cabowen

I believe it is Takeyasu saku... This would appear to be a stainless blade and is therefore non-traditionally made.

Hello- I would be happy to help you but you will need to post photos that are large enough to read....

The NBTHK gets hundreds of blades for every shinsa and I would suspect their pass rate is probably at least 50% and probably closer to 60% or better. Most of those are Hozon, so there are probably 400-500 or so new Hozon every year.... It is not that hard at all to find blades that will get Hozon as it is not that difficult to get...Tokubetsu Hozon is a different story. That is much more difficult and that is the level I believe where diamonds begin to appear....

There is no dust up here.....If I had said US instead of Western, perhaps Reinhardt would not have commented- my mistake..... I certainly don't see any pissing contest here either- I would call it debate....my comments regarding experience were not directed at anyone in particular.

Not sure how you get "castrating all western collectors and dealers"....I have seen plenty of newbies get shafted, that is a fact, but I did not say all western collectors and dealers are to blame. There are always good and bad. Do you disagree that few in the US have the kind of experience I mentioned above? That isn't a value judgment, just another fact. For most people, this is a hobby, nothing wrong with that. Not everyone has the opportunity to study in Japan or the time to devout to study. No criticism meant or implied. If pointing out the reality of the situation "smells like superiority", I assure you, that was not my intent....

Congratulations, you are one of the few.... In the US I could count the number on one hand and probably not use all my fingers....

it is usually fairly obvious when a "tobi yaki" is by design or accident......The blade under discussion here clearly shows tobi yaki in an intentional pattern, thus not by mistake or accident....I was simply making the point that tobiyaki are not always intentional.....

Not sure where this is coming from....I agree the more experienced should be giving fair advice. My comment was that this is often not given, rather the more experienced often take advantage of the inexperienced when a good sword is found.... How many Western collectors have spent any meaningful time studying swords in Japan with experts, not just a few weeks here and there? How many can correctly identify even half the blades at a kantei kai? How many can read enough Japanese to do without any flawed English references and use the original Japanese sources? How many have studied in hand Jubi, JuBu, and Kokuho blades, in addition to blades by most of the major Shinto and Shinshinto smiths? There are surely a few who have the above experience and skills, which is why I didn't say "all"....Until someone has had the above experience and skills, they are inexperienced as far as I am concerned, regardless of how many books, swords, or years collecting they have..... And the general level of knowledge in Japan among collectors and kantei students is way beyond that of those in the US. I can't speak for those elsewhere so perhaps I should have said the US and not the West.....

Tobiyaki are not always present by design-sometimes clay will be scraped off or fall off the blade during yaki-ire and result in unintended tobiyaki. Muneyaki can take different forms, from a few isolated islands along the mune to full hardening the entire length of the blade along the mune. Read Nakahara's comments on jifu for an interesting alternative take....

There is a great "tradition" among many old time collectors in the US of "helping" the inexperienced by relieving them of their "tired junk"..... In truth, there are mainly two kinds of collectors in the West: the inexperienced, and the less inexperienced. There are few people who genuinely know with certainty when they have found something exceptional.... Grey and Keith are both right: it is usually the inexperience collector who finds the diamond and the less inexperienced collector, recognizing potential, who ends up with it...Or else it gets sent to a hack amateur polisher because the inexperienced collector hasn't the money or experience to properly care for the blade and it gets butchered....

tamba no kami yoshimichi

I think this a real, WWII blade....it is just in very poor condition....

精鍛 　 I believe this is pronounced "seitan" and means something like "purely forged"...

You are most welcome....Please post some pictures of the blade if possible.....

This just keeps getting better....After the post office said that the air carrier would not allow swords, now they are telling him he can't send by boat either because they are not accepting items made of metal????? I wonder if my agent hasn't found the village idiot at the post office....Now he is trying fedex and ups....Anyone know anything about this???

勲四等昭秀謹作 Kunshito Akihide Kin Saku Kunshito is a government merit award, 4th class. Kurihara Akihide was given this award for his service to the country as a member of the Diet. Hoshuku Koki Ni Sen Ryoppyaku Ichi Nen Go Gatsu Kichi Jitsu Celebration Lucky day in May, 1941 This tanto was most likely made to celebrate a birthday or other such happy occasion.

Why didn't you ask the seller, I am sure he knows....

Please note I said "secured case, secured room"...I have no problem with museum displays-obviously, as you mention, it is a necessity for appreciation. My comments are directed to home display.....

Hard to say without the blade in hand but it does look a bit suspect. What does the nakago look like from the top? Is there any concavity where the mei would have been?

Your reading is correct. The ura reads: 為森川義忠氏 Tame Morigawa Yoshitada Shi Which translate to "made for Mr. Yoshitada Morigawa I would say you did very well. Norisada is a good smith and this is a special order blade. Congratulations!

The display of sword blades is a modern, and mostly western, practice. Traditionally, sword blades were not displayed, for a number of reasons, some practical, some cultural. Short term, in a secured case in a secured room, there should be no problem. Not something I would recommend for any number of reasons but to each his own....

What I heard was that EMS was resuming but that swords were going to be excluded by the air carrier.....Anyone know what is going on?

I was told by my agent in Japan that he tried to send some swords back to me this past week and was told by the post office and customs that the air carrier would not accept swords to the US. From what he understood, this was not a postal or customs decision, rather it was instituted by the airline. No idea when this will change. Sea mail, taking months, seems the only option. Anyone heard anything else on this???

I don't mean to be snobby and there is nothing wrong with curiosity. I am only asking that you post what is appropriate to this forum, that being Japanese swords. It doesn't matter what the nakago says, it isn't a Japanese sword. There is a saying in Japan that bad swords hurt the eyes, meaning, you can't progress in your appreciation and understanding by wasting time with junk. I think several people have advised you, quite rightly, to learn what a good sword is so you stop wasting time here with things like this. I know it isn't always easy and mistakes are common, but really, spend more time studying known, quality blades, and less time trolling. In the long run, you will be glad you did....

The only interesting about it is that it hasn't been melted down yet. As others have noted, the shape of the blade, shape and finishing of the nakago, mekugi-ana placement, yasuri-me, and signature are all nothing more than a poor caricature. I can't understand why you are wasting your time with such things. Surely if you are reading books and studying examples of good swords you should be able to tell that this is nothing more than a bad joke. I think I speak for the majority here when I say that questions are always welcome and that I do not wish to discourage anyone but my god man, you keep posting junk, one blade after another....stop laying down with dogs......