Pavel Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 Hi Guys, Hope everyone is doing great. Glad to be back here. First time I have been able to sit down and write for months. Wondering if you learned Gentlemen would evaluate this sword. I really appreciate it. Thank You, Pavel not Pawel Quote
cabowen Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 WWII era Seki mass produced blade in traditional mounts (probably made for iai originally) retasked for military service...At least that is how it looks to me.... Quote
Pavel Posted June 12, 2011 Author Report Posted June 12, 2011 Hello Chris, Great, so that means it is nihonto? Just not a very good one, but made before 1948? Is it worth a polish? or are the mounts worth more than the blade? Thank you for taking the time to help me. Pavel Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 No Chris is not saying this is Nihonto, Mass produced = Showato. Your smith is Kanetoshi if you're interested. As far as worth a polish, it's doubtful, as you can get these for about $1,500 and a polish will run you $2,500+. But if you love the sword and want to see it in polish and are not worried about getting your money out of it, then go for it. Quote
cabowen Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 No Chris is not saying this is Nihonto, Mass produced = Showato. Your smith is Kanetoshi if you're interested. As far as worth a polish, it's doubtful, as you can get these for about $1,500 and a polish will run you $2,500+. But if you love the sword and want to see it in polish and are not worried about getting your money out of it, then go for it. That about sums it up....Good practical sword for martial arts, but as a Nihon-to, not..... Quote
Pavel Posted June 12, 2011 Author Report Posted June 12, 2011 Excellent. I am just happy to know it is worth the couple of hundred I paid. I thought the sword might not be real but the hardware was. A good useable Japanese blade is a welcome addition. Is there anywhere I can find out what the kanji says? Thank you guys very much. Pavel Quote
cabowen Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 Your smith is Kanetoshi if you're interested. here you are..... Quote
Brian Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 Pavel, The smith has already been translated. Please read the replies above. Brian Quote
Pavel Posted June 12, 2011 Author Report Posted June 12, 2011 Guess I was so excited finding out it is real I missed the translation. I have another one coming from Japan, supposedly a edo period wakizashi. Hopefully you can help me with that one also. You guys are a fantastic resource, thank you very much. Pavel Quote
k morita Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 Hi, The mei is 兼波 see this link http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/ ... 443069644d Quote
Pavel Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Posted July 8, 2011 Hello All, I have been polishing this sword with pikal polish and the hamon is beginning to show. The hamon is changing along the blade sometimes peaked, sometimes smooth and at times almost straight. It is a very interesting sword to me, but then I don't know much. Many things just don't fit. The mekugi ana looks punched not drilled, and one side is smaller than the other. There is a single dot stamped in the top of the nakago on the mei side. The tsuka is signed, also the tsuba. The fittings look to be cast, however there is a shim in the back of the fuchi and with a 10x loop you can see a seam. All the koshirae have been painted with what looks like gold paint, the original ito looks brown. The menuki is a wine gourd with a flower at the base. There is a leather seppa that looks machine stitched around the edge. The sword does not fit in the saya, which is a dull flat black. When the sword is pushed in to the habaki, the saya splits and cannot be forced together. Please let me know if any more photos will help identify this sword. Thank you for any and all comments. Pavel Quote
cabowen Posted July 8, 2011 Report Posted July 8, 2011 Please let me know if any more photos will help identify this sword. I think it has been identified.... Quote
drbvac Posted July 9, 2011 Report Posted July 9, 2011 The sword was made as stated 3 times by the smith whose name is on the nakago (tang and what exactly are YOU polishing it with - I have not heard of 'pikal polish" but will bet that you should not be using it OR anything else to polish the blade Quote
Nobody Posted July 9, 2011 Report Posted July 9, 2011 The last correct answer to the smith's name was Kanenami (兼波), which was already given in this thread. Quote
