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.

Here is another one being sold as "original" and has multiple bids. https://www.ebay.com/itm/314185427970?hash=item4926e92c02:g:d50AAOSwn-hjUbM- John C.

John: Thank you. It goes toward confirming my suspicions. This is now 7 examples of Yukihiro signing one way, while the signature on the blade in question is signed differently. Could be an anomaly, but who knows. John C.

Wow. You guys are absolutely the best. Thank you very much! I am accumulating as many known translated samples as possible for a reference file. John C.

Hello: These have me stumped due to their style. I think the second character may be tsugu. But cannot figure out the first. Am I close? John C.

Folks: (particularly those of us who are new) Here is an example of an ebay listing for a WW2 Japanese Sword. All kinds of red flags. But you will notice there are still people bidding on it. https://www.ebay.com/itm/144780901273 John C.

Thank you guys. I tried looking them up but couldn't figure it out. I envy your skills! John C.

Hello: This mei is from an auction I am interested in, however the kanji used in the signature are different than his normal signature. The smith normally signed Chikugo ju Muto Yukihiro. This mei is signed Chikugo [something] ju Yukihiro [something] saku. It's the two "somethings" I can't figure out. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, John C.

Further information: I have checked 3 other mei from nakago posted on NMB referencing this smith. All 3 mei match the sample in the book for RJT smith Yukihiro. At least 2 reference the star stamp. The blade in question on this auction uses a different style of mei. There are more kanji, two of which I cannot identify. Do you think this is the same smith? Thank you, John C.

My apologies: the name of the smith is Muto Yukihiro from Fukuoka prefecture. John C.

Vielen Dank, Chris. I will take all of that into consideration. John C. BTW: Ich hatte fur drei Jahre im Deutschland gewohnt.

Re: Here is the book page being presented for the sword above. John C.

Hello everyone: I have some concerns about the representation of a mei on a Muto Yukihiro signed blade. I am interested in this sword, which is being presented in an auction. But the signature on the blade is written in a different style than the one being presented by the seller in a book page. Could this be the same smith? I believe the date on the blade is Showa 1943, however there do not seem to be any star or other stamps to indicate RJT. Any insight you could provide would be much appreciated. Full disclosure: Seller (Hennadiy2006 on ebay) is asking 2750. John C.

Could be the camera angle, but it looks as if the tsuba were made for a tanto or wak and the seppa were made for a katana (different size nakago holes). John C.