16k

Might be the photos, but the nakago rust seems quite light. Original mekugi ana looks like it might have been punched though. The suriage looks to be only a few centimeters, so the sugata was probably not too different. If what we see in the boshi is indeed the Hamon (could be tarnished) then it looks like a midare Hamon. Chris, I assume you are right about the blade being mumei, or Inna would probably shown a picture of it, or at least mentioned it, but mei should be on the other side I think.

The last quarter of the blade would point towards tameshigiri as this is the part that is in contact with the object to be cut. Moreover, I think the blade is in old polish, so that’s not very surprising.

Do you mean the clearer steell line underneath the Hamon? If so, I have seen that already. In my opinion, it comes from two possible sources. Either someone tried to sharpen the blade after the polish with grinding stones (that’s the most dangerous solution as it might have changed the ha geometry) or it could simply be the result of the blade having been used to cut stuff. The jizuya is cosmetic, and if used for tameshigiri, it might fade where the blade was in contact regularly with the cut surface. If so, not a serious deal.

That’s because the blade has age. I think I can see a faint ha-agari pattern. I can’t translate without having documents in front of me. I just recognize the characters "shu" and "kuni" at a glance.

That is a really splendid Daisho you have here, congrats!

And I think you are right! Type 94 guard.

This is most likely a civilian sword that was adapted to WW2 army mountings (kurikata was removed and leather saya cover added for service). More photos of the bare blade are needed to hopefully be more precise. Remove the wooden peg and try to slide everything to get a naked blade. If there is some resistance, use a piece of wood on the guard and gently hit with a hammer on both sides to loosen it. You don’t risk much doing this. They are meant to come off like that.

Looks like a Muromachi blade to me. Very nice!

Agree with the rating! some approximations and this goes a bit too fast. More interesting for the historical part than for the sword part.

So far, I think I’ve downloaded 90%of them.

There are some short cuts and it’s meant for beginners, but very interesting:

Interesting introductory video about armor evolution:

I think it is real, but I think the tsuba and fuchi have been repainted. Now, it might look different in hand, but the color of the tsuka doesn’t seem shocking.

This would be that article Bruce: http://www.nihontocraft.com/Nihonto_cold_weather.html Also, a sword made for cold weather: http://www.nihontocraft.com/Ura_Nihon_no_Toko.html

Oh, you’ll find plenty of books, Mike. Here’s a reply I gave to another Mike in another thread, but I think it fits your question too: "First, the books. There are many very good books and some are compulsory. I started with John Yumoto's book and it is still the one I’d recommend as a starter even though it is very dated. Why? Because it’s a good read, not boring and it will give you all the primers. Virtually, when you’ve read that book, you think you know everything there is to know about Japanese swords... which, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth! Still, it’s great because you’ll get all the minimum vocabulary required and will know to make the difference between The different forms of Hamon and Hada. Trouble is it will also give you some prejudice about swords quality (for him Koto = masterpiece, Shinto =crap, Gunto being the mother of all crap), so just forget that part. Then, I’d go with "Fact and Fundamentals". It’s not the one experts recommend but I do for two reasons. First, once again, it’s a good, entertaining read and second, he somehow makes you comfortable, insisting on the fact that many things are just opinions. For example, if you have trouble making Mokume from Itame, he’ll comfort you saying that they’re virtually the same (they’re not exactly) and, for sure You can read some sources that will state such and such swordsmith uses Itame while another will call it Mokume. I’ve seen it plenty of time. All this to insist on the fact that some sources are to be taken with a grain of salt and you have to forge your own opinion. Finally, the next compulsory read is "The Connoisseur's book..." That one is necessary but I don’t think you need to read it in one go. Too much information there. Pick a school, read about it, look at the diagrams and find pictures on the net t see some actual examples and how they conform to the description. It’s a long term work and will take years. Other than books, you have pictures, this site and the opportunities I never had: in the USA, you have sword shows. Go to them! Nothing beats seeing a sword in person. Once you’ve seen a sword by a particular smith or school, chances are you will know one the next time you see one. And of course, I never had the opportunity to have a mentor. If you can find someone near you knowledgeable, do it. There’s nothing like it! He’ll point to you things that took me years to find out by myself!" Other than that, you also have great sites like: http://www.japaneseswordindex.com https://markussesko.com all of Markus' books are a must if you ask me http://www.sho-shin.com http://ohmura-study.net/900.html If you’re interested in military swords http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/ There are ,any others and, of course, NMB!

Yeah, me too, however, I think it could be a broken tip repaired on the field... maybe?

Wartime blade made in Seki. Nakago with Takanoha and sanbonsugi typical of Seki blades during WW2. Probably oil tempered too.

No, not a sumigane. We weren’t speaking about the same sword. Here, I have no idea what this is. Almost looks man made. Perhaps an inclusion of some sort...

Probably a clump of ji nie (sumigane).

That is nice!

I agree that the first one has the usual Seki feel to it. It could be traditional, but somehow, I doubt it as I have Avery similar blade (my very first one actually, mumei, no stamp, but definitely non-traditional. The second one, on the contrary, appears to be valuable and I like the sugata and Hada. Great find imho

What a shame. Post offices have become worse since the Covid-19 episode I think. I used to never have an issue for years with the post, now it’s problem after problem. Something tells me this will surface on European auction sites. You should monitor them closely, Michael.

Very nice blade but too flashy for my tastes (I don’t like horimono) and certainly in a price range I can never afford, but, big name, good seller. If you like it, why hesitate?

Crisp yasurime, rather clean nakago, probably late shinto or Shinshinto would be my guess.

That is an unspeakable beauty. What a lovely Hada!