CSM101

Morning, so, one of the easiest things is to open a photo and make it invers. Now it looks like a negative. And here you can see if the hamon is gone. Or, if someone worked it over with brushes, deleted some parts, etc. The last one I saw was a Kagemitsu. Another good filter is highpass. You can make details more visible. And if details don´t come out, then there aren´t any details left. Then you have to look, if certain parts react later with color correction... There are many ways.. Greetings Uwe G.

You have to see whatever you want to buy. Photoshop, Elements or Gimp give you the possibilities to manipulate a photo in every way you want. And so this can happen with everything. Swords, tsubas ..you name it. When you see a photo like the next, then you know that someone used layers, masks, erazer. But what else? I have seen photos from Japanese dealers where fatals flaws where hidden. But the right technique brought them back. And that with swords that were sold within 2 weeks with a price over 20.000 EUR. Ebay and other platforms are 95 % a scam. You have to look at the photos and study them. And then you decide. Uwe G. PS: This is the same tsuba.

And here is just another reason why you have to hold in your hand what you want to buy. Kano Natsuo: before/after Uwe G.

Maybe it is more helpful to see both signatures together and compare then... Uwe G.

Hello, I just wanted to thank you all for your comments. Now I feel "enlighted". It was very interesting to follow all thoses hints, links and sources and now I know a lot more about kodogu than before. So, once again: THANK YOU! Uwe G.

I hope this one is better now. Last time the flashlight was a little bit too much. Uwe G.

So, here is another photo of the tsuba and I hope that Mino-Goto is still a possibility. Uwe G.

I just wanted to ask, if you see something like that very often. A new pair of silver menuki with gems for eyes and a passport confirming that. For me it is very unusual. Never heard of it before. But I live close to siberia and maybe that´s why... Uwe G. And just to drive you crazy: Goto?

Thank you all for your answers. Maybe one day I will be hit by a truck. And when I lay in hospital I look trough the Haynes-Index. But only then... Oh, I forgot my running gag: Mino-Goto???

This is very possible. Because all parts match each other. Some more pics... And thank you Uwe G.

Once again I feel very helpless. I have signed kurigata and I can´t find the kanji. I count seven strokes and then it is maybe a KUNI. But what does that mean then? I hope you can can help me with the correct translation. Thank you Uwe G.

So, here is a photo from the koshirae as a whole. I assume it belonged to a high-ranking samurai. The koshirae seems to be pre 1800. Even if there a many, many Suzukis, I think that there is one family that it could have belonged to. Here we have many, many Quandts. But only one family, that owns BMW. I know, it is a little bit stubborn. But I try it and hope for the best. Uwe G.

10 million. Oh! Well, the headline says it all. Uwe G.

Hi, I know, that the information I want is almost impossible to get. But this is the NMB and perhaps a miracle is just around the corner... You can see part of a tsuba with mon. According to an expert this is the mon of the Suzuki-family (?). So, are there still some members of the family existing and can I get in touch with them? And by the way: Goto??? Thank you Uwe G.

Last weekend I visited a friend and he showed me his newest sword. It is just a piece of steel (gimei) but the koshirae is very nice. We discussed it and he thinks, this is Goto. For me, it looks more like Higo Kinko. But in the end, we will be both wrong. Because we both have no knowledge about kodogu. And so,maybe it is just GoTo-hell-with-that-crap. I post here the photos and I hope someone can tell me, what it is and why it is, what it is. I will just post the tsuba, If you need more photos, please, let me know. Thank you Uwe G.

Gentlemen! Once again I am very impressed about the very fast and helpful response. Thank you very much! Uwe G.

Hi, this time I really tried to solve the puzzle. I used the kanjis here, Langenscheidt´s Japanese Kanji and Kana and Warnecke´s Japanese-German Kanji Lexika. But I could not find the kanji´s here. And so I am really confused and I don´t know, what the signature says. "Analog iTsuba", "Train Station" or maybe "Lethal Ninja Disc"? I have no idea. Please, help me with my confusion. Thank you! Uwe G.

Photo Stacking. Well, this is a very long and very hard way. And mostly because it takes time Trial and error. Just like panorama but with more chances to fail. But I know, that the results are phantastic. To see how it´s done go to youtube. This is a very good one but it is in german: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF2jFgT6r70 Sometimes it just needs a little bit playing with white balance and brightness. I took a photo from Veli´s Masahiro for that. Hope, I will see your photos very soon. Greetings Uwe G.

Thank you very much for the light! I think, it could be Ichiju; Haynes 1709. It would be nice to know the rest of the tale written on the backside. Uwe G.

I hope this one looks better. I only have 2 pics from the signature. Thank you Uwe G.

Hi, here is another kozuka. And with so many kanji that it seems to me that this is Harry Potter III. Can someone please help me with a translation? Thank you Uwe G.

Hello gentlemen, here is another beautiful kozuka. Unfortuneately it is not signed but has a golden seal on it. And I have no idea, what that means. So, if you have informations about the seal and eventually about the maker I would be very happy, when you share your infos with me. Thanks Uwe G.

SORRY!!!! I forgot to sign. Uwe G.

I just saw the blade today. Naotane =

Hi Steve, the photo is almost perfect and I could not do very much. I hope the experts here can tell you more about it. Enjoy it Uwe G.