noneed2hate

Thank you for that, I do see some of the similarities, I may need to track down a Munemichi katana for purchase when time/funds permit, would love to have multiple examples from the same smith or line of smiths

Thank you gentlemen, it really was a great experience being able to hold as many swords as I was that day. I'm glad I wasn't super impulsive with my spending and also didn't inherit any more potential projects (have way too many as is!). The overall sugata of this tanto was the immediate seller to me, a really nice wide mihaba compared to much of what was available on floor that day within my pricepoint. I've been appreciating every day since.

San Francisco Token Kai acquisition - Munemichi Tanto Had a blast at the San Francisco Sword show, didn't have a lot of spending cash this time around unfortunately but I managed to pick up this Kazusa Munemichi Tanto. This was the only sword I held that day within a price target I could afford that gave me the immediate fizz as soon as I picked it up and looked at it. Papered Tokubetsu Kicho. Pictures below: enjoy!

Those swords are pretty nice to be honest, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being awestruck by them. I wouldn't go so far as to call them a fake, moreso an enthusiastic interpretation of what a Japanese sword is by foreign artisans/smiths (or perhaps - someone who learned traditional smithing in Japan, relocated to China/was from there originally and wanted to continue the craft.) Reproduction would be a better term than fake in my opinion but of course they are definitely not Nihonto and that should be acknowledged. It's all just a matter of time, learning, and holding real (confirmed) examples of Nihonto that will increase you knowledge on what is and isn't a true or good example of a Nihonto. Since they are not commonly in your country as stated, this might be something you'd need to travel for unfortunately to get eyes on real examples.

Would this be considered predominantly masame with bits of mokume in the mix?

Very much looking forward to the sword show! This will be my first show and first Shinsa. -George

Excellent display! I'll need to make my way up north one of these days for the next time.

Could also be someone was bidding simply to drive the price up rather than a collector who wanted this piece, just my .02 Not sure if I'd personally be willing to spend that much on something online sight unseen in person but to each their own. It is a good looking sword nonetheless from what I can see.

Just ordered my copy, I look forward to reading this! Thank you for bringing this book to our attention!

I actually just posted about this sword not too long ago- reads as 筑州福岡 Chikushu Fukuoka (assuming I got the syntax correct) this is not the smiths name as that portion of the signature seemed to have been cut off but rather the province/town in which the blade was created I believe. I do agree though that something does seem off about the signature etc, seems crude/muddy to my novice eye but hard to definitively say based on a picture online -

Beautiful looking sword. Well executed Suguha always gives me the fizz. Does the hamon get slightly wider around the monouchi leading towards the kissaki? Or is that just the angle of the photo playing tricks on me.

Looks great! The $25 chisels from Japan are a pretty good deal compared to the $180+ Kawasei saya nomi that are floating around, you'd just need to buy a bunch assuming you find exactly what you want/need to justify the shipping cost I suppose. I'm not a huge fan of the $180 option as the neck of the chisel is made out of particularly soft metal and bent rather easily. This was corrected by zip tying a chop stick to add rigidity but still I felt I should not have needed to do that given the price point. I suppose I should reach out to see if this is just a fluke, I assume the company would back up their product. My biggest learning point was taking off the majority of the scabbards meat prior to gluing it together so I won't have to worry about sanding/planing the exterior too deeply when it's glued together and I cannot reference the internal cutout. Poplar has been my go to as well in lieu of more traditional Hinoki wood, the process of selecting appropriate wood in of itself is pretty fun. I try to find pieces with the straightest grain possible. Here's a saya I've been slowly but surely working on. The outer shape is a bit unorthodox but I'm attempting to replicate (albeit poorly) a scabbard I have with a rounded kojiri Habaki fitment is something I still struggle with, the koiguchi of my saya is typically a bit wider at points more than necessary.

Greetings Grey, I used the waybackmachine website and was able to find an archived file of the site: https://web.archive.org/web/20190905190540/http://www.n-p-s.net/musubi4.htm (It seems Mark beat me to the punch and I had neglected to read)

aha, that makes a lot more sense, thank you!

Very hard to read, perhaps Kaneyuki 兼行? Or perhaps Kanemori 兼守?

Greetings all, trying my hand at translating a listing on Ebay I saw out of curiosity I think I nailed it for the most part but wanted a second set of eyes to have a look. Omote side - 筑州福岡　Chikushu Fukuoka (the rest sadly appears to have been cut off) Ura side - 祭無八幡 Matsuru Mu Hachiman? not to sure if I got the this one correct, modern derivatives of the first character show as "offering", and the second character as "nothing" - so "offer nothing to Hachiman?" "Hachiman offers nothing?" I may be confused as to what the proper syntax/grammar is for this. Is it odd for Chikuchu Fukoka to be referenced without any other descriptors in between the province and city? (I.E. some extant examples with both of this province and city referenced would be 筑前国福岡住, but none with just 筑州福岡) It also does look like the overall signature and horimono are pretty muddy as best I can tell from the photos which immediately makes me suspect. Appreciate any input

