Lewis B

Does it have a boshi? If not, or its weak it could be a naginata naoshi. As you suggest the tip does appear to have been reshaped. Did the seller provide any details?

The techniques the Japanese developed over the centuries working with so many different materials, is truly incredible.

The same technique used on Satsuma ware ceramics?

Can you confirm if this is a mold line. If yes and you can see others then I don't think its a traditionally made Menpo.

On the drilled holes there is usually a slight ridge, which can be seen unless the the smith has gone the extra mile to file it down. That in itself will leave a slightly different shape to the aperature. Punched holes are done when the tang is heated allowing the punch tool to do its thing. The hole is not created in one step but after the blade is turned over and the punch applied on the reverse side. This process can create another telltale feature of a small ridge of metal inside the hole. Holes created with a punch are quite sharp at the opening and close to perfectly circular. I believe swordmakers had the tools and means to drill the tangs in the mid to late Edo era and on, although I'm not sure how widespread it's use might have been then.

The lower mekugi ana (hole in the tang) is possibly the original one. In earlier swords the holes were punched and look quite different to holes that are drilled or those that were added when the blade was shortened at a later date. The position of the kanji wrt the lower hole does not look right if originally chiseled when the sword was made.

Tsuba looks stamped and mass produced.

The Samehada looks a little too regular. Genuine ray skin? Ultimately though it comes down to whether or not you are happy with the blade being the biggest point for appreciation.

I don't have a problem with the hand. It works functionally if one was to hold a scroll open for reading. Admittedly the artistic impression is a little lacking but the tsuba makers weren't all Rodan's or Giacometti's. The menuki on the other hand (pun intended) are quite crude.

I'm not convinced either. The shinogi extends into the tip which is really clumsy. Too many red flags and the dirt bath is inexcusable. Curious what the seller is saying and how much they're asking.

Or Paul Kremers, who has a business in Tokyo and offers these types of services. Just remember getting Tanobe to write a Sayagaki is not automatic. He is quite selective and if he accepts to do one, charges about 50,000 yen. If you need someone based in the USA to handle things, perhaps Mike Yamasaki or Ted Tenold would be the ones to contact.

Of course historically there was a gradual commercialisation of the supply of iron sand. It's my understanding one reason, besides being close to their sponsoring Daimyo or clan leader, that the smiths settled where they did in Bizen, Kaga, Kamakura, Sagami, Yamato, Etchu etc because the source of their iron was on their doorstep so to speak, in the rivers and along the coast. Whether they personally collected it is debatable, but they would have known where it came from. And because they sourced locally any unique characteristics or properties in terms of elemental variations in the iron sand would be incorporated into their blades. Hence why I mentioned that Northern makers during the Kamakura and Nambokucho eras had steel with a blacker tonality and is a Kantei feature for Tanobe and Shinsa. Moving into the Muromachi and Edo periods the supply of iron sand and possibly tamahagane was more centralised (controlled by the ruling classes?) and those unique differentiating features in the steel of the earlier smiths were lost. At least this is how I'm reading the history.

I was referring to the raw material from which the iron is smelted.

Hi Tumi, I see your point. Often I see these items exhibited all together in a diorama. It would make sense to put less significant blades in these displays where closer examination isn't completely necessary to enjoy the subject matter. Hopefully those museums that exhibit significant blades from important makers and gokuden will have a dedicated space for optimal, critical viewing, will have curators who are sensitive to the lighting, blade angle, height etc and can accommodate. These displays could have blade optimal lighting, it just takes a little thought. With the example of the Muramasa, a QR code could be printed on the info card and then the content described in the selected language. Can I suggest the VoiceOver used by YouTuber "Historyofkatana"... it's perfect for Nihonto and Samurai art.

My guess. Poor quality uchiko

Good point. It's not like modern smiths are ordering tamahagane from Hitachi with full elemental analysis. Still made from iron sand, just like in older times. Following this thread what is it about iron sand from the Northern Provinces eg Etchu and Kaga being noticeably different (darker) than from say Yamato?

How would the swordsmiths of the age be able to make 'lower' and 'higher' quality steel. There was no metallurgical analysis possible, obviously. Would there have been different possessing eg faster, going on that would lead to lower quality material? I have read that the (b), (e) and core steels were of equal quality and processed similarly in the Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods. So much so that even when the Shigane is exposed it shows a crystalline structure.

What would this feature in the jihada be called? I have a similar feature in a couple of areas on my blade (Yamato Shikkake) and thought it was Shintetsu. But it has a ji-nie in the centre and is not a featureless black patch that is usually associate with exposed core steel.

That would be the right era. More Ko-Ichimonji sugata. Tiny kissaki with some taper to the blade. It was short around 60cm if my memory is correct.

This has been bugging me since June and I kick myself for not asking, but does anyone who attended the show remember the smith who made the Kamakura (possibly Heian) era blade that was showcased on the Samurai Museum Berlin stand?

Take a clear closeup photo with the correct orientation and I'm sure some knowledgeable types will assist.

Word of advice. Never touch the polished blade with bare fingers. This one seems in quite good polish and sweat residue will leave fingerprints and marks.

It's 15 months until DTI 2025 and I plan to attend as many NBTHK-EB meetings as possible, the next Japan Art Expo in Utrecht and the Samurai Museum in Berlin before I leave. Hopefully this will educate my eye and help me separate the wheat from the chaff. I know immeasurably more than I did 6 months ago. And there is no substitute for seeing blades in person, which is the most important aspect of nihonto connoisseurship. I hope I will have learned enough to make an educated choice and know the market well enough to not over pay.

True, but many blades are acquired from older private collections and may not have been submitted. It's time consuming to submit, even if easier for a local, and the dealer may just want a quick turnover. Or the blade might have failed one particular year merely because the competition in that Shinsa year was especially tough. The dealer may not be inclined to resubmit a year or 2 later.

One of my earliest influences was Red Sun featuring Charles Bronson about a pledge to hunt down a famous missing/stolen Japanese sword. In my first year at University when I was 18 I attended a Kurosawa film festival showing 3 of his movies back-to-back (its amazing the stamina we have in our youth, as they're not easy watches). All this reinforced an appreciation for the culture and representative collectibles eg netsuke. Japanese swords were way out of my budget but I always made a B line to see them in museum collections. Interestingly I was never as fascinated by the historic swords from my own Anglo Saxon culture. Exception might be famous Ulfberht blades, which have a mystical origin and interesting metallurgy.