Peter Bleed

I just bet you that this is a gaijin production. In the "old days" (say in the mid 1960s), there were fellows who practiced the deceptionary arts - with sources and skills that were not very good. This looks like something that was "signed" at that time. Peter PS This is not a confession!

Grey, I'm very sorry. This was me, In Aus i go by Elvis Victor Anderson. But please just drop it in the mail to me here in Arkansas. Peter

Sean, KAN2428 is the number given to this smith in Hawley's second edition. In the old days that was a basic reference. Now I suppose that it is a mere historical oddity. P

so do I get partial credit? P

I've changed my mind. I agree with Ray

Well, gee. This is some fun. Thanks. After a bit of thinking, I am now (pretty) sure that this is signed by Heidakana KANETAKA - as in KAN2428. But who the heck is he? Peter Bleed

I'm not sure what it says, but I bet it has 5 layers. P

Jeremiah, Sorry, I've have had my ears off for a while. I also have not had much contact with KK 12th. As i scan the meikan I am not seeing a lot of clear info on time with Naotane. The meikan says he was a student of Kanemitsu as in KAN141. I don't see dates for a trip to Edo, but recall that the 10th KK went to the eastern capital to study with Masahide. There may well have been a link that would let KK 12th spend time with Naotane. Do we have dates for this trip to Edo? Peter

Here in Arkansas I have come in contact with some serious "custom knife" makers. This is a serious field and I respect fellows who are into it, both the makers and the collectors. There is also some serious money involved. I am sure that if Nippon-to kaji were to enter this trade (as a side light and tangential activity) they could find lots of interest in what they could offer. I am aware that there there is a custom knife market in Japan, but I am not sure how it related to shinsaku-to. In any case, it this market were to develop, it certainly would change Japanese swordsmithing. It might improve custom knives -- while also reducing sword making. Peter

Please show us the whole unit. Peter

What a great thread. Thanks Peter

I agree that this says looks like an addition to the blade that may be very recent. Peter

Because I am interested in tsuba that were informed or copied from European bi-lobed guards, I have been marginally interested in this issue. Simple design symmetry might explain a lot here, but I think there may as well be some functional utility is knowing where the cutting center of a blade was. Guys were using these things in life or death situations so tat even very basic orientation information may have had practical value. Peter

Stamps like this - at least generally - were often seen on those blades that came back in the 1960s from Thailand. At that time they were assumed to be something that was added to the blades outside of Japan. Indeed, this sure doesn't look like a Japanese mark. Peter

A friend recently shared with me a book he thought I’d find interesting. Indeed, I have found it of interest - for all the wrong reasons. Forging Japanese Knives for Beginners by Ernst Siebeneicher-Hellwig and Jurgan Rosinski is published in 2013 (in the US) by Schiffer Publishing. If you get a chance to acquire this book, DON’T. It is useless to anyone genuinely interested in Nippon-to. More seriously, the information this volume presents to anyone interested in learning how traditional Japanese blades are made is worse than bogus. Ernst and Jurgen seem to be ambitious European knife makers who have seen some pictures of Japanese swords. They also seem to have learned some vocabulary, but there is NO bibliography. A couple of pictures suggest that one of another of them visited a Japanese kitchen knife maker but that experience is not described. The book opens with a rather long description of a bloomery furnace replication but the relevance of that activity to comparable Japanese practice is not addressed. Likewise, the pictures that show a short blade being made and then smeared with goo so that it can be “heat treated” have no direct reference to Japanese activities. Then several pages a devoted to describing how a clunky brass thing can be drilled out to serve as a Habaki. Finally there is a chapter on hocho making. As a book, this volume is a waste of paper. Still, I think this dung ball might say something about the state and future of Japanese sword appreciation. So far interest in Japanese blades has been - largely -controlled by Japanese practice. With broader interest, this book may indicate that Japanese blades will become free of Japanese control. It is possible that a new generation of smiths will emerge who use some Japanese terms and who are adept at making things they call “Japanese knifes.” Peter

Looks like a great deal. A decorative blade with legitimate history and a link to a well-known regional school. If swords like this a worth a grand, I think the market may becoming very soft. Peter

I won't argue with anything posted so far, but I sure wish somebody would organize and present information on "real" pre-War Chinese and Manchurian swords. There HAD to be some. How do we tell the real ones from the recent attempts at fakery? And don't tell me about crudity. Lots of Chinese militaria is crude. It also seems to be the case that lots of Chinese gear was explicitly - if crudely - copied from Japanese originals. Peter

George, During the Han dynasty a Chinese school of philosophy called the NOMINALISTS failed because they realized that even if you give a name to everything you will not understand everything. Searching for words to describe build-it-yourself knives is a fool's errand.If your interests move in that direction explain why the world needs a word, and then make one up. Peter

well, it is clearly a KUNIMASA, but I am not sure which one signed Tachibana, hmm... Look at KUN 438 Peter

To me this looks like the kanji "KO" as in "small" and the katakana "HO" . The first might be a name abriviation. The kana might also be a shortening but it might be a serial marker - or a whole lot of other things. Peter

Its a HIDE IMHO Peter

It is certainly KANENORI (KAN 255) but I'lll go farther and see Grey's tenner that it is GIMEI! Peter

I currently have some kaigunto and in something like 50 years of collecting I have seen and handled lots more. I have also seen and handled lots of modern Chinese swords. To my eye the sword I asked about looked very suspicious and I called attention to obvious problems. Maybe I understated those problems and for emergent experts subtlety may not be effective.The fact that lots of people addressed my question suggests that it was worthy. And you may have noticed that several posters considered the sword worthy.. Your judgement of my knowledge seems harsh. Peter

I'm glad to learn that this isn't all that bad! Peter

I checked and came to the same conclusion, Jon. P