Mark

I have a kozuka that is a bit hard for me to translate as I am more familiar with swords than fittings. I think the maker might be Munehisa but I looked up this make and did not find anything that seemed to match the other parts of his mei ( I think it is a personal name). Any help appreciated Thanks Mark

I already bought his set, it is great. I will commit to buy 2 sets to support this project

Sad news indeed. I always enjoyed seeing John at the Shinsas and shows in New York and NJ.

Bizen Osafune Ju Kagemitsu that is what it says, I am not saying that is who made it

Kunitaro san thank you! I will see if I can find any information on this person, I doubt I will but it is enjoyable to research history mark

I have a sword and under the habaki there are some kanji. My guess is they were etched by the last polisher? Maybe a polishers name, or maybe the owners name? any help appreciated thanks mark

I see this maker used many varieties for his me as mentioned above. I also notice this smith sometimes used "grass script" for the dates but other times wrote them in normal kanji. It does not seem to be related to time as both types appear at the same time. Is there any thoughts as to why he did this? Is there some meaning to the choice of how he wrote the date? mark

NBTHK recently had an article on Tadakuni and had examples of his mei as it changed giving dates with examples. I noticed it as I was interested in Tadakuni, they probably have more info on other Hizen smiths.

Simion, The swords look "real", we do not know lengths etc. Not sure what you paid but they have value, hard to be exact without seeing them but at least a few thousand (without papers) and several thousand (or more) depending on the signatures being shoshin or gimei. It would be hard to say if the signatures are genuine or not, you would need to submit they to shinsa but the mounts look to be decent quality and original. I am sure others will comment and give opinions. There have been threads in the past explaining shinsa procedure and costs, check them out. mark

thank you very much. I did not want to dispose of them without knowing. I appreciate the help mark

I bought a grouping of items brought from Japan in the 1940's. included were some papers with large kanji. Can anyone give me an idea what they are? They seem well written thanks mark

I have a 82+cm 32+" katana dated 1866 and a 34" katana dated 1864, both are custom ordered. I like longer swords, I have several that are 29-30"

sorry, no, but keep trying. No Shu Seki Ju Katsumasa Saku

where in Michigan are you located? I live in Toledo and get up to Detroit quite often. If you are in the area I could take a look at it and give you some pointers mark

maker is Kinmichi (can also be read kanemichi). There are a number of generations. You can do some looking online and probably find a lot. Try and work out a little of the rest of the inscription, the date will be hard as it is in "script" but the rest you might find. You will find researching is fun and you learn a lot doing it yourself. Let us know how you do and we can fill in the rest mark

maybe I am wrong, but when I see a seppa that overlaps the opening in the tsuba I get the idea they were put together. When I have seen original koshirae it seems the seppa are always custom made to fit the tsuba so you do not see any overlap when you look through the openings on the tsuba.

this one is quite easy, do you want to give it a try? the kanji pages are above. if not here is my translation

Mark Many people use traveler's checks, they used to be quite common when there were more international buyers at the shows. If the seller knows you a personal check might be ok, but that varies with sellers. The shows are usually in nice (safe) hotels and have security so if you stay at the hotel you can use their safe deposit boxes as well. Some dealers accept charge cards but at present only a small percentage. mark

hard to see in the pictures. The small ware' or loose grain (if what I see is what you are asking about) is a cosmetic flaw not a serious flaw. Sort of depends on the sword, if it is a kamakura sword it is nothing, if it is a gendai you would be concerned it may get worse in the future when polished.

do you want to know what they say or do you want tips on figuring it out? if you want help we can give some direction, if you just want to know what they say see my translation below. katana tanto

I know Louis Mills, he lives near me. Not sure if it is his tanto without seeing the item but here is some info http://togiarts.com/Togi_Arts/Louis_Mills.html mark

I have a set of the cutting test books on ebay, I priced at less than market value at $750 I have a few other bits also. I will be adding some other items in the future http://www.ebay.com/sch/mark!!1/m.html? ... =12&_rdc=1 eBay i.d. mark!!1 Thanks Mark

mei might be Naomasa

I was a bit busy during the show and forgot to snap any pictures, I will make a note and do better next year. I did take a couple before the show opened Sunday morning, here they are, they show a bit of the room but all the treasures are covered up. I know Mike Y took some pictures as he has some on his facebook page, maybe he can upload a few. Maybe Joe or some of the other participants have some.

Joe is made of stout stuff, I know I got a good look deep down inside. Good thing for "clot quick" and a decent first aid kit (sorry about the sting, I know that stuff hurts and may take some work at the hospital to remove but better that than losing too much blood). I was surprised he reacted so calmly and logically instead of panicking and going into shock, he is a big guy so would be a load to carry out (ha-ha). Anyway I wish you a full and speedy recovery. It gave the hotel staff some excitement. I enjoyed getting to know you and Angela better but would have preferred to do it under other circumstances. See you next year Mark