Pavel Posted July 9, 2011 Author Report Posted July 9, 2011 The sword was made as stated 3 times by the smith whose name is on the nakago (tang) = KANETOSHI and what exactly are YOU polishing it with - I have not heard of 'pikal polish" but will bet that you should not be using it OR anything else to polish the blade Hello Brian, Yes thank you for the information, just trying to get a little more. Like why was it painted gold? All my life I have been enamoured of the asian societies, Japan especially. I am now taking a course about the Yamato Schools, in hopes of learning more about swords, their construction, and how to recognize them. Found this sword in conditions it should never have been in. It had been sanded with course sandpaper, could not see the hamon at all. Even though it is not the best sword around, it deserves better treatment than it has had. Pikal polish is a Japanese made polish for use on medical equipment and other sensitive or precious metals. http://pikal.co.jp/ My Sensei asked me one day why I even looked at inferior swords, he said it would spoil the eye for finer things. I told him that there were millions of swords taken from Japan mistreated so very badly, hidden in cupboards and closets the world over. I am looking for that one in a million national treasure, under that pile of old clothes on that rickety garage sale table. He said he approved under those conditions. So please forgive a students inquisitiveness, only trying to cure my ignorance. The last correct answer to the smith's name was Kanenami (兼波), which was already given in this thread. This is the only Kanenami I could find, do you know where else I might look? http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/KAN1717 Thank You, Pavel Quote
Nobody Posted July 9, 2011 Report Posted July 9, 2011 .................................... This is the only Kanenami I could find, do you know where else I might look? http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/KAN1717 .......... Pavel Also the following link was already shown in this thread. Ref. http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/ ... 443069644d Quote
johnb Posted July 10, 2011 Report Posted July 10, 2011 I had this as Kanetoshi...am I right? John B Quote
johnb Posted July 10, 2011 Report Posted July 10, 2011 I had this as Kanetoshi...am I right? John B Quote
Nobody Posted July 10, 2011 Report Posted July 10, 2011 I had this as Kanetoshi...am I right? John B Yes, yours is Kanetoshi. Quote
runagmc Posted July 10, 2011 Report Posted July 10, 2011 Pavel, it's a very bad idea to attempt to do any kind of restoration to an antique (Japanese sword or anything else) without knowing exactly what you have first. If you were to use polishing compound on a ginuine nihonto you would make alot of people on this site angry. I know you probably didn't know any better so I thought I should tell you. Adam Quote
Pavel Posted July 11, 2011 Author Report Posted July 11, 2011 Pavel, it's a very bad idea to attempt to do any kind of restoration to an antique (Japanese sword or anything else) without knowing exactly what you have first. If you were to use polishing compound on a ginuine nihonto you would make alot of people on this site angry. I know you probably didn't know any better so I thought I should tell you. Adam Thank you Adam, that is nice to hear. I would never use pikal on a Japanese polish. However pikal is a slurry form ferrite based polish with an average abrasive diameter of less than 1 micron, it is used on electron microscopes. When I asked my Sensei he said i could use it on ww2 rusty blades, but everything else I must use the Ochiku powder. My Sensei also told me "when it comes to asking questions no question is a dumb question for novices no ask , no learn" Pavel Quote
george trotter Posted July 12, 2011 Report Posted July 12, 2011 I have come in a bit late here, but think I can add a little to the evaluation. This Kanenami has been noted a good number of times in the last 20 years...always? in navy mounts. He usually signs simply in nijimei, but on occasion as I-NA-BA Kanenami = Inaba Kanenami. While fairly well known as a maker of showato as we have seen a few of his works...we can still say he is "unknown" as the modern gunto makers for the navy are nowhere near as well recorded as the makers of gunto for the army. I would say his family name is Inaba, but his personal name is unknown...probably worked within the Seki system. Hope this helps Quote
