mike yeon

I think the habaki was made to look antique. So don't think this is the case. mike

So almost 11 inches. Definitely not made for a kyu-gunto. How long is the nagasa? mike

How long is the nakago? It looks super long.... And the nagasa? Still looks like a repro to me. mike

I'm going to go with "not traditional nihonto". The lines don't look right. Having been buffed, this could alter things but the nakago and mei (which I think reads "something, DAI MASA?") just don't look right. My 2 cents. Hope I'm wrong. Can you post a pict of the entire nakago? mike

I don't know. Could be the picture quality but something about the mei/yasurimei/nakago does not look right. The yasurimei looks too uniform/deep. And the mei (though I could be wrong looks like gibberish at first glance). I hope I'm wrong but are you sure it's not a chinese fake? mike

I agree with the rest of the folks here. I went through a buy everything phase years ago. Picked up 5 blades in a span of 4 months. I own none of them now. Always keep in mind that "there will always be another blade that comes along". The koshirae is sub par in my opinion. It would be cheaper to make another saya than repair that one. The blade looks shinshinto or even later. For 3000 euro I dare say you can find a nicer package. Good luck in any case. mike

I've seen a few shinshinto/meiji era pieces that exhibit that contrasting hada that looks like big strands of chikei (but flow along the grain). I believe it's caused by mixing hard/soft steels during the forging (like cheating to create chikei). From what little I know it was a method started during shinshinto times. Havn't found much else. mike

very nice blade. jo-saku osaka shinto smith with toku hozon papers for that price is a great buy. with an interesting hamon treatment to boot. congratulations on your new purchase! mike

There are plenty of gimei blades both in and outside of Japan. Especially in the U.S. When the occupation forces were bringing back swords, I doubt the average serviceman was hand picking sho-shin pieces. You should certainly learn/read more if your plan is to start collecting. Mumei (unsigned) blades are not a bad way to go if you know enough to recognize quality (which also takes much study). Authenticating signatures is a whole other level. There are very few individuals that can judge a mei to be fake at a glance, and most of us have to refer to a library of reference materials to get a good idea. But as nobody mentioned, in Japan you're less likely to pick up a "non-Japanese fake". Also, gimei blades are real nihonto with false signatures and shouldn't be thought of in the same catagory as a chinese fake. I know personally how it's like when you're a collector in Japan (kid in a candy shop etc.) If you're insistant on buying something look for papered blades in polish. But as everyone else is reccomending I'd say stick with using the money to buy books for now. Good luck! mike

Tsukuru = Respectfully made by I agree with Grey. 2nd def masa toshi. mike

Depends on the quality you want. Mike Virgadamo in Pasadena makes very nice shirasaya out of alder or ho wood (ho wood being a little more expensive.) I believe he has a habaki maker as well. I believe his are machined, and his turnaround time is rediculously short. He doesn't have a website, but you can find his # on the net or PM me for it. Moses Becerra also makes beautiful art quality shirasaya. His are hand made. http://www.nihontoantiques.com. Big Mo can arrange a habaki as well. I've never used John Tirado but his reputation is excellent. It all depends on how long you want to wait and how much you want to pay. Good luck mike

Very nice looking blade. Judging by the timeframe your blade could have been made by the 6th or 7th tadayoshi. Both I believe are ranked chu-jo-saku in fujishiro's so 50/50 on being gimei based on that alone. Personally, for whatever reason, I've seen more gimei blades come out of that school than any other shinto schools. You should ask Mike why he believes it's not sho-shin. I'll check some oshigata I have later. Either way, beautiful blade. mike

The awesome part of it is that mino-den is at the bottom of my want list when it comes to the gokaden... it gets tricky when yamato den is your cup of tea. 3 mumei blades sent to the ny shinsa, 3 come back as mino... just waiting on those papers and its off to the auction blocks. I'd rather get bungoed... mike

Would you mind posting pictures of the blade? Yamato Tegai Kanenaga is a very big name. Earlier generations of kanenaga are sai-jo saku/juyo level guys. Did a lot of research on this school as I own a blade signed kanenaga that turned out to be MINO kanenaga. (all my blades signed or mumei turn out to be mino-den...) You might have gotten very lucky. Would love to see pics. mike

Not a bad way to go. Longish kissaki, gunome/midare hamon, o'sujikai yasurime, midare komi boshi, then add itame with a little masame hada and u got good indicators for mino-den. mike

Welcome to the forum mikael. Unfortunately your sword is a chinese reproduction. Not a real nihonto. Although, not a bad looking fake either. mike

