FletchSan

Sent you a PM. Cheers.

Hi Mark, That mine. (Well for a little while longer anyway!). Previously discussed here. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/19378-koto-wakizashi/ cheers, Ben

Fingers crossed! It's with the polisher so will post better pics (including the nakago ! as soon as I get it back in a week or two.

Thanks - agree based on the shape alone it looks to be Koto and hopefully the window will help narrow it down. I was probably a little premature posting about this sword given I can't take any more photos just yet. The nakago should also confirm koto given the dark patina and the fact it has been shortened. I have two images from the original ad before it was removed that show the menuki a little clearer which is a fish and also the rust on the kissaki. Do you think there's a chance the kissaki will be okay under that rust? I guess I'll know soon enough. cheers, Ben

Hi All, I found an interesting Katana which I picked up on Saturday on the way to dropping off two wakizashi for windows (a naginata & nagamaki). I noticed it listed in a local classified as a ww2 sword in the same family for 70 years and got it for only $500 AUD (Around $380 USD) which seemed like a steal and it was on the way to the polisher - so perfect ! It isn't in military mounts and is clearly an older sword so I am also having a window opened on this one as well subject to the condition of the blade underneath the rust on the kissaki which is pretty rusted. Hopefully there will not be major pitting under that rust as the rest of the blade looks pretty good. It was covered in dirt and grease which we removed and I hastily took this photo as a shot with my phone, unfortunately not great photo. Hamon is there and the nakago has a very nice dark patina and is suriage & mumei. Not much to comment on yet - though I will post pictures of the window (assuming the kissaki is okay) in a couple of weeks when I get it back as well as the windows of the other two swords. Will be my first windows, so pretty excited and hopeful for this Katana. Does the sugata suggest Koto, perhaps late muromachi ? The nagasa is also rather long at just under 70cm. Also - a piece of what appears to be rice paper was wrapped around the nakago. I assume no significance other than to make it fit the tsuka a little more tightly? cheers, Ben

Beginner question. What are the telling signs of o-suriage outside of the possible second mekugiana ? The bohi tapers off in the nakago and I have previously seen suriage swords with the bohi running all the way through. Could this have been modified when the sword was cut down from a tachi? thanks, Ben

Hi Stephen, Do you mean that it must have been made as a katana or tachi and shortened and not originally made as a wakizashi? Happy to promote it to a Katana though its just under 60cm. If I can break that rule then my collection of Katanas has suddenly increased A few high res scans showing the nakago and kissaki in gory detail. You can also see the pattern of the hamon though of course not the detail with a scanner. cheers, Ben

Thanks John. I thought the same thing about the potential second mekugi ana. It does look like there may have been one that was filled in a long time ago as the patch matches on both sides. I rotated another photo vertically to give an idea of the sori - perhaps it was a tachi that was shortened to a wakizashi at some stage? Ben

Hi All, I picked up this wakizashi in shirasaya that was a ww2 bringback by a New Zealand "J" Force veteran. It is a very long wakizashi with a nagasa of 57cm and seems to have a fairly decent active hamon under the rust. Looks to me like an uchigatana. The patina on the nakago seems to suggest a fairly old blade? Interesting find anyway and interested in your thoughts as always. cheers, Ben

cont.

Final landscapes

Hi All, I've been meaning to upload the rest of the images for a while - so finally got around to doing it today. I'll split them into a few posts given the number of photographs. These are the remaining images featuring people, the rest will be landscapes. Enjoy. Ben

Thanks guys - very helpful, appreciate the quick response!

Hi All, Just need some help with this one - or pointers in the right direction. thanks!

Thanks Thomas, I'll have a look. Any clues as to whether it is police or not from the writing on the guard where the number 29 is stamped? cheers, Ben

The sword arrived today and its even better in hand. It's in great condition and all original and everything fits together beautifully. As expected the nakago was heavily modified to fit which looks to be an older family blade. Love the hamon. There is some kanji underneath the number 29 stamped on the guard - any ideas? I wonder if this could help identify the type of sword or administration it was associated with. Thoughts on the blade? I'm sure most would say what a shame about the nakago - though given its period and part of the sword history I think it is interesting personally. cheers, Ben

What other civil authorities were allowed to carry swords other than the police juring the Meiji period?

It does have a removable pommel as can be seen in this pic. I assume that it is very likely the nakago was altered with the end threaded. Looks pretty rare - though I've found a couple of examples of this done during the Meiji era I to fit the western style fittings. So... what is the current collectors view on this? Does it devalue the sword as a nihonto or is it considered part of the history and therefore interesting? I'm guessing the former Ben

Its on its way - should have it by the end of the week and will update with new pics and hopefully a removed tsuka. Is the floral mekugi a cover on a regular bamboo peg or would it be a two piece screw that I would need to undo? cheers, Ben

Here is a better view of the floral design on the handle. I couldn't find any examples either with a sakura mekugi and most seem to have a single ashi vs double on the saya. This is probably the most similar one I have found which also has a mekugi and double ashi though it is described as a Navy Kyu Gunto presumably because of the anchor motif. http://www.genuine-antique-swords.com/swords/gunto/gu0026-navalkyugunto/navalkyugunto.htm Are there any good references online for civil swords? re: the blade - if it is a traditionally made one which I assume it may be based on the shape and hamon I guess they may have had to modify the nakago to fit? I figure that the bottom screw would screw into the nakago if it is required to be removed along with the mekugi to free the blade.

Interesting - I hadn't seen it listed before. It looks in decent shape from the photos at least so hopefully it was just a non payer vs a problem. I guess i'll find out soon enough!

Hi All, I picked this up quite cheaply as I thought it would go nicely with my kyu gunto - though I dont have it in hand so cannot take any better photos just yet. I'll take some more when I receive it next week. The seller could not remove the tsuka so I will try to remove it carefully when I receive it to have a look at the nakago. It looks like a police saber though with a traditionally made blade? I've done a lot of searching for police sabers and they all have similar blades that look machine made and very different to this one. What do you think - were family blades ever used in police sabers? Is that what it is or is it an early navy kyu gunto? thanks, Ben

Thanks George - that is very interesting about the two Sennin! I do think that Tsuba may be cast on closer inspection. I think I see what remains of a seam inside the nakago-ana and I'm not sure whether the copper is separate metal or just copper applied on the surface to look that way. I've attached two higher res. photos. cheers, Ben

Hi Greg, The saya for the first sword is just plain black lacquer. I added a photo. cheers, Ben

Second wakizashi