Bruno

I agree with George, original also.

Not sure this can answer your question, but at least I hope it is a clue: http://www.dfoggknives.com/Metallurgica ... REPORT.htm

Sorry to ask a question which answer might appear obvious, but why nobody bidded on it? Are 1000$ too much?

As Brian said, the blade comes from a Type 3 koshirae. I guess once the blade polished, the previous owner have had no choice but stored it in a shirasaya instead of the dirty gunto saya, not to contaminate the blade.IMHO

It seems to have the tiny Gifu/Chimata stamp on the nakago, that makes me think to a murato not gendaito. If it is the case, it shows that even machine-made(hand finished and oil quenched) blades can be really pretty with a full polishing job. Very nice blade.

Do you have other pics of the bladen mounts etc...that you can show us? Naosuke is one of the Seki Kaji Tosho, right? Any infos about him anf his work?

I was joking, not Japanese to me neither.

Definitely Japanese to me! :D

Thank John and Moss. I got it. I will print it on photo paper, hope it will be nice.

I do not have access to the Ebay link due to country restriction. Is it possible to see it however?

For 2OO$ it is a bargain even for a mass produced sword.

Hi Todd, May we see some pictures of your sword please?

100% agree with George. You can probably find a Type 3 tuka a day or another on Ebay, if you are lucky.

Fred LHOMAN can make you a fresh new one for 300$. Otherwise, in one of F&G booklet, the author says that you can yourself remove the liner by pulling it of the scabbard, and then clean it.

The first one seems to be a....gendaito(mil steel?)....maybe previously mounted in the Type 3 koshirae due to the 2 holes at the extremities of the nakago. The price is quite high and the shirasaya/blade are in rougth condition, I am sure you can find better for that budget.

Well, the togishi simply said that (most of)gendaito are not made with true tamahagane so cannot be considered as true nihonto. It is just his point of view, not mine...

Yes that would be a good start. Do we have NMB members who are also NBTHK members? It would be nice also if Morita and Moriyama san could enlight us about this interesting question. For sure star stamped swords are better done than mass produced gunto but I have been told by a very serious french togishi and swords restorateur that gendaito were not(in many cases) made with tamahagane. I suspect he is a purist mainly focused on shinto swords but his knowledge is very impressive. So when he told me that I was a bit surprised(deceived to).

Agree with Stephen but I dare to add that menuki look guenine.

Thanks Ted, you made me laugth today!!!

Yes AMAHIDE but certainly signed by IDETOSHI OR KANEMUNE. 80% of AMAHIDE'swords were not signed by himself. Compare the mei with KANEMUNE and HIDETOSHI's ones to see which one it could be.

Hi everyone! I finaly found the message the Ebay book seller sent me, his name is TSUBADUBA. According to him John does working on a new one. "Hi Bruno, There are more than seven hundred smiths listed and 280 oshigata. I have Slough's book and it is a great book. Some of the swords illustrated in that book are mine, and I have contributed additional oshigata for a second book John is working on. This Fuller and Gregory book is much rarer and was published almost two decades earlier; the osigata are not as large and clear as in Slough's book but the translations are character by character and very helpful if you are trying to learn to read the nakago of swords. Also, with the quantity of Chinese fakes out there and the expense of making a mistake buying a fake or altered sword, books are very wise investment. Every single book I am selling is a duplicate that I am selling because over a period of many years I have managed to find a mint copy. The other thing I've observed about the books is they hold their value or increase in value. The two volume Fujishiro translation by Harry Watson is so rare that that set has gone for more than nine hundred dollars on ebay. I don't know if mine will bring that, but they may. The Fuller book offers good bang for the buck, and I feel confident whoever buys it won't loose any money if they just run it again on ebay. These books don't come up very often. Thanks for your email and good luck on adding to your library and finding some nice swords. Happy New Year, Ray" - tsubaduba

Is there any tiny tiny stamp on the nakago that you have maybe missed? There is a little mark on the nakago mune, may we see a big close up of it?

A Mantetsuto without any inscription on nakago, and in 44 mount? I agree that it looks like a WW2 blade, yes maybe a Mantetsuto.

It would be so nice if someone could confirm that he is working on a new oshigata book.