Humbleshogun

Although I can't say I like what you are saying - it sounds like the truth. When I first saw the horimono it felt a bit off, I couldn't place my finger on it but it didn't seem as nice as the rest of the blade and appeared to be newer / shinier. My gut instinct pointed me in that direction but my lack of expertise couldn't provide any substantial claims. The mei didn't look ideal either. I remember reading that tantos are rarely signed but this one had the complete package: era, province, school + registration papers. What more could I ask for? My original goal was to use the signatures / registration papers to see if I could pin point information on the maker and perhaps some of its history. I paid $900 on Ebay sustaining the "market cost". Not sure how much it's worth now but I never bought it as an investment. In the past week, I've already learned a ton - something that five years of book reading cannot substitute for...experience. Also proves my previously thought philosophy: It's hard to argue with facts.

I see what you are saying, the first two kanji do appear significantly different than the rest. It could be possible that they were added later to predate the blade or perhaps the entire mei could be faked. The blade has a horimono that looks quite different from the mei. I've attached a few pictures that may help.

Mr. Muriyama, here's a picture of the tang. Perhaps it will help in our translation.

Registration question. Unless I am mistaken, Fuyuhiro worked in the mid 1400s. How is it possible that the era is Meito (late 1300s)? Is it possible it's refering to the school?

Mr. Muriyama, thank you very much for the translation, it will help guide me on my quest to find out more about the tanto. A signed tang is a great start and I look forward to continuing my research. I did have a question relative to proper cleaning: What is the most practical material that one should use for removal of old oil, uchicko powder and the application of new oil. Is rice paper ok for all three as long as it's crumpled first or is sterile gauze the prefered choice?

This is a two part question and since none are strong enough to stand on their own - I decided to combine them. After reading, studying and attending nihonto seminars for the past 5 years, I finally purchased my first tanto. I've been using a Paul Chen cleaning kit because of its availability and general "better" quality feel to it but after doing a bit of literature reading, I read that one can make their own choji oil. I read that mineral oil can be comibined with clove oil in a ratio of 10 to 1 to produce choji oil. I was able to purchase mineral oil at a local pharmacy but the only clove oil I could find was clove bud oil. It's 100% pure essential oil. I was wondering if this is an acceptable substitute? The second part of my question deals with a translation. I have attached a copy of the registration papers that came with the tanto. My local attempts to translate them have failed and if anyone could provide a top level translation, I would be most greatful.