Lareon

Surprisingly. White spirit / mineral spirit / paint thinner had no effect on it. Same with isopropyl. Seems to only be removed with abrasion.

I might take another look today and remove some from a less visible area and see how it looks. Don't wish to damage it in any way. So will start soft. A small soak of Oil didn't loosen it. Nor did warm water or isopropyl. It does come off with abrasion and is soft enough to press a toothpick into. I'll test around the edge of the gun where it sits under the stock. Will have to think how I deal with the areas around the inlays as the metal will be soft and easily damaged. Nothing acidic either or it will affect the inlay. I'll try some mineral spirits to see if it lifts. If it's too onerous I'll leave it. If not I'll clean it up then protect with some oil / renaissance wax

Here is a comparison to one of my other ones, very similar when it comes to decoration, my previous is much nicer but you can see the difference in the metal and the inlay is almost invisible in the new one

I picked up another Tanegashima. Spent the last few hours removing the pins from the stock. They were copper or brass and deformed heavily. Quite a bit of rust under the barrel but there is a mei. It looks to be an Osaka variation. Poppy flower muzzle. Kabuto inlay by the pan cover. Wave motifs inlaid with silver or copper. The strange thing is. It feels or looks like there's some kind of black coating over the barrel. The colour of the silver is affected and the inlay. I gave it a very gentle clean but it didn't come off. Once I've removed the barrel I see that it stops under the stock. I tested a small section and it comes off with little to no effort and feels gunky. Im unsure if it should be there or not and don't want to damage it. I wondered if it was some kind of protective lacquer. I'll post photos of the whole thing further in this thread but just want to get opinions on this black coating I've included a shot of a chopstick that I used to remove a small section of it under the barrel. At first I thought it was black paint and someone had blacked the barrel, then I thought it was blisters in the metal. Now I'm unsure what it is. You can see the cracks in the substance in these photos. It's definitely been applied on purpose

Another time, I've got three swords in Japan for polish and shinsa and just bought a beautiful sword. My wallet needs a rest

I understand the desire kantaro. There was a sword I missed out on purchasing a while back due to a technical issue on a platform. The sword was something very desirable to me and my study. That sword sits rent free in my mind. I've been tempted before to post to see if one of our members purchased it so I could offer on it.

Luckily I travel a lot for work so I've managed to pick stuff up on business trips.

Well I had a day in New York. Got to inspect the blade. Chatted with the seller all for the same price as delivery. Travelled to Germany a few times to collect too (more expensive as I drove) It's more fun. It's cheaper usually and customs is easier than a delivery. If someone wants to pay my ticket I'll happily travel the world picking up swords for them!

As a beginners book i also recommend Alfred Dobree - Japanese Sword Blades It's a really small book and i ended up buying a couple of copies of it and carrying one around with me to study the kanji etc in it. The book(s) i regret buying the most was probably Hawley - Japanese Swordsmiths

I've gone and collected a few from other countries to bring them in myself in recent times. This year i was in new york simply to meet up with a NMB member to buy a ko-gassan blade which i brought back to the uk on the plane with me. shipping fees on imports are high £300-£400 A return flight to new york £300

for me the san is the biggest indicator. It's missing a strike on the left, the middle is horizontal instead of angled and the right hand stroke is vertical isntead of a curve

I agree with Bryce, the mei is close enough to warrant a deeper look or at least better pictures, the remnants of the kokuin of Sadakazu is also a good indicator in my eye although i have also seen gimei kokuin for Sadakazu multiple times. As for what is left of the blade. It is damaged but if it was mine and real i would still send for shinsa and polish (easy to spend someone elses money though) As for the negatives on the mei, there are definitely some discrepencies. The san kanji is definitely not typical Sadakazu. If i was a betting man i'd probably go gimei

Leather Cord wrapped around the Saya, is old and probably of the era. blade inside is Kozori Hidekage, the kabutogane also has a silver decoration

Higo No Kami Kuniyasu blade one side has the typical gunto menuki but the other side has a fly, whether this was post war i have no idea.

maybe includes export certificate too?

yeah £300 or 350 euro, It's not far from UPS pack and ship costs i've paid before

saw someone (AlexA) mention they used OCS shipping for a katana to the uk. I've also used these and I know Pablo from Unique Japan uses them (he was who recommended them to me) Just wanted everyone to know they are trustworthy and fast. (feel free to move this topic if online sales is more appropriate)

Very Nice, Let us know if there are any others. I'm in the area often. couldn't of made this one but would be keen

1743 Namamugi chō, Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama City? terashima denai ? Name and address

can you give us a close up shot of the decoration?

I've not seen the Release button filled before. Interesting

so far, two of the blades are wakizashi and one katana. I've seen the one you posted piers but didn't include it in my list. I own one of the wakizashi and it's a fine sword with a kaneiye tsuba