Bruno

Amateur polisher caused it in my opinion.

Nice one Ronnie

In my case, I cannot tell as the Mitsunobu sadly has no Gunto koshirae, "only" a shirasaya.

Here you are Bruce and a big thank you for all your work on stamps.

My RJT Mitsunobu has also a tiny (Seki) stamp near the habaki

Leen, I believe I have a similar stamp on my star stamped Mitsunobu (Kanenobu's student).

Samuel, If you want to restore the wrapping, you can contact David via his website: http://www.montanairon.com/swords.html The scews on the koiguchi may not be appropriate. It is possible I guess to find replica if you ask Greg Gulch.

Dear Colin, Looks like a decent blade you have here. A hadomake will tell wether it is water quenched or oil quenched imho. AFAIK, water quenched nanban tetsu is darker than tamahagane...Sorry I can't help you much, polish is too far gone to tell. Yes swords are still neglected nowadays by cheap polishes etc. Bruno

Hello Colin, I used to be quite interested at a time by Gunsui-to but get bored since they were so hard to find. AFAIR they are all oil quenched non tamahagane swords thus not gendaito. They are closer to Mantetsu-to since resistance was a key point for those swords too. If nakago is well finished, good shape etc, you might ask Bob Benson or Woodraw Hall if they can do something about the polish even if it is a showa-to. Good examples of Gunsui are not common so it might look nice in polish and shirasaya.

Gendaito collectors prefer ubu and dated nakago. I have read that quite often.

Thanks John, I like them, discret, simple, not tacky. Very appropriate for showing your swords.

John, where do you find these plexiglass stands please?

Wise words, sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something that will have a negative effect. The next owner hopefully will be in the position to do it right. Caring for these blades is our responsibility and we should be aware that that extends to who we sell to as well. We should strive to place important works in a situation that will see them properly cared for and preserved, our final act of respect and stewardship.

Thanks Ray. I do want to start a fight (my english is not good enough for that anyway!) but the NBTHK does not sanction the use of amateur polishers, in other words, they do not give an "ok".... Maybe less than half of owners use a proper polisher. It is creating a huge pool of poorly polished swords at best, and at worst, the destruction of uncountable numbers of blades. It's an incredible waste carried forth by ignorance, hubris, and a lack of true respect. When you have your sword polished in Japan thanks to a experienced agent you are 99,99% garanteed to have a top end polish. By using a self thaugh polisher your are almost certain to have a bad polish and at the very best a very average one.

Hi everyone, I am looking for Japanese dealers selling newly made katanakake. Nothing fancy but made in Japan and for several swords if possible. Thank you for you help.

Hi Ray, Which togishi did you choose?

Colin, I agree with Bazza. There is no short cut when you want your sword to be properly polished. You need to have it polished by a toshishi. You have 3 of them outside Japan but they have a waiting list of several years so sometimes it is better to send it to Japan, and yes you will need an agent for that (please ask Chris BOWEN at kuribo@charter.net or ejapaneseswords for help and advices), he will provide you the best service and avoid you any problems. An agent won't cost you much and he will handle everything. According to Chris Bowen : "This is a genuine work of Watanabe Kanenaga. It would be accepted at shinsa depending on the condition, which is hard to tell from the photos with any clarity". Parcelforce in the UK is fine for sending swords out of the UK as I just received one in less than 4 days.... Using other polishers will be a waste of time, of money and will reduce the value of the blade. Many before you tried and burnt their fingers. Still today, owners prefer to use a local polisher to avoid the hassle of paperwork and waiting time. Big big mistake, they always end up with a poor polish.

Agree with Stephen, John Tirado is your guy.

Bruce, is there a way to get better photos of the blade, hamon etc?

Neil, Bruce and others, have you ever seen a water quenched WW2 era blade mounted in civilian koshirae with one of these fittings? I only saw showato.

AFAIK, Nagamitsu was forging his blades himself unlike Emura. But I now believe he had helpers too.

Private order Nagamitsu? May I ask who did the polish? Looking forward to see the photos? Thanks!

Looks like showa-to, I have never seen any gendai-to by this smith. Any date on the other side of the nakago?

I don't buy often to say the least but this year I bought a 26 inches TSUKAMOTO MASAKAZU (TSUKAMOTO OKIMASA's brother). Private order and I guess never mounted in Gunto koshirae.

Gareth, May you please post a closer shot of your 4 aligned tsuka please?