Dannzo Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Could someone please help me identify this knife? I believe it to be a Samurai Tanto? Thanks, Dan Quote
Aloof Pegasus Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Hi Dan Could you push out the wooden peg and remove the handle of the shirasaya and take a pic of the nakago please, especially of any writing on it, could be on both sides. Working on yr trans. btw don't clean any rust off the tang to better read the writing. Quote
cabowen Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 The first two kanji on the tag read Shitahara. Can't make out the last two. Shitahara is an area near Tokyo where many swordsmiths were active. Yes, this is an antique tanto..... Quote
Dannzo Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Posted January 17, 2011 Thank you both for the info. I am nervous about removing the pin, I don't want to break anything. Would a better photo of the tag help? Is it possible to get an approximate date? Is the tag original or added later? How should I remove the pin? Will I absolutely get more information such as date and maker? Are these valuable? Thanks, Dan Quote
Aloof Pegasus Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Chris Could it be the owner's name? 下原 敏之 Shimohara Toshiyuki Dan Don't be too nervous about it. The peg is just a bit of wood. Similarly the handle is nothing to really worry about. Press the wooden peg out gently from the small hole side. If the handle is stiff swaddle it and the lower part of the sword in an old tshirt, lay the sword flat, handle towards you and use a wood mallet to gently tap on the top part of the handle, the bolster so to say, the part at right angles to the blade. This should loosen it if needs be. The shape of the tang/nakago will tell members about the quality of the sword and as I said it may have a smith's name and date. You ought to do this to find out what it is as from what I can see of the blade it will be hard to tell much from it. There are a number of possibilities. Broadly speaking tanto were made a long time ago and not so long ago. Your's might be an old one. Let's proceed slowly. Check Richard Stein's site for fuller details on all the above and much more besides. Shoot the nakago vertically as that's how the writing will run, if there is any. Quote
Grey Doffin Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Hi Dan, Go here: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm to learn about care and etiquette with a Japanese sword. Grey Quote
cabowen Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Chris Could it be the owner's name? 下原 敏之 Shimohara Toshiyuki It surely could..... Quote
Dannzo Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Posted January 17, 2011 I reluctantly removed the wooden peg, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Please take a look at the photos below. Sorry, the knife is old and the pictures are not good quality. Quote
Dannzo Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Posted January 17, 2011 Thank you for the reply and info. Is there any way to find a rough time frame from when it was made? I would like to find out more, can someone please suggest who I may contact? Thanks, Dan Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 It sort of looks like 兼茂 Kaneshige. Of course it may not be. If so, there were quite of few smiths of this name especially around the later Muromachi period. Nijimei Mino-to are notoriously hard to pinpoint from this time. John Quote
Grey Doffin Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Hi Dan, Allow me to translate. The 2nd half of your sword's smith's name (the 2nd character) has been mostly obliterated by the lower hole in the tang. The 1st character is read, "Kane". In the 16th century in an area of Japan called Mino there were a great many swordsmiths making an even greater many swords (this was a time of constant warfare in Japan). It was the norm for these smiths in this province at this time to sign with art names that began with Kane. It is quite likely, though not 100% certain, that your sword fits here. Maybe someone will be able to read the 2nd character and then we'll know more. If you live in the States and you'd like to ask someone who knows more than you some questions feel free to give me a call. Cheers, Grey 218-726-0395 central time Quote
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