eternal_newbie

I've seen a couple of these before in random online stores, one was listed as a throwing knife blade and the other was listed as a paper craft knife. As to which (if any) of those descriptions were correct, I have no idea...

Here are a couple: https://swordsofjapan.com/product/etchu-tametsugu-wakizashi/ https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/soshu-sword-tachi-koshirae Go Yoshihiro (supposedly Tametsugu's father) and Shizu Saburo Kaneuji both have roots in Yamato, so seeing some Yamato influence in either Tametsugu or Naoe Shizu would be quite within expectations.

I'm curious to see others' opinions on this, because I've seen many arguments over exactly what those silver-coloured squiggles are. Some folks say chikei while others insist chikei show up as black lines only; other folks say kitae-ware but still more folks insist they can't be ware because there's no actual opening in the blade; or that they're just a slightly more visible expression of the underlying hada; and so on. I do think there seems to be a difference between the ones in the Tadatsuna and Jussi's blade; Jussi's seems more like nie activity, maybe something akin to imozuru, while the Tadatsuna's lines look more like lamination/fold lines that weren't quite loose enough to become ware.

Yep, I've had thoughts along these lines. Print out a plastic/acrylic blank of your blade and send it to habaki-shi, saya-shi, koshirae-shi etc. while the real deal stays safe at home with you.

When it comes to subjects that are relatively obscure (such as Japanese swords) and especially that involve languages you don't know, stay away from AI. At best, you'll have a correct answer that will take a lot of work to verify, and at worst, you'll have an incorrect answer you have no way to verify.

Just human nature I'm afraid, especially if the response isn't the one they were hoping for (as was the case here). This is a single purpose forum so they wouldn't have much of a reason to remain active here, unlike e.g. Reddit or Facebook.

Then yeah, one of the American guys is probably your best bet.

... I read "Location:NA" and thought "North America" Yeah, Andrew Ickeringill would be your best bet for getting advice on possible options in or around Australia.

Brian Tschernega in Washington (https://japanesesword.com/services) is one of the best habaki makers period, and comes highly recommended - but expect a waitlist. I've also heard good things about John Tirado (https://www.facebook.com/john.tirado.752) and Josiah Boomershine (https://www.facebook.com/p/Josiah-Boomershine-Japanese-Sword-Arts-100062939963788/) but haven't seen their habaki works in person.

Donate is probably fine as is but "Subscribe" or "Subscriptions" instead of "Store" makes more sense since they're the only thing you can "purchase" in the store.

Note that it is no longer possible for a blade with Hozon papers to receive Juyo status. The NBTHK recently made it a requirement that a blade may not "skip" papers, and must progress from Hozon to Tokubetsu Hozon to Juyo to Tokubetsu Juyo.

Yes. And depending on what your local climate is like, it may not even need to be oiled that often (I live in a place with constant droughts and hot, dry summers and I can get away with oiling every 1-2 years).

https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/NOR401 Edit: my bad, looks like that's the wrong kanji for 'tsune'

There was a Noritsune from the Yoshii school (also Bizen) who worked in the 1440s. One of the key kantei points for this school is a regular and even ko-gunome for the entire length of the blade, which is a much better match than Katayama Ichimonji (as you pointed out, due to the lack of saka-choji).

Shiba-Mishimachō ( 芝三島町 ). It was dissolved in 1971 which is why you can't find it on a modern map. https://edo.amebaownd.com/posts/3333629/

I do wonder if Eirakudo have refined their photography recently so that the top-down photos provide better view of jigane and hada at the expense of hamon detail (which the oblique photos show off quite well). And yes, the setsumei and Eirakudo's listing description are both clear about there being an abundance of high-quality nie activity in both jigane and hamon. Were it not the case, I doubt it would have passed Juyo as Shizu (note the lack of "den") in such a strict session. Edit: I didn't realize/consider Kirill had been raising it as a concern, but now that you mention it, I can see how that might be the case.

As others have said - that's the first book in a series of 3, covering smiths with name starting AKI-KUNI. At the very least, the smith you're looking for (YOSHISHIGE) is likely to be in the third volume, covering smiths with names starting SATO-ZEN: https://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/swordsmiths-of-Japan-sato-zen-intl/hardcover/product-19k5g8wv.html?page=1&pageSize=4 Or buy the eBook, which combines all 3 books into one PDF at a lower price overall: https://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/e-swordsmiths-of-Japan/ebook/product-1zk9mrzq.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Depending on what it's made of, the non-Japanese shirasaya might be a better fit for the climate and temperature you're in. Otherwise, glad to see it found its way back to you in better condition than before. I often try to spot blades I've owned before to see how they've done since passing them on; so far no Juyos but I've seen a couple move from Hozon/unpapered to Tokubetsu Hozon.

I believe it's 信四郎 Nobushirō. Shinshirō typically uses a different kanji (進 or 慎) as the first character.

Almost certainly a forgery or another smith that signed Munechika. There were many unremarkable smiths who were simply never recorded in the history books, just like the artist who made that painting of a fruit basket on your auntie's wall

Often to fit the blade to a pre-made / salvaged koshirae where the holes in the tsuka were in a different position

Embarrassing AI fail here - a blog written with AI help invents an entirely new line of Soshu master smiths:

To prevent rust from advancing, give the blade a good wipe with a microfibre cloth and isopropyl alcohol (you can get both from your nearest hardware store) and apply a very light coat of mineral oil: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/faq/question/3-how-to-oil-and-maintain-nihonto/ While you're doing that, you can take some photos of the bare blade for identification by the forum - at minimum you'll want the following: Closeup of the right side of the blade tip Closeup of the left side of the blade tip Overall shot of the right side of the entire blade Overall shot of the left side of the entire blade Closeup of the right side of the tang Closup of the left side of the tang

The description says the hamon has a bright and clear nioiguchi in ko-nie, yes.