MichaelZWilliamson

The Tsuba is for a different sword.

Yup, two of them, and a third crack, and they never get smaller.

I cleaned the varnish off the tachi, and found three cracks. Two are completely through the hamon. I hate to bring bad news, but obviously, that's important information. In this location, as shown by the cord. Establishing shot. On microscope:

Here's the other traditionally forged and mounted blade. I see at least two cold shuts in the surface layers. apparently he didn't get pictures of the blade or saya. I'll do my best with some better lighting.

I don't think so. There's no tack at all, and the color looks like varnish. I could try using denatured alcohol or acetone to remove it.

Not great pics of the blade, but what I could do here. I can email any pics in high def for detailed exam.

Apparently not buffed. Painted with varnish. Hence the streaks.

Yes, but, we're literally talking two hoarder houses, basement to attic. Deactivated machine guns we hope have stamps--my daughter and I are going to dig them out, strip them down, and my firearms attorney is doing the favor of making ATF queries, so if the receivers have to be cut, the parts kits are available, and hopefully they can be Form 5ed and restored. That includes a Japanese Type 99. Can't find the magazine for the G43 or the loading tool for the Luger drum. I already have the G41. There were trade magazines, tactical treatises in German and Japanese, postcards. He hosted the local anime club and there's literally several THOUSAND home-recorded tapes that will mostly have to be dumped. DVDs. Folders of papers. 95% is junk, but the other 5% is historically important. He had a kyu gunto I previously asked about when he was alive, and we found two more in the basement with all these others. My time is limited due to deadlines, though my wife will let me use what time I do have to help them. Neither his sister nor niece are fully abled, so I'll be doing all the climbing and digging. But my display at the next gun and knife show is going to be AMAZING on their behalf.

37" straight measure of the blade. 38" along the curve. Minimal nicks that don't seem to exceed .015" by comparator. What I thought was scrapes on the shinogi ji appears to be varnish or lacquer, which is why the little rust there is is spidery.

While he was alive I helped him sell an entire box of portapees, an entire box of WWI uniform epaulets, Prussian and Bavarian sabers, dozens of bayonets. I still have a handmade Japanese pillow cover. He has a hundred or so authentic German beer steins. It's all mixed in with junk. I'm hoping to get some volunteers together when I'm free mid August to dig through a couple of rooms.

That's not even a real Ka-Bar. To be fair, it may have been made in Japan in the 1970s when their productivity was less regarded.

They were big enough I'm now limited to 4.88 MB. They were pretty big files.

Ran short of time with the photographer and don't have more pics, but I can get some. This one is interesting to me. I've always liked the lines of the kyu gunto.

I can't tell you how many European sabers I've seen sharpened on a bench grinder or dremel. People see "Sword," and stop thinking. And then the chrome plating. Youtube is a nightmare of "restorations" of firearms and swords, and when they reach for the naval jelly and die grinder, I throw up. I polish repros. That's where I stop.

We will look. Unfortunately, both of Gary's parents were hoarders, and he wound up with their house plus his, and there's so much stuff it will take volunteers and a dumpster to sort. I'm going to do what I can to ensure the newspapers and Better Homes and Gardens don't get mixed up with NFA Form 4s and potential sword documentation. Among other Japanese artifacts he had an intact Type 2 Paratrooper carbine, a pristine Type 44, a Type 97 sniper rifle with scope and case, a unit pennant and imperial flag. And things like the issue of Stars and Stripes with the headline LAST US FORCES LEAVE SAIGON.

I can send an enlargement of the first image. Apparently my site compressed it.

A friend of mine with an extensive collection of militaria, much of it WWI and WWII, has passed away. I agreed to help the family identify and find homes for his collection, that they didn't even know existed. For years I've been helping him sell sabers, bayonets, uniforms, etc. I have photos of two swords that appear traditional, though I doubt either are significantly valuable. I'll post one at a time so there's time for clear discussion. I also have several for the military forum, both forged and stamped. This tachi appears to be relatively recent, and the shinogi ji appears to my eye to have been buffed.

There's a limit on picture bandwidth, which I understand. Queried Brian about bypassing that so I can post more. Are there any other options? I can always save to my site and post as image links.

She got me into classic doubles. 1858 Charles Lancaster, one of the first cartridge shotguns. She has Dreyse, Lefaucheux, others. I have WC Scott and Westley Richards. It's about as expensive as collecting swords.

I'd like to keep it. But my budget is not unlimited, and my wife just bought a Charles Lancaster shotgun for her collection, and I'm keeping the artillery Luger from this one. So I'll have to be selective about which I can afford to pay them for in a reasonable time, vs helping them sell for the income they need.

This was only inscribed on one side. Some of the others are both sides. And there's an 1889 pattern that was rehilted twice from something longer.

Any information about the maker, age, etc, appreciated. I'm collating it all with the museum provenance (Where it exists) and what he told me about any of the items before he died. One set of German armor quarterly magazines went to an historian because it references "Leutnant Rommel and his innovative strategies with tanks" in 1934.

I will try to chalk and photo tomorrow. A large part of his collection was loaned to the Fort Benjamin Harrison Museum for several years. His firearm and saber collection is amazing. He had books and magazines, uniforms and insignia, and these were in a cabinet stuffed in the basement. I'm glad they're in as good a condition as they are. His family was afraid they'd have to sell the house to settle the estate. I'm glad I could both bring them some good news, and preserve a fine collection for people who appreciate them.

A fantastic thread and a beautiful blade. Congrats.

A friend of mine with an extensive collection of militaria, much of it WWI and WWII, has passed away. I agreed to help the family identify and find homes for his collection, that they didn't even know existed. For years I've been helping him sell sabers, bayonets, uniforms, etc. I have photos of several swords that vary from wartime stampings to a handful that are more interesting, though I doubt any are significantly valuable. I'll post one at a time so there's time for clear discussion. I also have two for the main forum, as those do appear to be traditional, though recent.