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Here the mei of a Hozon papered suriage Katana by Kiju from the same year. Terrific blade. Mei looks close, but with a smith like that you never know. Pics of blade might tell more. Best, Martin

Well done, Morita-San! David, 5th gen Tsuguhira is not a bad find, if it is yours. Nakago looks good. Best, Martin

For the few who have not seen it yet, here a site with some Kaga sword oshigata: http://www.users.on.net/~coxm/?page=oshigataII_oshigata Best

Sorry, I meant Curtis blade, not Davids!

This article about Mantetsu, Moriyama San is referring to, I still find most impressive (Even though I have read it before). Same goes for the other information on this site. Must have been an interesting task for these scientists and engineers to create a new generation of blades combinig the quality of old blades with the more modern demands such as higher resistance against brittleness, bending and the possibility of an industrial output. I wonder if such effective blades based on the same construction could still be mass produced today(for a reasonable price :D ). The mei and the Tan-stamp on Davids blade seem to be identical to the the tang at the very right in the article, so I guess this was made after 1943. Would be interesting to see the blade and its quality of manufacture. Best,

Dear Hans, as Grey stated, the blades are old, might even be koto, but heavily suriage. Somebody tampered with the wakizshi tang to make it look ubu. The tsuba and fuchikashira can be Meiji(shiriimono ware for export) or new casts, the rest of the koshirae including the polish of the blades is recently made, probably not in Japan. Best,

I wrote to Egun explaining the fraudulent intent of these offers. They wrote back that as so far no interest at all was shown in these offers, they do not see any need to take action. Considering the 0 feedback and the style I would also think that the likelihood of anybody falling for this, is almost nil. Best

As far as I can judge from the distance the Katana seems to have late war naval mounts and a stainless blade which means non traditionally made. Close ups of tang and mounts should make it clearer. The black signs are assembling marks. Is there a signature or a stamp on the tang? The wakizashi has 19th c. handachi style mounts(tsuba is old, but non-matching) and a tanto blade of hira-zukuri shape. The tang is ubu(original shape) and is nicely shaped but looks like late Shinto or Shinshinto to me. Any signature here? Both swords are average and you should not worry too much about the market value. They should have a high value for you though as they are a part of your personal family history. Best,

As seen on the pictures the blades are plastered with fingerprints. Remove these ASAP or they will be fixed forever as rustprints. Keep them lightly oiled and never touch them with bare fingers. Best,

Sorry, forgot the link: http://www.hizento.net/index.php?page=art_gallery

Hi, Marcello! A kantei is pretty useless without pictures of the blade, except if the nakago was cut off :D . If you have seen this sword somewhere and is has no paper, consider it gimei in case you want to buy it. Same goes for the fuchi. In case you have not found it, here a link to Roger Robertshaws site with samples of Tadayoshi signatures. Regards, Martin

Hi, Brian! Like Thomas I also think the kabutogane to be a modern cast and the same-skin looks new. So the whole tsuka might be a later replacement because it got lost. The blade is either one of the countless fakes or in the best case it might be a special order by a member of the Japanese occupation force. Sometimes these were ordered as "ersatz"-blades with local blacksmiths on occupied territory. Whatever the koshirae might be, one thing is sure: The blade is not a traditionally made nihonto. Best, Martin

Chris, have not opened bidders for a while, now I am a bit shocked! First Yahoo, now bidders. Wonder, where it will end? One thing I noticed: Aoi-Art auction results have picked up recently, maybe due to this. Dealers who export directly like Sanmei, Aoi-Art, E-sword etc. will profit from this. Agents might lose business. Wonder why. Maybe the formal trouble related to weapon sales is too high compared to turnover? Regards, Martin

Ian, the mei names a famous armour maker of the Miyochin family and is easy to identify, particularly the last kanji before the saku. How about a picture of the helmet?

Auctions have been removed. Apparently the seller is a member or visitor of this board.

I will send them an email with a link to Alf Tans homepage in order to check on the seller.

Thanks, Veli, indeed it seems that pictures were taken from this site. Definitely the same green cloth was used for the photos! So it is either a fraudster or Alfred Tan chose to advertise on egun under a Shanghai address! Best, Martin

Hi, fellers, saw these 6 auctions by the same seller on egun today. http://www.egun.de/market/list_items.ph ... liping1981 Egun is the biggest online platform in Europe for weapons of all kind and a copy of ebay. Usually original nihonto are scarce on egun, but here 6 genuine swords are being offered by a Chinese seller for low starting prices. Located in Shanghai and with zero feedback he will probably receive no bids, but maybe someone on this board knows him or the merchandise? Maybe he is a member of this board and has positive feedback here? Regards, Martin

These Tsuba are masterful objects of art. Still I find this attitude pretty arrogant. If you do not want to answer "qustions" why don´t you keep these photos for yourself, frame them and hang them up in your bathroom. Martin

Dear Jean, You have my full respect how you drive translation newbies patiently towards making their own try on translating mei. This is a good thing to do and I absolutely support it. But,..as I expected, most posters still missed the point of my (moderate) criticism. Lets give it another try: I do not want to keep members from helping other members! What I criticized is: Showing a clipped nakago of a blade offered on Ebay with as little info about the sword as possible to avoid identification by possible competitors on this board! Actually the same board that is supposed to provide the favour of the translation! If anybody still has´nt got the message, I will gladly explain it a third time! Martin

Dear Zengin, please sign your post according to board rules. The mei is quite simple to read with the help of any kanji list of Japanese swordsmiths. If you cannot afford the time doing this, I am sure some of the many helpful members here will provide a translation shortly. Having seen quite a few posts like yours recently, I have to get rid of something that has been bothering me for a while: Sending a post with complete pictures of a sword, i. e. full nakago plus sections of the blade, expresses a certain form of politeness towards the members of this board, as it provides some useful information. It does not really matter whether fake ore national treasure, such post are always an interesting contribution and nobody starts out as an expert! Sending a small section of a nakago which barely shows the signature and not a trace of interesting information, degrades the wizards on this board to cheap interpreters and I consider this rude. I do not blame you as I am sure your request was honest and well meant but maybe future posters will give it a little thought Best, Martin

Well spotted, Ian. Description is wrong, not Edo but usual Showa civilian tsuka. So a little overprized, but must have been worth that price to somebody apparently. Martin

Hi, Brian the details of the boshi literally remain in darkness, but the shape of the blade and the elegant design of the apparently original saya and kojiri makes it a pretty acquisition. What disturbs this impression is the much too small Tanto tsuba and the unprofessional restoration of the tsuka, which is no match for the rest of this sword. you must change the tsuba for a wakizashi sized one and remove the binding. Then you resize the tsuka with file an sandpaper in such a way that after binding it again, the ito will never stand out over the fuchi. This looks clumsy and unelegant. As it may take years to master a good tsuka wrapping I woulöd recommend professional help, if you can afford it. If you do it yourself again, please inform yourself about the correct position of the menuki! Regards, Martin

Have checked the "links" section on this board? Also, if you tell us where you live, there might be members from your country who could recommend a dealer in your area. Regards, Martin

Dear Laurent, apparently the seller did not read his paper at all. The era stated there is Ten-sho (1573) So it is rather Kun 657 who is a 15pts. smith. Off course 55pts and Nanbokucho period make the blade sell better. Still the sword is not a bad buy if you deduct a new polish from the asking price. Regards, Martin