Tokugawa Gord

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By popular demand: posting the entire koshirae here for everyone's pleasure. Enjoy!

Great eye Geraint!! The tsuba is indeed not original - it is a Mino School tsuba mounted on there .

Thank you for your appreciation Geraint, I am quite fond of this koshirae as well. Can you guess which piece is not original (there is only one)

Konichi Wa. Sundays are for sword cleaning 🫧🧽. Many North American antique collections are found in poor condition due to the lack of awareness on what it takes to keep steel pristine - following the ritualistic cleaning of swords by our predecessors. Pro tip: use a mineral oil specific for carbon steel, like for example Yoshishiro brand oil; it protects the blade and other parts of the steel from rust. Mineral oil is colorless, odourless, and you should regularly clean your blades depending on how often you are studying/exhibiting them. As a rule of thumb I will maintain mine every two to three months, as that is how often our Toronto Token Kai (Sword Club) meets, where I serve as director. I begin by wiping the old oil with a microfibre cloth, and then use rice paper to apply a thin, fresh layer of oil on each sword. This method ensures that the artifacts in our care are preserved for future generations. I also commit to this process out of respect for Japanese history and as a meditative practice. These swords left the battles long behind, and the onus is on us to preserve them for their eventual return to the shrines of glorious Japan. 🇯🇵

Hello! What is the price? Thank you.

This should be mandatory reading for all new collectors. Thank you @Rivkin for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

Congratulations Steve on your 2 body test cut katana - looks awesome.

Hello Geraint, that is a wonderful idea - yes this kogatana will come back from polish even thinner, so will note this as well. What was your experience with the width? Were you able to get it to within a mm, or was mm or two making a big difference? Thanks again!

Thank you Brian for sharing your knowledge with me - yes I am noticing the same thing. Luckily, time is on my side and I have about 6 months to wait until the kogatana is polished. So the important measurements are the width of the actual saya portion where the kozuka will fit, and perhaps the length as well. If it is a mm or two off, then use pine pitch - got it.

Bumping topic in hopes of a translation - this kogatana is now in the process of being polished.

Hello All, I am in the midst of a restoration project, and require to mount a kogatana into a kozuka. I am wondering what are all of the measurements to keep in mind when looking for such a fitting? Would it make more sense to take the measurements after the kogatana has returned from polishing? Thank you in advance for your input, it will greatly help with my restoration project technical and stylistic requirements. Thank you, Gordan

Absolutely, thank you for clarifying Brian - wholeheartedly agreed there. It is interesting that multiple people have different views, one of them being a Japanese speaker and excellent reader of kanji. I understand that many times kogatana were tributary, but never know what you will get with our hobby

Some individuals are reading _ _ mori saku, others are reading Tachi Masamune Saku (which would indicate Masamune, or Masamune-like) Would love to hear other opinions on this. Thank you again in advance, bumping this. To give context, it was attached to a Sue Bizen blade, and had han-dachi koshirae where I found the kogatana. Thank you once again.

Hello Everyone, I recently acquired a saya which came with a kogatana attached, and would greatly appreciate help on translating it. Please find the photo attached here. I would appreciate any and all feedback, thank you for your time and attention.