I do appreciate everyone's enthusiasm on steering me in the proper direct, thank you very much. Regarding Togishi, I am in contact with Woody Hall and so far it has been a pleasant experience with another blade I'm having polished by him. He appears to come highly recommended based on previous posts and by Mike Y for the blades I have in my possession. Once I have this other blade in hand I may float the question if he'd be willing to do a window polish on this one so I can at least study the piece a bit more accurately cost effectively. I'm not too concerned of hidden damage, as most of the scale rust was removed revealing the metal underneath showing just a few minor ware and some slight discoloration from the rust. I'm not really looking to make money off of the blades I acquire, I simply want to study and learn as much as possible while doing them as much justice as I can feasibly do (and afford) Absolutely, my apologies about that, I may just post the actual album links itself instead of loading my original posts with photos going forward (unfortunately I cannot edit the post due to be over 12 hours since posting). Thank you for pointing that out for my awareness, it will not happen again. I'm not too certain, the Tsuka is of pretty standard size as far as I'm aware at about 5" / 12.7cm. Machi-okuri I believe is the term for this, but the blade is already fairly short as is. Perhaps an effort to hide a poorly executed re-tempering in the event that was needed with this blade (can't tell at all due to patina in that general area) but that's just a shot in the dark guess. Very curious indeed

Very curious indeed, I wonder if it was drilled to verify it wasn't a plated piece of brass or something to that affect (in lieu of just using a magnet).

Fascinating sword, would really love to see this one cleaned up. The nakago is particularly interesting in that it seems to have been filed down pretty crudely, perhaps in order to fit the wartime tsuka fast and quick, but anyone's guess is as good as mine. Nihonto aside for a moment: Regarding the Marine Service dress jacket you were unsure of in the video, that patch is for 2nd Marine Division, and the cord is called a French Fourragere which was awarded to 2nd Marine Division, 6th regiment, as well as the 1st Marine Divisions 5th regiment to recognize their efforts in Belleau wood during World War 1. The French Fourragere is still in use today by units that have not since been disbanded. Stripes on the sleeve signify the rank of Corporal. Back to the sword, if you are having a difficult time holding it by just the tang, you can use a soft cloth (or a tissue) to hold it so your fingers are not in direct contact with the blade, would recommend cleaning the blade with denatured alcohol to remove any acidic oils such as those from fingers that may be present and re-oiling with a protective coat of a non-chemical oil (such as mineral oil)

A few more photos for you, alas my photo skills do not do these fittings the justice they deserve.

I wouldn't say it's badly damaged, the scale rust cleaned up pretty nicely, though there are a few ware and a few very minor chips along the blade edge and kissaki. Though you are quite right, it will be expensive to see this blade properly polished/restored either way. Regarding the signature just more so wanting to identify which generation of Uda Kunimune it most likely is that said it seems the number of signature examples and correlation to generation is somewhat limited. I believe it could be produced by the 4th generation Uda Kunimune simply based on the mention is Seskos book he was known to produce Hira-zukuri Ko-wakizashi. The signature though quite muddy and degraded does seem to compare well overall with extent examples in Fujishiros and Markus Seskos books, but there is no clear delineation on which generation these respective signatures belong to. Window polish will likely be necessary going forward to correlate the other characteristics with a given generation. To my eye it compares best to the example in Fujishiros Nihon Toko Jiten Koto book on Page 318 on the left hand side which I think may be the 4th Generation due to the mention of Jo-Saku. Unfortunately it is unsigned, I'll grab a few more pictures for you when I have an opportunity. The other side of the fuchi shows what I can only assume to be seagulls. Also I just realized I had used the wrong Kanji for his name in my initial description - should read as 國宗 instead of 国宗

Just wanted to share my latest acquisition that was cheap enough to warrant picking up. Signed - Uda Kunimune 宇多国宗 Wakizashi As far as I can tell through the rust/patina, seems to have a chu-suguha hamon at face value Unfortunately due to it’s current state I am unable to discern much regarding the hada and boshi, the blade has a few typical ware about midway through the blade closer to the mune than the hasaki, but otherwise seems to be in descent shape. Most of the scale rust was cleaned off carefully/little by little with an old copper penny which revealed the mentioned ware but not much else. Looking at the nagako, it does appear hamachi and munemachi may have been moved up approximately 1”. Hira-zukuri blade. The fuchi and kashira specifically drew me to this sword as I really liked the chisel work done on both pieces. Seems to be missing a menuki unfortunately and saya itself is not in the best shape. Basic Measurements: Nagasa – 13.75”/35cm/1shaku1sun5bu Nakago – seems to have Katte Sagari yasurime/Kurijiri end Sori – has only the slightest sori, appears to be saki-sori Iori-Mune Motokasane and Sakikasane are ~4.9mm and ~3.9mm respectively Motohaba and Sakihaba are ~27.4mm and ~22.9mm respectively Haven't had an opportunity to sit down and compare signatures to known Kunimune works deeply and the characteristics that I am able to discern, but will do so when the opportunity arises, may also send this in for a window polish when funds permit. Pictures as follows: Pre-Copper Penny light rubbing to remove scale rust Post-Copper Penny usage with majority of scale rust removed: Mei side of the Nagako, edited slightly for better legibility for the signature

I will have 2 or 3 I may bring for Shinsa if it will be happening this year. Email sent. Thanks! -George

Window polish is complete as of right now, these are the pictures I received from Woody. He and Mike Y. conferred a bit and do believe it to be an O-suriage shinshinto blade with a fake signature I do rather like the blade and now even more so, I'll be pursuing a full polish through Woody and a shirasaya through Mike Virgadamo. Pictures below for your viewing pleasure though they are quite compressed.

Ebay has been getting rather aggressive with their sellers fees over the last year, additionally they did start reporting all sales to the IRS and are issuing 1099 forms to sellers. That said 20-30% seems a bit high, depending on the item it should be right around 12 or 13 % roughly.