johngdo

Thanks so much guys. I agree. There is a general lack of niji-mei to compare to. Ken, thank you for the recommendations. I'll do some more research. As always, thank you for your insight. John

Blade length is 24.5cm. Width at hamachi is just under 2cm. Shape is slight Takenoko Zori.

Hello, I was just hoping to get some thoughts on this Tanto from some of you guys. It's not in great shape, but the sugata had me thinking it may be Kamakura period Osafune. The price was right, so I picked it up... What would your overall impression be? Especially thoughts on Mei if you are able to give any. https://imgur.com/gallery/YJCI2IU Thank you for your thoughts, John

This is Type 95 NCO Shin-Gunto. Probably WW2. The blade is machine made so really nothing to see under the handle. These are of value to military collectors. John

Just to add my experience to the lot, I had an Inaba Tadakuni Katana that passed with 76 points. It papered to the 2nd generation. I was very happy with the Shinsa all around. John

The seller has his location listed as being in the USA. I'm guessing that these blades actually ship from China should you buy one. Is there a middle man in the USA providing a "legit" shipping address? Also, the owner of the FB sword commented stating that it's China made. It seems that the sword did not pass Shinsa. John

Alex, I happen to have a signed, but as of yet unverified Inaba Tadakuni Katana. I will be submitting it for Shinsa come April. If it passes and is attributed to a later generation Tadakuni I will send you some photos. Sorry I couldn't have been of immediate help, but I'll keep you updated. John

Good eye. David Hofhine. John

Hello, I thought that this community may appreciate these photos of the process of a finish polish for my Tadakuni. I've attached the gallery. I found it fascinating to see high quality step by step photos of a finish polish. https://imgur.com/a/P0lvh John

My assumption with an item like this is that the seller posts it in hopes that someone will "low-ball" them at say $1000 and feel that they got the swords at a steal when the seller accepts. These swords are junk, but if you establish their value at $16,000 then someone who doesn't know any better would naturally assume they are something to be sought after. Honestly, to an untrained eye, this would look like a pretty nice set. It presents nicely. Also, if this isn't a red flag, I don't know what is. As the seller suggests, have care. We are not familiar with Chinese items.We don't accept return by the reason of buyer's remorse and careless bid.Please read described information closely before you bid.We don't accept complaint based on information that is not described.We ask you to bid items on your own responsibility. If you cannot take your responsibility to your bid,please refrain from bidding.If you have any question,please email us,we're glad to answer you.

Hi Bob, Thanks for coming by with the info on the blade. It's really an interesting piece! Good luck with the auction. John

Very interesting! Thank you for the replies. John

I've never seen anything quite like it. I just wanted to share. From what I've read since finding it this style of Naginata is quite rare. I thought that you may all enjoy taking a look, and honestly for the price it's an interesting piece. https://ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Sword-Koto-Naginata-Chikushi-Satsuma-style-in-shirasaya-NBTHK-/162693924370 John

Beautiful. Just had a shirasaya made by John. His work is fantastic. -John

Will keep my eyes open, that's a pretty unique piece, and this is a small community. Let's hope for the best. In the mean while, do file a report with your local police. They should take interest in a high value theft like that. Since the package was so large, perhaps they were caught on camera somewhere?

I'm definitely suspicious for gimei at this point, but still happy with the little blade. Fortunately, it didn't set me back by too far, so gimei wouldn't be the end of the world. Thank you for the replies, John

I received a little help on the mei, and believe it may read "tadamitsu saku", but am having trouble finding a Tadamitsu that signed in this manner if this is the case. Anyway, further input is much appreciated. John

Fantastic! That actually looks like it could be right. I was considering saku for that last character, but was otherwise getting nowhere. I'll start looking into that me. Thank you! John

Hello, I've cross posted this tanto to translation assistance, as I've found the mei quite difficult to make out. I picked it up recently at quite a low price, and am thrilled with it, but as I'm pretty new to nihonto, I'm hoping that someone here may be able to assist me with finding out a little more about the blade. It's in decent polish, but unfortunately it has a significant amount of scuffing on the kissaki, almost completely obscuring the boshi, and the mei is also very hard to read. The last photo in the gallery is my attempt at cleaning up the mei on Photoshop. I hope you enjoy this little image gallery, and I'd appreciate any opinions that you might be able to provide on this piece. I'd be excited to find out whatever I can about it! Thank you very much for your time, John http://imgur.com/a/yeUhY

Hello, I recently picked up this Tanto that looked very interesting to me. It appears that it could be koto. It's signed, but unfortunately, the mei is very hard to make out, and translation is not a strong point for me, even for a well cut mei. I was hoping to benefit from some of the expertise on this board. Since we have little to work with, I've included several photos including one that I've tried to clean up on Photoshop. As always, thank you very much for your help. John http://imgur.com/a/yeUhY

Fantastic project! Any chance we could get photos showing the entire blades? I'd like to get an idea of their overall shapes. John

Worthwhile is a relative term. Artistically, is it worthwhile? Absolutely. Everyone here would love to see what this blade has to offer, providing that kissaki damage doesn't prove to be fatal. If money is a major factor, it's important to understand that for many (probably most) blades a restoration will not yield a good return on investment financially. The most important thing is to properly care for it until one day perhaps restoration will make sense. There is no urgency.

10 euro? Can't go wrong at that price. Amazing find! John

Thanks a lot for everyone's input. Derek, the study you linked was exactly what I was looking for. -John

I've noticed that the no name brand choji oil that I have has no detectable scent of cloves. As I've come in contact with a few nice examples of well cared for nihonto I've fallen in love with the subtle scent that the real oil gives a blade. My suspicion of course is that my oil probably isn't "choji oil" at all... it's just "oil". I've found many places that sell choji oil online at many different prices, and would like to get some high quality oil. I just worry that I'll make the same mistake again. So my question to you is: could you recommend your favorite brands of choji oil? Thanks -John G