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I vote Meiji tourist piece. For the price, that’s a great buy. I bet it’s not tempered, but an awesome Meiji display piece, more original than the 'Aoi' stamped brass koshirae usually seen. Congrats Brian!

Now, I wouldn’t do anything to the blade yourself except use uchiko and oil to try and give it back a bit of beautiful and stopping any possible active rust. Polishing is not in your set of skills. It’s a professional job and I’m sure American or Canadian members will provide you with names for that. Just know it is an expensive undertaking. For the missing parts, I would suggest one of our fellow members like: Grey: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com Ed: http://yakiba.com Ray: http://swordsofjapan.com or David: https://www.raindragonfineartandantiques.com

Don’t get me wrong Michael, And I know they use Shinsakuto for that in Japan, but those are the future of sword collecting and I’m among those who think it’s a shame to risk damaging a work of art. Why don’t you settle on a Chinese repro for that? They cut well, look decent, inexpensive and expendable. Cheers, JP

Doug, as for the age, I’d go with Kirill’s opinion. Probably in the early Shinto era part.

Aaaaaaagggghhh!😬 And yet another bout of auto correct mistake! I really need to read what I write. Stupid thing keeps modifying my words and replacing them by the closest in its database.....

Real Japanese wakizashi. Others will tell you the name, kuni something. It is salvageable if polished. The only thing being, considering the price, is it worth it? missing fuchi, both seppa and a Tsuba..

Now if you guys start talking about shoshin guitars versus Gimei guitars, I’m lost! What is a suriage guitar? A y ukulele?

I couldn’t find much about it. It seems to be from a famous kabuki play. https://ukiyo-e.org/image/mfa/sc205926

Hi Thomas, and welcome. Grey is right, the bolt isn’t original. The sword seems to be good quality with Ray skin covered sheath, always a plus. On the other hand, the tassel is an Army tassel, not Navy, so it doesn’t match with the sword. Actually, I’m wondering if it’s not a sword made out of part. Some details bother me a little, like the thick seppa. I wonder if those were used with Kai Gunto. Specialists will dissect it for you!

I believe the disdain is the same as Koto vs Shinto or vs Gendaito It's in my humble opinion opinions that are based more on tradition than fact. Yes, the swords from early Koto are magnificent, but why wouldn’t they be? After all, if they have crossed time so we’ll, it’s probable because they were extraordinary and cared for. Yet, because of age, you find less Kamakura swords than Kanbun swords. To me, it means the masterpieces have survived and the bulk of average swords has disappeared. There were probably as many bad swords in a time period as in any other. There are great swords and swordsmiths in every period. It’s just the quantity of swords left that changes. Oh, and I forgot to add: Edo being my favorite historical period, I necessarily have a soft spot for Kanbun Shinto that somehow epitomizes this period... and chanbara!

I don’t know if the seller would be okay with it, but when it is mine, I definitely will!

Which prompts me to ask a question: i know that swordsmiths had a range of size to respect when making their blades and that a lot of older blades were suriage to conform to those size limits, but in case of a special order blade or an old family heirloom, could you take a blade of any size according to your preference to war?

Good luck with your sale, Neil, that’s a nice blade with history you’re selling there!

Thank you for the link, Thomas! that thread had surprising repercussions. Buying an armor was on my radar in the future, but my lack of knowledge and the price of transport plus customs (especially those last two!) were things that made me hésite! And Lo! One European member is making me an offer for a complete one, in relatively good shape, at what I think is a good price and shipping included! Awesome, isn’t it?

Thank you Logan, I'll keep the link! Although a French member has offered me one, so I will save on shipping. I wonder how the customs would react opening a parcel with a piece of rusty steel inside! 🤣

60 views and no replies! I guess no one knows anymore then!

Great thread, and great reply, Paul. Now, I don’t have the knowledge to answer your question, James but I’ve always read that marugitae was the poorer construction, that the most used method, pre Gendai times was Sanmai and that from Gendai It was Kobuse. I don’t know where and how this was determined (though for modern sources you just have to ask, I guess). I know that for modern Chinese replica, mono steel, unfolded is the best construction as it avoids potential bad welding between layers. However, I’ve also always read that multi layers, several steel construction, added to differential tempering was the best way to ensure both resilience and cutting ability. How much is myth and how much is fact, as Paul says, can probably only be answered by the users themselves and they aren’t there anymore. Still, would it be surprising that a trade got better and evolved technologically as it progressed in time? And the number of blades still extant from Muromachi (granted, much more were produced) can only be a testimony as to their efficience and resilience.

Chris, I don’t think you should take it too personally! Besides, isn’t it fun to discuss theories? Most knowledge starts like that. It points towards a possibility and then people have a whole field to analyze and prove or disprove it.

I think it’s already been discussed in a previous thread, Neil. Pretty sure I’ve read something about it before here. I remember the reply was disappointing. I’m sure a search with keywords like Kissaki, Yokote or boshi might turn it up. Then, you’ll have a lot of threads to search through!

Now, I’ll admit it’s an argument I hadn’t considered! 🤣 ... and down the drain goes my theory!

To that, we agree 100%. A sword without papers, suriage should never command the price of a papered, ubu example. However, it can be a way to get great swords at a reasonable price.

Brian, I’m not necessarily talking about this site in particular. For example I remember an article by Jim Kurrash where he advised it was better to buy a mumei sword than a Gimei one. And John is right. There isn’t any issue in buying a Gimei sword, so long as buyer and seller play it fair. I own a Shodai Sukehiro. Possibly (likely?) Gimei. Well it is still one of the best looking sword in my meager collection, so you won’t ever find me criticizing Gimei, mumei or Suriage.

This is the thing that gives me pause! A spring still sword CANNOT be tempered with a Hamon. All the officers' Gunto I’ve seen had a real Hamon... unless they were made of special steel and the Hamon had to be etched. Then again, you can easily spot an etched Hamon. This is why I wonder whether those famous spring steel swords aren’t our very obvious NCO Gunto...

Hey guys, not sure if anyone has more info than I have about them as I think I must have read everything about them in English, but who could help me about their lineage? I have the document below, however it seems like there are two generations. Yet the present head of the family claims to be the 9th generation swordsmiths. So who are the previous generations? They probably had another name or were from another school? Anyone knows more? Thanks, JP

I agree with Dave. This wasn’t the first time that swordsmiths followed the Japanese armies in their conquests. It happened in the Sengoku Jidai too. Those were skilled guys. I doubt they would have sent bad swordsmiths.