loiner1965

now that could be fatal as it could be classed as a crows beak but its hard to tell from your pics....can you move further away then retake so we can see where it is etc

is they an online site where you can view Japanese family mons please...a friend tried in vain with no luck

lol.............................your just teasing me

bought for peanuts and basically on a whim must be getting old or soft but do you reckon this tsuka which measures 7 inches be from the meiji period or just junk any thoughts good or bad will be most welcomed

fully understand your concern brian but surely only a fool would atempt an amateur polish on his valuable nihonto etc.....but as always they will always be one who atempts it

ditto..... i really appreciate it what you are doing as to me you are saving a bit of history which otherwise would have gone in the skip

open tsuba are for officers whilst closed ones are nco

ryujinswords was the buyer for that sword

the fault on the blade looks like its an umegane which is a pocket filled in with metal after the sword been made...be careful if you get it polished as they can pull out as mine did in a kiyomitsu blade

like opening a can of worms john....thats why the sword just lives in his wardobe now but i told him to wipe and oil it carefully every couple of months

told him they are 99 out of 100 fakes of this smith out there but i also told him 2 years ago i believe its genuine...i love to have it but he will not sell and i respect him for that.only live 30 miles from me and he is a genuine man and as took time out to try and photograph it as best he can for me this weekend......cannot wish for more

here you are paul.....the tang was cleaned by my friend years ago as he knows nothing about nihonto as the sword was his fathers from a debt i believe

cheers paul...they is a decent pic on another thread , i told my mate this 2 years ago what option he had about wether its real or not and if it would polish ok due to the steel being very thin due to the hizen design etc....told him the cost involved and how long he had to wait.....could be worth a fair bit or it could not be worth the cost of the polish. in the end he loves it as it is and it lives in the wardrobe lol.... i would love it as well but would not get it polished either....apparently hes been told its 99% genuine from a uk collector but i do not know who

esp for john stuart...not very good pics of my friends wakizashi and unknowingly he commited the inmoral sin in cleaning the tang but that was years ago........its out of polish but he says you can see the suguhu / straight temper in the blade...someone verified it as genuine and it has been on this forum a few years ago as i and another sent in the kanji for rich turner to translate. the 100,000 dollar question is would you buy an out of polish and no papered omi daijo fujiwara tadahiro which has been through the wars and minor damage around the habiki........i love it

i would agree with jacques on this one ..its a tourist chinese imitation .....

be interested in seeing your progress in this restoration...keep us updated please

unlike brian i have never seen hada like this on nihonto blades and it does look alot better than the chinese hada i admit..i think we need more pictures like stephen suggested to be fully certain. i am no way near experienced like brian or stephen but i cannot see a hamon just that unique folding.....i think we need guido on this one

sorry to be a bearer of bad news but to me it looks like a chinese copy....look at the damascus type hada on the blade..hope i am wrong as the pic isnt too clear

i will ask him john as he keeps it locked away after someone told him who it was made by years ago.....

sorry to jump in here but this is my friends sword and i have been trying to buy it from him for years but its a no go.....its Omi Daijo Tadahiro

patience my friend......someone more knowledgeble than myself will be along soon

The mei is intended to be Kanemoto, I think. thank you Koichi Moriyama san....if they are going to forge a sword then why not pick one of the best names around lol

right.....i read the mei as kanehisa who was a showa period smith but that is my translation so i could be wrong lol

how would they do this.....would it be possible to heat the tang up to cherry red and protect the blade not being heated with welding putty...then chisel a mei in, would this work and not be noticeable

pics would be most welcomed