John C

Hello folks: This is only vaguely related to swords, however some of you might find it interesting. This is a postcard that depicts the Doolittle raid (1942, I believe) on the Nagoya arsenal plant. The left side shows a soldier's uniform with sword while the right side shows a peasant? or farmer's? outfit. I can just make out a 93 on the farmer's outfit and another kanji I assume means killed or deceased (please correct me if I am wrong). The postmark is 1945. Just thought it was an interesting item to share. John C.

Hello: Probably an easy question, however can you all help me identify the style of this tsuba or point me to the right thread? I know I have seen tsuba with geometric cut outs on one of the threads before but I cannot remember which one. Thank you, John C.

Here it is. But it's just a broken blade for .99 cents! https://www.ebay.com/itm/394343215742?hash=item5bd0aff27e%3Ag%3AUysAAOSwtYdjesli&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoESP%2FM8Y94bUdjx1HigJbLrXeGO66vWZy180LquXhDXi93CIAk2fBMvG3Q2%2FN5NNdLIFmL0xoyH7SzWLG%2B33RchVcFa1FJNEovbjkjhRK%2FWDvJ19xlYBXpZzqGM6gpDtQoZGwqOgMz8H3vqMi8%2BHphDnsXDGJ6SCRD7N%2BwOmbVRh%2FpeqH%2F6CEf8JtRoOu%2F1HpWY5vwyxlTt5W8jbj9P0Ekg%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8i96t2TYQ&LH_ItemCondition=4|10 John C.

Not sure if this fits this thread, however here is a numbered blade. Blade is signed and dated (March 1943) but no other information (blade is broken with no koshirae). There is no bo-hi or serial number on the actual blade, so probably something different than a type 95. John C.

Not sure how "old" they think it is, however the chain is welded and the handle has spot welds. Can't be too old. John C.

Bruce: I think this may be one of the souvenir swords referenced by your article "The Mysterious Naval Landing Forces Sword." https://www.ebay.com/itm/255826611966 John C.

A little revival of this topic. Here is a Kanesane with hot stamp that Samuraimonkey42 is selling on ebay. Is this the same one described by Adam? The hamon looks very much the same. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115142144354 John C.

Looks great! Did you ever get the name of the smith confirmed? John C.

Ahhh. Makes sense now. Thank you very much. John C.

Hello guys: I attempted to translate this mei from an origami. I think it says Bungo ju Fujiwara Mino saku. Is that correct? But is Mino a last name? I can't seem to find a listing for it except as a province. Also from the same origami, my Google translate app has the sword description as "armpit finger", which I suspect is not correct. Can you help? Thank you, John C.

Nick: Looks like there may be a stamp (anchor in a circle??) on the tang near the base of the blade. If so, can you get a better picture of it? John C.

Sorry but you will need one of the experts on NMB to help you with that. What I can say is they will need some close up pics of the blade hamon, kissaki, and any marks or stamps you can find. John C.

Bob: I am very much a novice at this, however I have some observations that are just food for thought. The kanji is put in a place that is somewhat unusual (centered rather than katana mei or tachi mei). Also, the way it was cut seems unsure and unsteady, as if maybe the swordsmith himself didn't put it there. In addition, from the pics anyway, the rust inside the kanji looks "newer" and is not the same color as the surrounding rust. I am not sure if any of that means anything. It could have been put there by the actual sword owner. Just some things to look at. John C.

Bob: Does the nakago (tang) look like the one pictured? If so, can you post pictures of the tang and a picture of the edge of the tang. There should be some marks there. Thank you, John C.

Ray: I sent you a message via your Gmail account. John C.

Guys: My apologies. I must have an older version of the list. The serial numbers are not on the copy that I downloaded. Would you be able to direct me to the latest version? Regards, John C.

I don't have a picture of the actual blade. I was researching auction sites for serial numbers. I do have a pic of the information sheet listed with the auction. John C.

Bruce: If you are still collecting Mantetsu serial numbers, I have 3 more for you: 1. RA 766, Spring 1944 2. YA 710, Autumn 1942 3. Unk 125? (see pic), Winter 1939 John C

Lee: Just more food for thought. Umegane, in general if filled correctly, are not considered fatal flaws. But the question may be how many imperfections are you willing to accept? John C.

Yuliyan: This may help. A link to Richard Stein's page on origami papers. It describes how to interpret them. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/origami.htm John C.

Dail: I'm not a sword expert at all, but here is some interesting research: "The first Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi was the 3rd son of Kanemichi in Mino. He moved to Kyoto in 1559, then received the name as “Tanba no Kami” in 1595. His swords were seen by 1634, and then passed away in 1635 or 1636. He was called as “Hokake Tanba” because one of his Kanji character 丹 (Tan) looks similar to 帆 (Ho) of 帆掛 (Hokake) which means “Sail”. Notice how the first character in the name engraved on the tang is the shape of a sail." Look at the shape of the kanji and try to compare to known examples. John C.

If anyone is using a door bell camera or CCTV, you can record the time the item was supposedly delivered and show that it wasn't. Maybe that can help with the insurance issue, at least. That has worked for me in the past. John C.

Bruce: Thank you! Looking forward to reading about your future discoveries. (Not like a groupie, or anything. Just interested in the topic). John C.

No problem, Bruce. Loved your article on the Mantetsu blade, however I am still unclear on one point. You note, very well I might add, the timeline for the mei and use of the logo stamp beginning in 1938. But did the use of the stamp continue or was it replaced by the mei? Thank you, John C.

Bruce: Not sure if you got the serial number for the above blade, so here it is... John C.