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oups, comment deleted after I reread your first post and realized it was a Wakizashi and not a katana...

Blade looks healthy and beautiful. I’d go for it.

First advice, as stupid as it sounds because you’ve probably done that already, oil the blades. It should prevent the rust getting any further.

That was exactlywhat I thought, a late Nanbokucho, early Muromachi shortened during the Sengoku period.

I’m terrible at this, but for the fun, will hazard a guess: Muromachi?

Are you sure it is Shinshinto?

That second set of pictures is clearly more encouraging, but we need to see that tang!

Welcome Jerry, I gotta say this is a nice Tsuba you got here!

Maybe it's just me or the pictures, but it doesn't look right to me.

Julien, There is an interesting article with pictures about this in “The Art of the Japanese Sword”.

the usual suspects : the connoisseurs book of Japanese swords and Fact and Fundamentals of Japanese swords

And I totally agree with your points. Still...(and I'm not trying to pick any fight; Brian, it is your site and you should do as you see fit) I see a lot of blades, mostly waki or tanto on ebay that are probably genuine but in a bad shape; I also see people coming on this board, showing an average blade in old plolish or worse and asking whether they should have it polished. Almost invariably, the answer is no, the blade isn't worth it and will cost more to restore tan the purchase price. So, with that (perfectly sound) reasoning in mind, what will happen to these blades? They'll rust in an attic and get lost to time. Now, if I come and show a rusted Masamune, authentified, going the professional route is the compulsory way! But what about these low grade, mumei blades, Should they disappear or be preserved? If an amateur polishes it and does a bad job of it, will it be more ruined than letting it rust to oblivion? It won't be good, but at least, maybe, one day, professional hands can save it. I'm sure there isn't one easy answer to this, but i often wonder what is best and when I see Artur's work, I think that more good than harm was done in that perticular case.

Nope! I wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole...

Oh, come on, I know that restoring a blade on your own is not encouraged and frowned upon, but it could really have fallen in worse hands. It may not be traditional, but clearly, Artur is a talented craftsman and as an amateur sculpteur/illustrator, I have to recognize talent where I see it. This blade was in a bad shape, was probably quite cheap and would have remained in its state or worsened over the years until it would have disappeared from the face of the earth. So, no, that may not be a traditional restoration, I certainly wouldn’t encourage anyone to even try it, but he gave it a second life in his own way...

Man, you’ve made a masterpiece! I bow down before your talent!

Damn! Where are the smileys on that site that mean “drooling”?

Emoji follows Heisei in the Japanese calendar. It’s the Y generation sword era. Greatest sword smith is Hai Foon.

If anyone doubted of life after death, there we have a irrefutable proof!

A few months back, he sold a Muramasa that went for around $6000 if I remember correctly. The shape, mirror Hamon, everything seems apparently okay. Then, I started reading the mei and had a burst of laughter. The ura mei was exactly similar to the Muramasa you can see on Markus’ website! Apparently mr Muramasa made 2 swords on the exact same date!

Well, Ibrahim, don’t be that depressed. As Paul said, Mr Nakahara has some very controversial opinions. While I think he is right on many accounts, I don’t think that a Mumei blade necessary means a bad blade, but it will definitely be less regarded than a signed one of course (although, as he says him himself, Mumei cannot be Gimei). Besides, if it’s any comfort, there can be many other reasons why a blade can be Mumei, as stated in an excerpt of our faqs I’ve reposted below. So cheer up and even if you haven’t found Excalibur, you own a decent, real and ancient Japanese sword. Care for it as even an average sword will probably become a treasure for the future generations.

Thanks a lot Paul, very nice of you!

I get your point. If I may, can you point me towards those Tanabe Sensi references you’re referring to. The more I have to read about swords, the better. Are these on Markus’ site? Just to add something. I’ve read a lot of books already but haven’t had to much opportunities to look at good swords, so, as I say when I introduced myself, I’m more up to date on theory than on practice. All this to say that I’ve read so many contradictory assessments in different sources that sometimes I think it is hard to make an opinion. Some will describe such school/swordsmith has using such Hada or having such jigane while another source will say the contrary (don’t have a precise example in mind). I’ve seen myself read and cross reference infos on some smiths only to find myself more perplexed at the end. That’s one of the reason I like the practical approach of Nakahara. In the end, I feel that the more I know, the less I do...

Still, don’t you think he’s right on most accounts? I mean his explanation on Mumei for instance or his explanation as to why Tachi are more have narrow Suguha make perfect sense don’t you think?

But those “unique perspectives” are, I think, a modern take on a somewhat very traditional and difficult to make evolve subject. I love Nakahara’s book, probably my favorite.

“Shortened Tachi?” That was my first thought but it’s not shortened, just machi okuri. Could it be a boy’s Tachi?