Bryce

G'day Marcin, I got a quote from them that was half of what the seller quoted. I haven't committed yet the sword is still in the states. Cheers, Bryce

Thanks Marcin. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, I haven't bought a sword from the US for years, but recently bought a European sword that is located in Ocean View, Delaware. Unfortunately the seller doesn't want to ship the sword to me, because he said it is too big and will cost too much. The seller is happy to send the scabbard, which is the bit I most want, as it is just under a metre long. The bare sword by itself is 113cm long. Has anyone had any recent success sending swords to Australia, especially large ones? Legally there are no problems sending this sword to Australia. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Here is an early one from a Gassan Sadakatsu in my collection that was registered in Tokyo. As others have said each district had their own numbers. Thus you get later registrations from smaller districts with very low numbers. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, I eventually was able to find a copy of "Nippon Toh". I scanned it using my phone in three parts. I am no computer wiz, so it is a little messed up. I will see if I am able to upload it to the forum. Interestingly the photo used as an example of "Masamune Den" actually shows itame hada. Cheers, Bryce

Righto then, I guess Gassan Sadakatsu added his kao at a later date for some reason as he was only 1 year old when this blade was forged? I have seen several Gassan Sadakazu blades where later Gassan smiths (usually Sadaichi) have added horimono and mei. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Yeah someone got a good deal, but this blade has me scratching my head a little bit. It appears to be a blade signed by Sadakazu in Meiji year 3, but finished with Sadakatsu's kao, not Sadakazu? The sayagaki was written by Sadakatsu in Showa 11. Is the date on the blade actually Meiji year 30? If so then that makes sense. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Colin, Sorry mate, I am a little late to this party. Do you still have this tanto? I think it is a pretty good looking thing. I don't have any expertise to bring to the table about dating, but I can offer an opinion on the quality of the horimono. I think they look very good. Having tried to capture good images of horimono myself, I know they are tremendously difficult to photograph. It is very difficult to capture the 3D effects that can be seen with the naked eye. As a comparison, here is your Fudo, beside one done by Gassan Sadakazu. Mine is on a katana, not a tanto, but is contained entirely in the hi. From toes to top of head, it is probably about 3-4cm, which I think is similar to yours. Although yours doesn't have the same level of surrounding detail, the face is done very well. I have seen a lot worse. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Thomas, The photos aren't great, but almost certainly gimei. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Just as a follow up, I recently obtained a copy of "Nippon Toh". This sword is specifically mentioned in the book as being made entirely by Gassan Sadakatsu and not his father Sadakazu. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, OK, so it is still a Chinese knock-off of a Japanese gunto, but it may have been made around the time of the war (or not). Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, That does not look legit to me. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, The mei looks pretty good. There are a couple of unusual things, but it is close enough that I can't immediately call it gimei without further study and better photos. During this period, there is quite a bit of variation in Gassan Sadakazu mei. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Sam, As Con mentioned earlier the second haikan was protected by leather to prevent rubbing, so the absence of wear in this area is not definitive. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Lance, It is a nice type 94 koshirae with the rare pinned kabutogane. If you search the site you will find a thread on "pinned kabutogane". Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Everything already mentioned above suggests this is a type 98. I don't think there are any individual "cast iron" rules, but the combination of all these factors together says type 98. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Sam, It looks like a type 94 to me, especially if the gloss paint is original. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Mark, Thanks for posting. To help you here is a comparison shot of your dragon with a more detailed example by Gassan Sadakatsu dated 1920. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Jake, I have a set with very similar theme to yours. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Eric, The bonji on your blade represents the entity Fudo myo-o. I have a Gassan Sadakatsu blade with similar horimono. Your blade is not Gassan work though. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Jacques, I am always happy to learn something, fire away, show us what you know. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Jacques, The Gassan school is famous for its ayasugi hada. Sadayoshi and Sadakazu are credited with rediscovering it, but it was Sadakatsu who refined it to the beautiful uniformity we expect to see today. If we group Sadakazu and Sadakatsu together, I would argue that it isn't Ayasugi hada so much that unites them, but rather, tight, uniform, masame hada. Ayasugi hada never dominated Sadakazu's work, but it is the most common hada for Sadakatsu's Showa period work. Each of these smiths forged blades in all sorts of styles, with some dominating different periods of their working lives, but in general terms, I would describe their work as very controlled, with ko-nie and nioi. Hope this helps. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Jacques, I don't understand your question. You are asking me what characteristics they have in common, when they have so many that most people can't tell their blades apart? Is this a language thing? Is there going to be a punchline? Is this like "Two Gassan smiths walk into a bar .........". Adam, that looks like a nice blade. It is a pity that Eric doesn't post some better photos of the hada and hamon. Cheers, Bryce

Actually, maybe this is a better way of showing the comparison. I replaced Jacques oshigata, with the photo of a Gassan Sadakatsu katana dated Taisho 10 (1921). Cheers, Bryce

G'day Jacques, To add to what Adam said about Roger and Hizento mei, most examples of Gassan Sadakazu/Sadakatsu mei are easy to pick, but there are a small number where it isn't immediately obvious. We are dealing with humans here, not machines, so there is variation. There is no single thing that differentiates or unites the two, it is the sum total of a large number of characteristics. If I use the oshigata that Jacques posted, which I have already said was signed by Sadakatsu and sandwich between it and another Sadakatsu mei one actually signed by Sadakazu, you can see the differences. So Sadakazu in the middle, Sadakatsu each side. Cheers, Bryce