Surfson

Hi Vetgirig. You asked about value, and I'll take a stab at it. There are a couple of issues with it, based on the photos. First, it is lacking any of the soft metal inserts in either the nakago ana or the hitsu ana. In the latter case, they were clearly once there. The other issue that is hard to judge is that it appears to have some type of coating on it - perhaps some sort of clear lacquer or other material. To my eye, this looks recent and will likely affect value. I think that this tsuba, if sold on ebay (which is the best comparator since all we have to go on are photos) would go in the $150-200 range. Just my humble opinion. Cheers, Surf

You nailed it Ken!

I don't know Grey, but I do wonder whether the different texture along the edges of the break may have been made during the stress of the fracture. One way to discern this would be to cut the blade flat across and then polish it down on the cross sectional plane. My guess is that one would find that it is made of only one piece of steel.

That's a Valentine's day tsuba!

I wonder whether it is truly what we think it is. It is very odd that the supposed skin steel runs parallel to the supposed core steel even where the horimono is. This seems rather unlikely. I think that we had better come up with some alternative hypotheses about it.

I noticed that one too David. It certainly is kirijiri shape, but it might have been intentional. I've seen kirijiri referred to as Ichimonji as well, and wonder whether some of the more knowledgable members can expand on why that is. I would like to see other examples of this maker's work. Just by eye, it doesn't seem to be machi okuri.

Looks pretty good to me. The whiskers and tails on the dragons have some very fine cuttings done on them to simulate hair or some other fine structure. If you take a loop to them, you should be able to tell if it's cast or not. I would think that they are hand cut. It's a nice design, but it does seem to have some sort of red lacquer coating on it.

Brian, most people have specialists take care of that. As to the menuki, it is usually ok to gently use a little soap or detergent diluted with water and brush them gently (I might take some heat for this suggestion). Once you take them out, you will probably have to have the handle rewrapped. There are some Americans that can do a fine job with this for two or three hundred dollars or you can send the handle to Japan. In the process, they will usually clean up or replace the ray skin (same) as well.

I have a shodai Kanemichi and the mei is definitely different. Yours also is lacking the kiku and ichi. I do agree that it shouldn't paper if it isn't shoshin mei for one of the lineage makers. Which ones were working "around kanbun"?

Looks like a Victorian retractable pencil to me.

It is very odd to me that the mei appears to have been carved after the bohi was put into the nakago. Is this common?

I think it is a snowflake, but who knows what the square that it fell on is.

Kudos to Chris Bowen and Larry Klahn, and all others involved in the Minneapolis shinsa last year. I was pleased to get all of my papers today in good shape. Now I'm having fun working on the translations! It was fun and productive, and I hope you get the interest to do it again in the future, as I would definitely make the drive up from Chicago for another round! Cheers, Bob

Very nice purchase!

I always find the feedback section to be helpful. I usually don't do business with anybody with more than one negative, unless they appear to be unfounded.

Very nice set Ron. The one on the left appears to have a jewel, while the one on the right doesn't. They are nearly symmetrical though.

I agree Jean. Is the sword dull in the hamachi? Probably only polished once. B

Very nice tsuba. I would think it unlikely that the soft metal tsuba is Meiji, as it appears to have been mounted.

I'm not the most qualified to answer your question, but will have a stab (no pun intended) at it. I think that the shape of a sword is more informative than the nakago, especially for suriage or osuriage swords. Your sword is a little unusual, in the sense that it appears that it is made with a prominent masame hada which has affected the rusting pattern of the nakago, yielding the interesting striping pattern in the tang. I'm sure we will hear some other hypotheses about the striping. Based on the ana, one might think that it was only machi okuri a bit, but based on the jiri, it appears to have been suriage, and there is the possibility that it is osuriage.

Hi All. Interesting listing on ebay. Have you ever seen a snake skin covered saya? I've seen lots of same, but this is unusual. Do you think that it was done in Japan or by a GI? Cheers, Bob http://www.ebay.com/itm/KATANA-26-ANTIQ ... 562wt_1094

Sometimes WWII swords come with surrender documents - sheets of fabric or wood or inscriptions on the scabbard that state who the original owner was. Having such information is usually the only way that they can be returned to their original owners.

I don't think that is hamon. It looks like he worked on it with a buffing wheel.

Promised a photo of this sword. Sorry, but just have the mei for now. Cheers, Bob

Pockitoes? Thanks for the handle wrap David, it's very nice. B

Actually Adam, I think I used it in the way that Nakahara uses it and Grey Doffin explained in the discussion that you suggested that I search for. I think that both meanings are acceptable.