Help with translation

[Hayabusa2]

 

Hi,  first time poster and longtime lurker and collector of Nihonto. I could use some assistance  translating the Mei on a few pieces that I recently purchase at auction. I picked up three items including a Katana, Wak and Tanto all mounted in near identical fittings. The 29” Katana is Mumei so I’m pretty sure I have the translation on that one correct 😂. However, the Tanto and Wak have me stumped. I’m thinking all three pieces are Shinsakuto being they have almost pristine Nakagos and crisp very well executed file work.  Polish and fittings on all of them are in excellent condition. The Wak has a basic two character signature that I’m embarrassed to say, I can’t, with certainty, figure out. The Tanto is signed with several  characters. In any event, I’ve included pics of both Nakagos and a few others of the Hamon and Hada, on the Tanto. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and opinions.

 

Thank you….. Gary

[xiayang]

Hi Gary,

 

Neither of these blades are Japanese-made – however, they nonetheless appear to be high-quality replicas.

 

The inscription on the wakizashi is

 

大耳 = Ōmimi;

 

indicating that it was made by Howard Clark.

 

The other image is rather low-resolution and I can't read all of it:

 

應武[?][?]朝波作於大連 = ???? Chaobo made this in Dalian

 

Chaobo (朝波) is the given name of Paul Chen – a Chinese maker of Japanese-style swords.

Edited January 2 by xiayang

[Nobody]

The inscription in the first picture,

應武□嘱朝波作於大連 – Responding to the order from “武+something”, Chao-Po made in Dalian.

[eternal_newbie]

5 hours ago, xiayang said:

indicating that it was made by Howard Clark.

 

Howard Clark is a big name in contemporary blade makers and works by him tend to be quite valuable - handle with care. 

 

Paul Chen is an important name in the early days of mass-produced Chinese shinsakuto, and these range from entry-level beaters/mat cutters to high-level emulation of art Nihonto. 

 

[Brian]

Indeed, Howard Clark swords are highly regarded as cutters and for their performance, and although not Nihonto, would likely have decent value among the custom knife/sword guys.

[Hayabusa2]

Hello everyone and my sincere thank you for the information and taking the time to respond.
I guess this explains the reason why I was having trouble with the Mei and was confused by my results.  All three pieces display beautiful workmanship. Myself and another long time collector, would have sworn they were  traditional Shinsakuto. It is for sure, a continual learning experience.

 

Thanks again…..Gary

[eternal_newbie]

16 minutes ago, Hayabusa2 said:

All three pieces display beautiful workmanship. Myself and another long time collector, would have sworn they were  traditional Shinsakuto.

 

This also illustrates the difference between non-traditional blades off a production line and traditionally hand-forged blades by a well-trained smith (which these are), even if that smith is Chinese or American. The contrast is night and day, regardless of the country of origin.

[Hayabusa2]

Yes indeed. Now I need to do some research regarding the Mumei Katana. My fear on that one is that it will most likely, remain unknown.

[eternal_newbie]

If you find yourself at an impasse, some photos here could help us at least narrow it down to a specific period or school (or, if it's a non-Nihonto, the production company or smith).

[Hayabusa2]

55 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

If you find yourself at an impasse, some photos here could help us at least narrow it down to a specific period or school (or, if it's a non-Nihonto, the production company or smith).

Thank you, II will try to get some decent pics and post them in the appropriate section.