John C

Marcus: If you are referring to the Lazarnick books, there is an auction on ebay for both volumes for 750. That's about the best price I could find. https://www.ebay.com/itm/376493745718 John C.

I have 2-7. Not sure if there are any after that, but would be interested them as well. John C.

Gerry: Not commenting on the sword itself, just the description. When you come across aucrtions that mention "tanker" or "aircrew" in the description, this is just a sales pitch. While it is true that some tank and air crewmen carried short swords, far more carried their standard regulation swords. There is usually no evidence that a particular sword was carried by a tank crewman, air crewman, or a submariner. Indeed, same goes for auctions listing "kamikaze suicide" dagger. Every soldier in every country in every war has probably carried a knife or dagger. John C.

I've been trying to learn slowly - Ray's flash cards, general kanji flash cards, study and practice books (all in hiragana and katakana). One thing that has helped me is that I speak German, which has the same basic rule of putting the conjugated verb at the end of the sentence. So if you speak german, or can at least practice putting the conjugated verb at the end, you may find it helpful. John C.

This book can be borrowed from internet archive if you are registered. John C.

Ha. This Kunitada went for 2,510 on Goodwill. Can't wait to see it again. John C.

Peter: I'll chime in with my two cents. I perceive the notion (passion?, obsession?) of collecting swords is still strong, particularly within the general militaria crowd. I only started a few years ago as an off-shoot of the martial arts. But I do agree that the mode of collecting has changed. And indeed, the selection of what can be collected has changed. I can't afford any of the swords I want and all that is left seems to be junk that has been adulterated over the past 60 years. I think the days of barn finds may be sadly over. Thank God sellers like the "Monkey" still have million dollar blades available! John C.

Here's another one I think is wrong. Note the arsenal marks, the lack of detail in the tsuka, the deep bohi, the kissaki end of the bohi, and the serial number, etc. etc. https://www.ebay.com/itm/236265448528? John C.

PLEASE, everyone. Can we save the vitriol for facebook where it belongs? Let's talk swords instead. John C.

Kevin: I'll answer your first question. The tsuka, seppa, and tsuba were likely changed frequently throughout the blade's life due to damage, owner's tastes, or other reasons. This is common and would not be a concern. As to the looseness, humidity levels in particular can shrink or swell tsuka causing them to not fit correctly. In addition, some sellers remove blades from shirasaya and add ill fitting mounts to increase buyer interest. We like to say "buy the blade" - so the mounts are less important. John C.

Thanks, Steve. John C.

I'm sure this may have been answered in a different post, however I can't seem to find it. Are post war tanto required to be dated? John C.

A 10,000 dollar tanto "used for harakiri." https://www.ebay.com/itm/185365356596? 8,000 dollar tanto from the same seller https://www.ebay.com/itm/185365363553? John C.

Thank you, Piers. This explains why I was having such a hard time finding the kanji as written. And thanks again @uwe for the translation. John C.

Hello: Quality of the carving aside, would this grain pattern be indicative of ivory, bone, stone, or vegetable ivroy? Simply trying to identify the material. https://shopgoodwill.com/item/238542367 Regards, John C.

Thank you Uwe and Piers. I meant to ask about whether or not the mei is an individual or a company. I have seen many of the same style tabako ire (make-up pouch?) with this mei and fittings (broccade material, large chain hanger, manju style netsuke, Yoshiaki mei or mumei). See example below. I was curious if this were a mass produced retail piece or from a very prolific craftsman? John C.

@Bugyotsuji Piers - any idea what the second kanji could be? Attached is my kanagu, which has the same mei and a similar style as the first pictured. Regards, John C.

Hello: I was able to figure out Yoshi something but cannot get the second kanji through available resources (google app says Yoshimitsu, Tobu, or Good Luck but I don't think those are correct). The pic attached comes from Eric H. in an old thread, however I have the exact same kanagu on a tabako ire. Thank you, John C.

Steve: Left column is the army inspection mark (possibly Osaka, but not sure); the middle is the date (could be Showa 11 - 1936); right column is the size (Chu - medium). John C.

Wow, Anthony. I'm jealous. I've been looking for just one example...no wonder I can't find any! John C.

I like his straightening jigs (around 5:12). Simple and effective. John C.

The least they could have done was take their own pictures. John C.

Bruce: Kanenami??? The nami character of this mei looks similar. John C.

Mike: My Kanemoto mei is very similar to the one you are looking at. I've also included a pic of his typical hamon. I think the jury is still out re: oil vs water quenched. Mine looks mostly water quenched but one could argue oil quenched. I suspect he would be considered average for WWII smiths. John C.

Winning bid was 3,001 dollars. John C.