cabowen

I believe it is another way to say wa-tetsu 和鉄, or Japanese steel, as opposed to yo-tetsu 洋鉄, or western steel.

Maybe a bit over enhanced.... Looks like it might be a masame hada but again, hard to say with the photo...

金子 kinsu literally means "money"

No, these are not modern. I have seen similar before.....do not know what to call them.....don't have my usual references available...

top one is Katsuhiro with kao bottom is maybe Mitsuharu with kao....not sure on the Mitsu.....

That is what I originally suggested to Brian but whatever he decides, I am ok with.....he is certainly not liable and I chalk it up to just bad luck.....appreciate all the feedback.

I am the one who appears to have been stiffed. I have repeatedly told Brian that it is no big deal and that he should feel no personal responsibility. Of course I am disappointed but it is neither the first or last time that will happen! Really, perhaps I will have better luck next year....

it looks forged and water quenched to me, as best I can tell from the photos...I very much doubt the star stamp is bogus....looking forward to some clearer, closer photos....

like George said, we need more pictures. There are several reasons why there may be a star and no date and no listing of this smith as a RJT. The most probable is that this smith became a RJT late in the war. The list everyone refers to was made in 1943. Surely there were smiths added to this system later. Being late in the war, like everything else, many things became expedient and perhaps the lack of date was simply overlooked. I know of one smith who told me the army inspector would come to his forge one a month or so and look at his blades, then stamp the ones that passed; perhaps rather than take the time to sign and date the blades before inspection, he waited until afterwards. Thus it may be the case that the star stamp was placed on the blade before the mei was added and the smith simply skipped adding the date. In any case, we will probably never know for certain. The best we can do is look at the sword to see if the workmanship is on par for what one would expect from a RJT. For that, we will certainly need better photos.

looks gimei to me.....many differences from your references...

Noshu Seki ju Fukuryushi Kiyoharu saku 農州関住福龍子清治

saru te

The same one who started this thread.

yes, it is called nioi.... Here is what nie look like:

nie and nioi are the same thing, only difference is size. If you magnify nioi enough it will look like nie.....Nie should be visible without magnification....

I can't see any hada or nie. I vote for showa-to.....

A blade made for a shrine will not have stamps of any sort on the nakago...

Ed- The book you have pictured is indeed authored by Zusho Ichiro, the gentleman Clive mentions....

What do you base this opinion on? Have you discussed the topic with them both at length, like I have, or is this simply idol worship? Since I have spoken with them both about wwII era blades, I speak with both confidence and first hand knowledge when I say that while they are (were) unquestionable experts when it comes to old swords they have not researched war era blades to the same breadth and depth and consequently I would not consider them the final word when it comes to this topic. I hesitate to mention this but there were instances when I received inquires about WWII era blades from people who were referred to me by the NBTHK.... I remember when the NBTHK would not paper Horii Toshihide Mikasa steel blades. Then they did. Then they said they wouldn't paper any showa blade with any stamp, including the star stamp. Now they have papered many (star stamped blades). This is a dynamic field where not everything about the past is known. WWII era blades were ignored for a long time and it is only recently that research has clarified many of the details that have been ignored, forgotten, and buried. Many misconceptions and prejudices have been corrected as a result. As I said, we know better now....

Regarding the star stamp and its use, rikugun jumei tosho, and whether or not these are traditionally made or not, modern research has shed a great deal of light and shown that in general star stamped blades were traditional in both materials and manufacture. There has been a great many falsehoods perpetuated in Japan, and elsewhere, as concerns these blades in the past. We know better now....

The operative word is "majime"..... War is no laughing matter.....

Sorry, I have none....Am told the hamon is a shallow notare with some nie scattered along the habuchi....

Someone sent me this scan recently and I thought I would share as I know there are those here interested in such things.... Bungo ju Kuniyuki saku Showa 18 Nen (1943) Still making them in Bungo even during the war..... Blade appears to be of decent quality....

nakago is crudely shaped, filed, and finished.....I vote gimei.

I showed you where the fish are, I will leave it to you to catch them.....