Ray Singer

Yes, please. This particular sword made an appearance at the 2016 Tampa show, where it received papers (and not to Masamune). That should have been the end of the story.

Will take a look, but first it 'looks' like these are fresh fingerprints in the bo-hi that you may want to wipe down before re-oiling. I believe you would typically expect to find Moriie signed as tachi-mei.

I do not think Gordon is a member here, but am sure one of the members can help you make contact.

You may be aware, but Gordon Robson is a collector and enthusiast of the Kanabo school. He would be a good person to speak with if you are researching your sword further. Best regards, Ray

Randy, whoever that was he does not speak for the rest of us. Hope you reconsider and appreciate your efforts.

That was the price on nihonto.us.

FWIW, this really wonderful nidai Muramasa sold for $3,500. It was owned by a good friend, but I made the unfortunate decision to pass in order to make another purchase at that same time. Note that the kizu mentioned was extremely minimal, and this had one of the best jigane I have seen in a Muramasa. http://www.nihonto.us/MURAMASA%20TANTO%20-%20NIDAI.htm

https://www.aoijapan.net/?s=Muramasa&x=0&y=0

Very true, I have utilized him in the same way. Roy, if you want to try Bob for an evaluation, he can be reached at Togishi.com. Good luck, Ray

Roy, given the short time between now and the shinsa you would not be able to have a full restoration done. It is possible that you could utilize the work of Bob Benson (Togishi.com) for a madoake (window polish) to open up a small polish area of the blade so it can be better assessed. Best regards, Ray

Ken, as far at the NTHK NPO you will receive a notation on the pink slip indicating it for the feel the mei is authentic. Perhaps Thomas can verify it for the same is true of upcoming NTHK shinsa in San Francisco.

Please note that the blade's condition may prevent it from receiving a kanteisho however I believe (if the NTHK is similar in this respect to the NTHK NPO) that you would still receive a comment indicating if the signature was found to be authentic. Best regards, Ray

Roy, the hakobore (chip) appears to be a minor one and should be restorable. Please only use a professionally trained polisher if you have the sword restored. Also note that nothing should be done prior to shinsa & polish to clean the blade or the nakago. Best regards, Ray

Thank you all for the feedback. This is where the saidan mei appears to be currently. ōgesa (大袈裟) _ 毛 _ setsudan (截断). I did try to plug in 切 手 however the kanji preceeding 毛 does not seem to match. Still looking.

I think its clear you nailed it as far as the first three kanji Steve. Thank you.

Thanks guys, and Arnold's comment below is something I try to keep a focus on in kantei. Miyano-sensei stressed that his entire approach to kantei was based on remembering individual smiths' distinctive hamon. He has made a practice of memorizing 10 new hamon every day, and also commented that recently other individuals in Japan have started following this same approach and have quickly shot up in rankings within the kantei competitions. He does not completely ignore other attributes, however the hamon weighs far more heavily to him when placing a bid.

The Unju did not receive any bids at auction. http://www.sword-auction.jp/en/content/as17246-刀：無銘-雲重第62回重要刀剣-katanamumei-unjunbthk-62th-tokubetsu-juyo-paper But sold shortly afterwards. https://www.aoijapan.com/katanamumei-unju

Bump

Yes, you may have seen this discussed in Markus Shinto Kantei reference.

Very reticent to place a bid without clearer photos, however this type of low lying midare hamon with sunagashi (having a slightly nijuba tone in spots) makes me think more of Naoe Shizu. That was my first thought in the previous photos, and the new image seems to support a Nambokucho bid. I also note the futatsuji-hi which far short of the yokote, which is a kantei point for some smiths and schools (hisaki-sagaru). In koto, hisaki-sagaru can be seen in Tegai, Shikkake, Gô Yoshihiro, Soshu Tsunahiro, Chôgi, Kanemitsu, Motoshige and Aoe.

I would imagine that this will be a challenge, however can someone assist with translating this tameshimei? There has been rust damage and I can get only as far as Dai _ _ _ _ Te _ Setsudan. Many thanks, Ray

http://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/e-swordsmiths-of-Japan/ebook/product-22166224.html http://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/e-encyclopedia-of-Japanese-swords/ebook/product-21830160.html http://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/e-legends-and-stories-around-the-Japanese-sword/ebook/product-20878691.html http://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/legends-and-stories-around-the-Japanese-sword-2/paperback/product-20443723.html

I believe that the original Token Bijutsu set is $1,800 if you can find one. If I understand collectly that the Fimio version has the majority of the information from the newsletters contained inside and collated, then it is a steal at that price. Available here for $250: http://www.japaneseswordsocietyofcanada.org/Sword_Books.html Yamanaka is another one that is worth its weight in gold, considering how much valuable reference information is provided.

Additionally: http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/c205-nihonto-newsletter-yamanaka http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b648-token-bijutsu-english-edition-reformatted-fimio http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b657-kanzan-token-koza-all-6-volumes I was very lucky that Jim Kurrasch pointed me towards Yamanaka and Token Bijutsu from the beginning. Also, check out Markus Sesko's store here. http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/nihontobooks

Outstanding, thank you again. I overlooked this on Grey's site. Best regards, Ray