Bruno

Hi Jean, What about posting a photo of the complete koshirae?

Maybe it is more dirty than rusty. What about cleaning it with alcohol and micro fiber?

Maybe Yoshichika? Edit : I did not see your post Thierry, Toshichika looks correct.

Hi Jamie, What I meant was one may like a polish because the blade is clean and shiny, even if this polish has nothing to see with a good traditional polish.

Really Thomas his work is horrible, you should not insist so much to have your blades polished by him. In the best case you have a low quality polish, in the worst your sword is ruined forever. But I guess it is also a matter of taste...

I agree with Mark, early to mid shinshinto at a guess.

BTW Ian, may you post photos of your gendaito please?

I agree with Chris, shirasaya is the wiser option, with tsunagi for the gunto koshirae.

You are welcome Dirk. Is there a date on the other nakago side? It may be oil quenched rather than water quenched, but looks like a well made showa-to.

I read NOSHU sEKI jU KANETOKI KORE SAKU, but I am always wrong! :lol: Probably a Seki kaji tosho. Any stamp or photos of the blade?

Ha ha ha, you are too modest George! :D Sorry if I let the cat out of the bag!

Well George, you are pretty good in Type 3 tsuka wrapping, aren't you!

I don't feel Ebay is crap. You still can find interesting gendaito and gunto fittings there, like this Mitsuoki. As for the private bids, I do not feel comfortable with them as it is the seller who decides. It should be the bidder who could decide to be anonymous or not.

Have a look at this Curtis: http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_121.htm

Stainless steel kaigunto imho.

Is it the photo or the hot stamp deformed the bottom of the nakago? Your sword can be hand made/finished but made with western steel and/or oil quenched, thus has a stamp.

This could be an alternative : showa fittings, uchigatana, and era appropriate. http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_037.htm

By reading the letter, it seems the NBTHK member does not know that star stamped nakago means traditionnal gendaito. I understand for him it is just a stamped nakago so it is a showato thus cannot be accepted in Japan. I wonder if NBTHK guys in Japan know gendaito as well as they know older swords. I doubt it.

Maybe seller can say that but Thomas has good arguments to defend himself also. Furthermore if Thomas has a copy of buyer's message saying the parcel was not damaged when he opened it, it can help Ebay to beleive the dagger has been damaged after the parcel was opened. Not saying it is easy but with the photos and copies of buyer's messages, I think Thomas has a chance. At least it worths to try. If Thomas can show to Ebay that buyer ask a refund superior to what the final price was, it can also show Ebay how dishonest he is. This can help also.

Well, so Ebay must have a copy of your auction showing no missing pommel and good condition dagger (I hope they did not cancel everything once the auction ends). So if you can show to Ebay that the buyer stated in his message nobody except him opened the parcel, and also the photos he sent you with missing part and damaged dagger, I see no reason why Ebay would not beleive you say the truth and him a lie.

Thomas, Did he say clearly in his messages, that the parcel was not opened before he did? This is very important.

Hello Thomas, Did you sell it via Ebay or something like that? Regards

Hi I have been told that Miyaguchi Yasuhiro contracted with another smith to make several hundred blades from western steel. Yasuhiro then signed these with the Kunimori mei. It was a patriotic enterprise. They are not traditional swords.

Hi Jacques, Yes I saw it is a recent paper, I wanted to say that in general, one should not always blindly trust these papers as they in some cases have mistakes.