Mark

I bought a sword and the kashira was hanging off the tsuka and then broke off (fortunately not before i bought it). The fuchi is signed Naotoshi, looks like H 06807.0 from Haynes index, Hamano circa 1775...... The fuchi and kashira came together but i do not know if they are a set or have been put together in the past, the carving is in 3d on the fuchi but flat on the kashira. I do not know Japanese subjects that well so i do not know if this is telling a story and belongs together or not. Any input would be appreciated Thanks!

Chip Gimei means the signature is false or a forgery. You can have a signature properly removed, then the blade has the value of an unsigned blade

average factory work. not hand made but made as a weapon nothing of note. It would be a militaria collectible but not of value as an example of a traditional Japanese sword

Martin good point. shinshinto blades do resemble Koto swords at times. I had not thought of the kanji being hard to read as intentional, i am probably just naive. I appreciate the message, i will research it as being shinshinto. It is still a decent sword, and i enjoy trying to learn from each sword

George Thanks. here are some pictures Noshu Ju Kanemoto. blade is 27" appears ubu, the sori and shape do not seem Shinshinto, but i guess it could be. The sanbansugi is not the "regular" type seen in latter generations, but it clearly is not the the Important Kanemoto. The Moto kanji is unusual, i have been looking for a maker who wrote it that way but have not found a similar mei yet. I hoped if i could narrow down the era it would help narrow the search. I appreciate the help

i can read Bun____ 5th year 8 th month hard to make out the second kanji of the date, i was thinking maybe Bunroku?

Brian, if you live in driving distance to Louisville maybe you are in my area. I live near Toledo OH, i travel in Ohio and KY. You can email me at nixe@bright.net if you want to try and meet.

looks like Seki (City), Ju Nin (resident of) Kanenori (makers name) Saku (made this)

Chip maybe you did not understand, the suggestion was you might want to make a SMALL donation, like $15 or $25 that would represent 1% of what you saved. i do not think anyone even suggested you donate $1500, no one would even think of anything like that. we are not here for the money, it is just nice when someone uses our help they show a minimal amount of appreciation

not sure i understand this comment. We try to be helpful to all who ask. Eric's comment was just a simple reminder that the help is free but there is a cost to run the board and if you have had a large financial benefit from the help you might make a small donation to offset the cost of the operation to show your appreciation. maybe ijust misunderstand the meaning of your comment.

the blade may not be a naginata, it may be a Shinshinto blade made in that shape

hard to get clear shots of the boshi. here is my best effort. I appreciate all the comments.

I looked in Fujishiro and Taikan etc, the examples seem to conflict in references, so thought i would ask other opinions

blade is not in polish. it is hard for me to show the sudareba, i am not the best with a camera

I have an 18" wakizashi. It is signed (no) Yoshimichi. The blade has classic "natural" sudareba and Osaka yakidashi. I think the mei is genuine (blade work looks right on). I am sure it is Osaka branch. I am not sure what generation, i am thinking 2nd or 3rd....... any comments (good or bad) and suggestions welcome. thanks!

Thank you Morita-san, but i am still a beginner, i am happy to help with anything i can as i appreciate you and others who help me when i get stuck

Sagami (no) Kami Fujiwara Hiroshige, maker is Hiroshige from the Fujiwara clan with the title lord of Sagami Province

Bichu (no) Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro try searching info, the writting says the maker is Yasuhiro from the Tachibana clan with the title lord of Bichu Province... see what you can fine

i did not take any but saw a few people taking pictures. some are on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/391567817572508/

yes, there are a variety of gunto mountings, some have a brass, or even gold wash, finish, some have a copper finish. I think there were a number of workshops making gunto mounts and the quality and finish varied

Brian where are you located? maybe there is someone in that area that would be willing to help you

size, shape of nakago give the impression of late 1800's early 1900's

it would be good to have someone look at the blade. where are you located? the picture of the fittings gives the impression it may be "put together", there is the posibility the blade may have that name on the tang but not be made by that person. It could even be a WWII era blade made with an old name written on the tang. hard to say based on what we can see

you have most right, i make it YASUhiro.

silly of me, reversed the kanji when i went to reply, sorry