Javier Royo Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 Hello everyone, My name is Javier, and I am writing from Madrid, Spain. I purchased this sword several years ago from an antiques dealer. Since then, it has simply remained safely stored. I have never attempted to clean, polish, or restore it because I was concerned about causing irreversible damage. Recently I have been considering whether it would make sense to have it professionally restored, but before making such an important (and expensive) decision, I would greatly appreciate the opinion of people with far more experience than mine. I am completely new to the study of Nihontō, so I hope you will forgive any mistakes in my terminology. From what I can tell, the sword retains: its original tang (nakago) with a signature (mei); an iron tsuba with an inscription; a copper habaki; and part of its original wooden mounting. The blade itself is in poor cosmetic condition, with significant oxidation, but I do not know whether the underlying blade still has historical or artistic merit. Kind regards, Javier Quote
Javier Royo Posted July 20 Author Report Posted July 20 Sorry… I’m trying to upload but it seems that i need to reduce the size of the files Quote
Matsunoki Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 Admin…..maybe move this now over to Nihonto forum? Javier…..you will get wider expert opinion on your blade in that forum rather than this new members forum. Quote
Scogg Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 11 minutes ago, Matsunoki said: Admin…..maybe move this now over to Nihonto forum? Javier…..you will get wider expert opinion on your blade in that forum rather than this new members forum. Thanks Colin, @Javier Royo, I split your topic from the new member introduction section, and created it's own topic in the Nihonto section. Best of luck with your sword, -Sam Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 兼定 作 made by Kanesada The 正阿弥 Shoami tsuba, not of great value, has unfortunately been over-polished. 1 Quote
Javier Royo Posted July 20 Author Report Posted July 20 2 minutes ago, Scogg said: Thanks Colin, @Javier Royo, I split your topic from the new member introduction section, and created it's own topic in the Nihonto section. Best of luck with your sword, -Sam Thank you both! Quote
Javier Royo Posted July 20 Author Report Posted July 20 12 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said: 兼定 作 made by Kanesada The 正阿弥 Shoami tsuba, not of great value, has unfortunately been over-polished. Thnak you for your comment! I guess that no aditional work is needed for the tsuba. Any recomendation for its conservation? Do you know approximetly its date? Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 The tsuba is probably a genuine utilitarian piece from the Edo period, i.e. from before swords were banned in the *Haitorei. As to the art of repatination and preservation, there are books on the subject, and artisans with secret liquids, skilled in the work of 'growing' black rust. In the meantime I would suggest keeping the 'walls' of the sukashi openings that nice dark colour! Haitō Edict - Wikipedia 1 Quote
Grey Doffin Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 Hi Javier, If you take your pictures on a black background we would be better able to see details and possibly tell you more. As for a polish, I never recommend that a beginner has a sword polished. Polish isn't necessary to preserve the sword; a fine coat of oil will do that just fine. You need to take time to learn a whole lot more about Nihonto. The more you know before you make a decision, about polish or any other question, the happier you will be with the results. Grey 2 Quote
Javier Royo Posted July 20 Author Report Posted July 20 Thank you very much for your comments! Sure, attached new photos. 1 Quote
kaze ryu Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 Hola Javier yo vivo cerca de Madrid y aunque no se repatinar ,si puedo darte algún cuidado de katana y tsuba básico o darte algo de material o decirte dónde comprarlo. 1 Quote
Javier Royo Posted July 23 Author Report Posted July 23 On 7/21/2026 at 10:17 AM, kaze ryu said: Hola Javier yo vivo cerca de Madrid y aunque no se repatinar ,si puedo darte algún cuidado de katana y tsuba básico o darte algo de material o decirte dónde comprarlo. Gracias! Perdona pero como me pongo en contacto contigo para que me informes? Quote
EricMajo Posted Monday at 05:25 PM Report Posted Monday at 05:25 PM As they have already mentioned, this sword has seen better days. It has some interesting features, but the tsuba has been polished to make it shine, and that is something that should be avoided, especially with iron tsuba. As for the polish, from my personal experience, polishing is not cheap at all and it can end up costing practically the same as buying a similar sword in better condition. I would keep it as it is, because it is authentic and has its historical value, and that is always a good starting point. Many people begin collecting this way. Personally, though, I think a sword with a reasonably decent polish, where you can properly see the hamon, jihada, etc., changes the piece a lot, and the price difference is often not that big. I have seen some very good repatination work done on tsuba, but again, in my opinion, it would be a lot of work for what is ultimately a fairly ordinary Edo-period tsuba. Por cierto soy Español también, cualquier duda sabes donde contactar. Quote
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