I agree with muromachi. I once owned a suriage nagamaki naoshi katana that led me to conducting a lot of research. One thing I noticed was the earlier blades (nambochuko/kamakura) seem to have smaller kissaki. IE the shinogi line almost runs all the way to the tip. Also, little turnback at the boshi. I originally thought my blade to be nambochuko as well (yamato den), turned out to be late muromachi mino. Nice blade none the less. Good luck! mike

The first and second hizen tadahiro are very big name smiths. So as with all big names, consider gimei until proven innocent. There are later generations that aren't as highly rated. If you want to make the effort, you can submit to the upcoming chicago NTHK shinsa. It'll cost you much less than if you were sending it to Japan for the NBTHK papers. Usually on the pink sheet (you will get pinked for the hagire) and the shinsa-in will explain why you got pinked. Hopefully they will comment on the signature as well. Sometimes, if time permitting, you can talk to the judges about your blade (if you show up in person). If it turns out to be one of the big name guys, it'll certainly warrent second thoughts about restoration. Many folks on this forum will agree papers are not the end all with blades. I for one would love to study a blade made by the 1st gen tadahiro or any juyo level smith for that matter for the tuition of $3000 or so. good luck mike

In addition to william adams, there were a few more westerners that recieved samurai status: Jan Joosten van Loodensteijn (Dutch colleague of adams) Eugène Collache (French naval officer, fought for the shogunate during the boshin war. not sure if he was granted samurai status but he fought in samurai attire, wearing a daisho) Edward Schnell (German arms dealer during the mid 1800s. served the daimyo of the aizu han.) mike

John, can you give us dimensions? Is there ubu-ha? Can you see the boshi? mike

Looks real to me.

Hey Ken, Take "brittle" in the relative sense. Harder steel is more "brittle" than softer steel. I should correct myself and say "harder steel is MORE prone to breaking than softer steel." I'm not at all implying a blade with a bigger yakiba is not realiable. Quite the contrary. All nihonto are made with the hard steel/soft steel equation. Difference being the ratio. This ratio markedly changed with the coming of the edo period. No more armored opponents. If you're hitting a hard target like an armored opponent, I will put my money on a blade with a smaller yakiba/thinner hamon. If you're fighting someone wearing just an obi, a blade with a big yakiba will do just fine. Compare the majority of koto blades to shinto blades. One preliminary kantei point when asked "is it koto or shinto?" is the size of the yakiba/hamon. While there are exceptions, blades from the koto period were meant to see everyday use. The quality of blades declined during the shinto period because frankly, there was no more war. The shin-shinto period is testament to this. As for ashi lines, ashi = softer steel within the yakiba. It will not stop the chipping of the yakiba but will conceivably localize a break. When stress is applied to a section of the blade, the idea is the blade will chip at the harder areas because the ashi around it will absorb the stress. This being said, you have a beautiful blade on your hands. I myself love a big, wild hamon and one of my favorite smiths is kozuke daijo sukesada. Enjoy your blade. mike

Darcy can certainly explain the reasons behind the birth of hitasura tempering far better than I can. As for: By brittle I mean hard. The yakiba (tempered edge) is harder steel than the rest of the blade. Harder steel = better edge retention/sharper edge. However, harder steel is prone to breakage. Koto blades tend to have a thinner yakiba/hamon. Thinner hamon, more shock absorbent softer steel = better against armored opponents. You start seeing big flashy hamons during the shinto period. Many were for aesthetic reasons. However in general, shinto blades did not have to be shock as absorbant as koto blades since most combat during the edo period was between unarmored opponents. That's why there's such a high regard for koto blades as being utilitarian. Also, this is not to say blades with big hamon/yakiba just snap in half at the slightest impact. (smiths long before that developed ashi to localize the breaks and you'll see chips rather than blades broken in half.) mike

Hitasura means full temper. Usually, during the tempering process, clay is applied to blade. A greater amount of clay is applied to the spine to allow it cool slower during the quench. less clay on the edge is needed to form the hamon/yakiba. This coating is even up and down the blade on respective sides. This creates the classic soft steel/hard steel ratio that makes a Japanese sword so wonderfully functional. When the coating is not even, areas outside of the yakiba get tempered so there's areas of hard steels in places where there normally would not be (IE the ji and mune) With this in mind, hitasura blades are very "hard" but more brittle (more hamon = harder but more brittle steel). That's why you won't see many hitasura katana. Like stephen mentioned, this is a characteristic of soshu-den. I beleive some hizen smiths also made hitasura blades. Hope this helps/does not confuse you. mike

nice blade. I was looking at that auction myself. I've been wanting to pick up a hitasura blade as one of my next purchases. This one is more profuse with tobiyaki than hitasura. Beautiful balde. mike