Lareon

It's mostly as it's been my lowest priority purchase. I must admit I don't often look for them but if I spot one in good condition for the right price I'll grab it.

yeah i'm missing a pineapple in my gunto collection, I have a couple of copper but no pineapple

Hi Malc. You will most likely receive communication from border force but it can take a while. It's definitely a problem that it was labelled imitation and you're going to have to go through the process with that. You're going to need any and all documentation to show that it isn't and meets the rules and regulations necessary. Then you're going to have to answer as to why it was described as imitation. The item won't be destroyed instantly. They should contact you first Ups has their own customs so you're going to need to contact them and find out what has happened. It can take a while but I've been through it before and you need to get hold of the rare UK call centre and just keep contacting over and over

Just when i thought i was out, you pulled me right back in. I'm going to have to source myself one of these

Beautiful Display

I agree. The forum is invaluable and a repository of knowledge and expertise found nowhere else

Oh it's absolutely fine, the whole thing is confusing, with the off signature I've always been wary of it, I imagine then someone has added the mei in recent times with a chisel and put together a set of mounts for it to try and pass it off as a yoshimitsu. Luckily it's of no loss to me as It was given to me but I'll keep hold of it and keep it out of the Gimei pool.

I'll get out my backdrop and DSLR later but for now.

Apologies for the confusion the fuchi is iron but the cherry blossom on it are silver and the leaves are gold The kashira is also iron with a gold section with small scalloping. The Ito I don't know if it's a recent wrap. It has staining on it from being held so unsure how old it is. The habaki has a copper inside then a separate section on top. Looks to be folded over slightly yes. I'll take pictures

Yup i meant the menuki, I've not unwrapped the Ito to take them out and have a look properly and probably won't but they look to be gold, ive not tested them though they are a dragon motif. The cherry blossom fuchi looks to be silver with gold foil in places. As for the blade, yes the date isn't complete. Looks to be added afterwards with a chisel at some point which is why I've dismissed the mei for now and was interested in the tosogu and overall koshirae. I've had it for a while now and I always come back to admire the tosogu. I was originally going to sell it as I'm not a fan of the blades mei but ironically i find the whole set quite beautiful so decided to keep it. Is it possible to date the tsuba or work out what school it is? This is where my knowledge is lacking.

Awww it'll be a shame when you've done them all. It's been nice to see the whole collection coming through. One of my greatest joys in the hobby is buying unseen gunto and opening them up to see what is in there. I occasionally buy some just to post them on here as I unbox them. Congratulations on your father in law's collection though!

The blade itself has nice activity and is a nice blade. The mei looks gimei, signature on the opposite side also the date isn't complete. I've always been unsure of the blade. I'm interested in the mounts because they seem good quality. Gold habaki and mekugi (menuki). The koshirae and tsuba are not things I have much knowledge on so interested in hearing more on those especially if they are of a certain school etc.

Hi all, I have a blade signed yoshimitsu, I'm not sure on the blade itself but the fittings are nice i wanted to get opinions on them.

Here to add my thanks too. A great resource and a benefit to us all. Thank you to all involved

Have it in hand now. Very happy with it. Some beautiful little silver inlays and decorations. The rod is missing and the pan cover. I tried to disengage the barrel but it doesn't seem to want to move and I don't want to damage it. I checked all 4 mekugi ana in front of the breach and they seem empty. I can see light through all four. I disengaged the brass band holding it at the front of the barrel and removed it attempted to lift the barrel with my palm as described but it is pretty solid and barely moves at all. (I followed your guide on breaking it down) Will maybe leave it for another day as I don't wish to damage it by forcing it.

Nice. Are you sorting through an estate? You have so many!

Thank you Piers, I'll be picking it up Friday and will do a deeper examination then, will remove the barrel to see if the Mei is underneath. It has a touch of damage here and there but is striking, I've rarely seen non damaged complete ones, especially in the UK. As soon as i've had it in hand and taken a closer look i'll post back findings. Thanks for the response!

obviously please correct me if i'm wrong but with the brass kabuto motif, poppy muzzle and the sail motif, it would point towards Sakai Osaka?

Hi all, I'm new to Tanegashima and have been exclusively collecting swords, this is my first purchase, most simply because i find them beautiful, so please excuse any ignorance i have on the subject. I wanted to post it up to see what people thought, any information they could share, I don't know enough to know if it is genuine or simply a souvenir so any info is good. I only have the sellers photos at the moment so haven't got it in hand to do a deep inspection but just wanted to get a general consensus and share it Thank you for any information you can share. Tony

as others have said it's personal choice. if mine came with a tassel i record it and then keep the tassel seperate out of the light and stored away to protect them. I don't often add tassels to the ones i've got. Again personal choice. I suppose if there was provenance that a certain rank owned one of my swords i might find a tassel to go with it but that is rare.

Excellent contribution to the field