Pavel Posted July 12, 2011 Author Report Posted July 12, 2011 I have come in a bit late here, but think I can add a little to the evaluation.This Kanenami has been noted a good number of times in the last 20 years...always? in navy mounts. He usually signs simply in nijimei, but on occasion as I-NA-BA Kanenami = Inaba Kanenami. While fairly well known as a maker of showato as we have seen a few of his works...we can still say he is "unknown" as the modern gunto makers for the navy are nowhere near as well recorded as the makers of gunto for the army. I would say his family name is Inaba, but his personal name is unknown...probably worked within the Seki system. Hope this helps Thank you George, it helps. I finally showed photos of the blade to my Sensei, had to check here first. So far he has said that it looks like a mino blade with the characters of Kanemasa or maybe Kanetoshi. Here is the photo of the mei I sent him. Said he was leaning towards Kanemasa of which there are three mentioned in Hawley's book. He wants to see a drawing of the hamon. Every time I polish the blade it becomes a little clearer, it looks like choppy waves on a windy day. With 3/8 to 1/2 between the waves. Going to have to dust off the scanner and sharpen pencils, so it will take a day or so. Please excuse my ignorance, I am doing my best to cure it. This site is a valuable resource to me, and I appreciate every comment. Pavel Quote
sencho Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 So far he has said that it looks like a mino blade with the characters of Kanemasa or maybe Kanetoshi. Please excuse my ignorance, I am doing my best to cure it. This site is a valuable resource to me, and I appreciate every comment. Pavel No idea who your "sensei" is, but I suggest you appreciate Morita san and Muriyama san's comments to which you obviously have paid no attention to at all... Quote
Pavel Posted July 14, 2011 Author Report Posted July 14, 2011 No idea who your "sensei" is, but I suggest you appreciate Morita san and Muriyama san's comments to which you obviously have paid no attention to at all... Hello, Apologize if I have offended anyone, I mean no disrespect in any way. I fully admit to being a novice. Receiving my first sword in 1972, I have been enamoured of them since. Until now, work and other constraints have prevented me from devoting much time to learning about this. However being almost eighty physical training is behind me, so I begin to appreciate the sword as an art form. Now that I am retired I have some time, and am learning the history and development of each of the five schools of the Koto period 800 AD to 1595 AD. Being a retired woodworker I am also attempting to learn saya and ho construction. To me, my Sensei is the ultimate authority on swords, how else could it be? Hesitate to bring him any thing I have not investigated fully, my time with him is extremely valuable as he is even older than I. I appreciate, and have paid great attention to every comment made, and will say so again. If I have been disrespectful, then feel free to ban me. Otherwise please excuse my exuberance, and ignorance, it has been quite a while since I have had been this excited over something. Pavel Quote
k morita Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 Pavel, Your sword signature is Kanenami. This is our conclusion. I know you are posting your sword(Kanenami) to some other forums. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... ogle.co.jp http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... ogle.co.jp Quote
Pavel Posted July 15, 2011 Author Report Posted July 15, 2011 Pavel,Your sword signature is Kanenami. This is our conclusion. I know you are posting your sword(Kanenami) to some other forums. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... ogle.co.jp http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... ogle.co.jp Morita san, Thank you very much for the time and the compassion spent in dealing with a newbe. It is important to me to know all available about this, and other swords in my possession. Who made the furniture, built the ho? and why on earth was it painted gold? To most of the board these questions are more than likely obvious or even immaterial, not so to me. I am awaiting "The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords" by mail, in hopes of aiding this. Pavel Quote
k morita Posted July 15, 2011 Report Posted July 15, 2011 Who made the furniture, built the ho?and why on earth was it painted gold? Pavel, There is no way to know. Let's be ending. I'm tired... :lol: Quote
Pavel Posted July 15, 2011 Author Report Posted July 15, 2011 Pavel, There is no way to know. Let's be ending. I'm tired... :lol: Morita san, The blade reads Kanenami, and I thank you very much for telling me that. Please have a restful evening Pavel Quote
Pavel Posted July 16, 2011 Author Report Posted July 16, 2011 Hello Guys, I was just going to thank the guy who said "it was a nice, interesting and informative post" And now it is gone. Anyway Thanks whoever it was. Hope the topic isn't closed totally. I didn't want to highjack someone else's post, or start a new one just to ask a quick question. Been told to get a book on Kanji. When I went to look for one, I was overwhelmed by the selection available. Would someone be so kind as to suggest one, not too expensive? The simplest would be the best for me, like "Kanji for dummies" or something along those lines. Thank you, Pavel Quote
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