djforresta Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 My son and I caught the bug and now we have found another sword that came into my pawn shop yesterday and I'm not sure what to think of it I was hoping for some advice. it has writing on both sides of the blade under the handle. I think the pictures I took should be legible. Forrest Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Minamoto Nobuhide saku kore. Showa period. Gunto blade. John Quote
Peter Bleed Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Forrest, You can read this mei with only a bit of work. I do not know who this smith was, but based on the date, he seems to have been an optimist! Peter Quote
Grey Doffin Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Hi Forrest, The badly broken kissaki will render this just about worthless. Grey Quote
djforresta Posted January 5, 2014 Author Report Posted January 5, 2014 What yearish ? What does the writing say? Forrest Quote
Jean Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Forrest, Try the year by yourself first, it is very easy with the following links, you have the virus, ypu can translate it: http://www.jssus.org/nkp/shinto_to_modern_nengo.html http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kanji/nengo.htm Quote
djforresta Posted January 5, 2014 Author Report Posted January 5, 2014 I paid 7 dollars for it figuring it was fake. The blade has no edge on it at all ans the tip is broken, but I figured maybe we could somewhat restore it. Do you think this is a traditionally made sword? piranha knives are made right here in my hometown and I know they could repair the tip for me. since it's worthless in the condition its in would it be wise to at least repair it as a wall hanger. my son has been teaching himself Japanese for the last 6 months so I'll give him a crack at it. Forrest Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Showa 1926, then niju nen, 20 years of Showa 1945. Roku gatsu, June a lucky day. Maybe not so lucky given the time. John Quote
Jean Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Forrest, Your son must learn to decipher dates (and so do you) which is very easy with the links I have provided.... Quote
Peter Bleed Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 Forrest, My earlier quip about this smith - Nobuhide - being an optimist was based on the fact that he claimed to know of lucky days in June of 1945. There weren't many of those - at least for the Japanese. I would urge you to move slowly on rehaping the tip. There may be tempered edge still up there, Tho, in today's market, restoration would need LOTS more research and rationale.I find it interesting that the shira-saya has sayagaki to this smith. Peter Quote
Grey Doffin Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 Hi Forrest, Even though there likely isn't much value, no one other than a properly trained polisher should attempt restoration. If an amateur reshapes the kissaki I can guarantee there will be no value left. Don't try to fix Japanese swords; it is a quick way to lose a lot of money. Grey Quote
djforresta Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Posted January 6, 2014 .I find it interesting that the shira-saya has sayagaki to this smith. Peter I'm sorry I'm such a novice but what does that mean exactly? my son may be traveling to Japan early this summer to visit relatives station there in the military, I wonder if he should take this sword with him and have it reworked there? a sword without a broken tip like this one wouldn't be very valuable I'm assuming? Forrest Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 This sword is illegal in Japan and to retore it would be a waste of money, unless you have bushels of the stuff. Keep it as it is for a military collectible, but, not as an example of Nihonto in the classic sense. John Quote
runagmc Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 I didn't see any stamps, and I don't know this smith. Why are we assuming this to be non-traditional? @ Forrest- You can wipe the blade with mineral, or machine, oil for the time being. Also, if you can learn what a hamon/boshi is, and see if it remains intact on your sword, you may be able to sell it and make profit to someone who knows enough to have it restored. This might be an outside possibility, but still possible... and better than ruining the sword by trying to restore it yourself. Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 Not on RJT lists or gendai tosho lists, none actually. The kanji 英 hide or even fusa is uncommon 秀 more common. The date places it as Showa period. I guess it is assuming, but, likely I believe since he is, so far as I can see, unrecorded and thus not held in esteem. Have you found this smith somewhere showing him as making gendaito? John Quote
runagmc Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 No, I was just wondering... and your assumptions are sound in my eyes... Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted January 7, 2014 Report Posted January 7, 2014 Agreed a fair assumption, though not conclusive and the cost of restoration is obviously a severely risky investment. You could open a window to better know, but if the kissaki damage is fatal, what's the point? I agree that this one is better left alone. Quote
djforresta Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Posted January 10, 2014 We bought a book on amazon and it should be helpful. Just wanted to say thank you for your help and patience with a couple beginners. Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Any book is a good start and while I own and like this book, there are many more that (only my opinion) are better than this. Many come to mind, first is http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/4770020716. Many more, but a valuable addition. You must realize that if you're really going to entertain getting into nihonto, your book collection should always dwarf your sword collection. Quote
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