Thank you so much for the assistance! Awesome.---Scott M.

Yoshi Kiyo? Sorry I forgot to sign the last post.---Scott M.

I was hoping I could get help with this Gendaito mei. I think the smith is Yoshi??? Thank you so much. ----Scott M.

Wow thank you so much for all of the help! You guys are great. Why would this be inside of a scabbard? Thanks. ---Scott M.

Hi, I am trying to find some help with the translation for the inside of this saya. I received the sword and saya in rather rough shape, and when I opened up the saya halves, I found this. The bottom symbol looks like a kao of some kind? Thank you so much for any help. --Scott M.

I have had several Murata-to, or at least what I am pretty sure we're Murata-to (Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths gives a pretty good explanation.) From what I have found, Murata-to are rather light in hand, thinner than showato, oil tempered, and the nakago has a particular look and weight, almost like it's aluminum. I hope this makes sense, it's just what I have noticed. -----Scott M.

I find Hofhine's work to be excellent. Just because a Japanese sword polisher is Japanese doesn't by that simple virtue make him a better sword polisher. Also what kind of commission does one make in arranging sword polishing services in Japan?

I was wondering does anyone know of a person or business that can appraise swords in the New York suburbs area? I live in Orange County and would prefer not to travel much further than that. Even better would be if I could just send a whole bunch of pictures, but I don't know if that would work. Thanks so much. ---Scott M.

Just wanted to say I had a great time attending the Philadelphia show this weekend. It was great to meet so many knowledgeable people and to see so many wonderful swords and other items. Many thanks to Bill and others who made all this possible! ---Scott M.

Is it me just seeing things or has something weird happened to the kissaki? It looks kind of blunted like it was chipped then re-shaped. ---Scott M.

Genuine.---Scott M.

I have a similar sword, kai gunto also marked Inaba. I know there have been previous threads here detailing more what all this means but if I remember correctly Inaba was an imperial navy contractor and if you look closer you might see another stamp on the tang besides the anchor stamp and from my understanding this means genuine, as in this sword is a genuine item made by Inaba, implied being of rust resistant steel, for the Japanese navy. I hope this helps and please let me know if I have gone wrong anywhere.---Scott M.

I may not have as much experience as others, but I would bet good money that this blade is just a slightly better fake. The habaki is all wrong, as is the mei and nakago. Even the seki stamp looks crudely done. If someone can prove otherwise, I would like the chance to learn.---Scott M.

Will there be a shinsa at this show too? Either way I'm going. It's great that there's one so close to me.---Scott M.

I am sorry if this has been covered before, but what do you think is my best bet regarding either restoring or replacing metal Kyu Gunto scabbards? I really like these but finding ones that fit is nearly impossible and the process for repairing them is tedious and frustrating and it is difficult not to damage the plating or the scabbard. Is there a company or anyone who makes something close? I already contacted Tom Nardi but he said he couldn't help me out. Any ideas are appreciated thanks.---Scott M.

Thank you for the accolades on my wittiness, but in all seriousness it would probably be a great help to any Gunto collector to just first invest some money in good books, like Jim Dawson's volume. Time spent reading and studying is money in the bank.---Scott M.

Just let the seller know "We can't go on together with suspicious gunto. " -Scott M.

Thanks so much everyone for all of the assistance. The only question I am left with now is, as the nakago reads yamashiro no kami fujiwara toshinaga, why would Echizen Kanemasa forge the Toshinaga signature? Or was this blade originally mumei and the signature added later and aged? Thanks again.---Scott M.

Hello and good evening. I hope all this goes as I had planned, but so little does. I am supposed to have with this message the results of a sword judgement and I know the blade didn't pass shinsa and I could make out the characters for GiMei, but I couldn't make out what the other characters say. Is it who the likely maker was? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.----Scott M.

Hello everyone. I have what may be a silly question but I thought I should ask your opinions. Is it better when polishing a sword to sacrifice some meat of the blade (hira niku?) with regards to the thickness of the kissaki, noticable when looking at the top of the mune, if this keeps more of the kissaki, and hence more hamon in the kissaki, when looking at the blade in profile? This particular blade I saw also gets narrow at the mune towards the tip, when looking mune side up. I am sorry if this is not clear or if it is a weird question, and I thank you for your input.---Scott M.

Thanks for all of the help. Sword is in the mail for Shinsa, now I think if it is Shoshin I will have it polished. If gimei, for what I paid for the whole package I think I still did well. Thanks again! - - Scott M.

Thanks I did indeed find the wire that would work on this site, and Tom Nardi was very accommodating in procuring for me extended lengths of wire that would work for Kyu Gunto. While this wire is the wrong gauge and pattern for Kyu Gunto dress swords (that wire being a smaller gauge and a tighter pattern), it works great for the combat swords, perfectly matching the original grip wire from another Kyu Gunto in my collection. -. - Scott M.

I think I see some turn back so the point could be saved but that's gotta be some job.