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For your work. No markings on the guard or anywhere else I can see. Scabbard drag matches

Anyway, Here is my latest purchase on eBay. It was being sold in the U.S. So, with taxes and shipping it cost me $132.00 U.S. If you know what to look for, I think deals can still be had on eBay. 67mm x 65mm x4mm.

Not AI, they are hosted by Imgur. I am guessing it's just your wonderful Govt and their wonderful OFCOM making sure you are protected from nasty things such as images of weapons. I'm still supposed to fill in forms and checklists and make sure UK members can't buy "weapons" via pm messaging etc. You can imagine my thoughts on that.

Excellent idea. These fakes are just a waste of your money? Well, assuming you are going to collect wooden netsuke then you can buy something “basic”, maybe something more “folk art” than “high art” for around $200-400 but beware, there are thousands, probably millions, of fake wooden pieces. The worldwide marketplace is overflowing with them. Just look on eBay! Keep training your eye until you can spot the fake immediately and be patient. Spend a lot of time looking at this link…… https://www.bonhams.com/search/?chronology=past&query=Netsuke

Wanted to share a Taikei Naotane that I recently acquired that has a secret engraving for "Ichimonji" on the bottom. Is anyone else familiar with this type of thing? Is there a specific reason(s) or is it just a total "this would be cool" kinda thing?

Excellent, Sham. Added to the list! John C. p.s. That's 44 serial numbers on record; that particular mark is seen on the serial number side up through about number 1,000, however there is a large gap between 1,000 and 1,900 so unsure of the exact point the mark changed.

If it needs clarified, I believe the papers are from 1986 or so.

Looks like fresh "spiderweb" rust. Address that with some isopropyl and then oil it. May not remove it all, but will stop it from getting worse hopefully.

Looks like a good amount of buffing and or polishing compound. It s a shame bc it lookslike it might have an interesting hamon. Good news is that the foundation doesnt look severely compromised and can most likely be brought back to it s proper state of polish. Seen swords in far worse state being restored by a good togishi. But the reality is that it s probably far from being financially worth unless the blade has special meaning to you

Congratulations on the acquisition! You can look at it for a long time, like a painting. I really like that works of the Soten school look great as standalone pieces.

So recently got a Takahashi naganobu daito, and noticed this odd rust on the kissaki. Almost looks like a hagire but it's not present on the other side and isn't straight. Here are some pictures. Any thoughts on how this could've formed?

Bit unusual to revive a thread after more than a year (almost 2!) but, I like this tsuba Dan. For the price, it seems like a great pickup...

That's filed, not carved, and I am pretty much 100% sure it's got nothing to do with Ichi. Likely just a marking the smith used to identify it, maybe from others while finishing it.

I wanted to thank everyone for their contributions! This is the first time I've logged in for a few days so I'm sorry to be tardy in expressing my gratitude. So, like many abstract designs, this one remains uncertain. Any ideas on a possible school would once again be very welcome. 🙏 Thank you once again! Hector

I agree that hamon was a bit...different..but I am not really familiar with that smith. Maybe his style is off beat skinny vertical spikes with tobiyaki? Maybe they didn't want to bring out the good good stuff.

Greetings, to all., I have a WWI Gunto blade and saya All other parts are missing. I'm looking to find a source so that I can restore this or have it restored by another. Any help in locating these parts or a person to repair or restore. would be great..

Check saya if there isn’t moisture. It’s red active rust probably formed during delivery. Isoprophyl alcohol 99%?

Unless this has sentimental value I wouldn't attempt this endeavor. It would be much cheaper and less of a headache to purchase a Type 98 that is complete. To try and find the missing parts that Fit the saya alone will take a lot of time(these aren't all one size fits all) I'm assuming it is missing the wooden liner as well? Also the fact that the nakago on the blade has 2 mekugi makes me question if the type 98 saya is for this blade.

Not my cup of tea aesthetically, but WOW, the craftsmanship is certainly amazing.

Is the caliber still 15 mm a little bit down into the barrel? Like 10 cm down. My extremely little experience have taught me teppos sometime expand in the muzzle. But I can be totally wrong!!

Hey Piers , ( notice I got you name right this time- apologies! ) thank you so much again for all the info and advice ! I do appreciate it. Yes _ was referring to the Bamboo leaf as a mon . Doh! yes apologies - the barrel length is 1005mm as for the bore- I have measured again and it does seem to be coming out at 15mm?

Bruce I found that this gunto was made in the final month of the war 昭和弐拾年八月 (August 1945). The swordsmith was 長弘 Nagamitsu, 野呂山麓住 Noro-san roku jū（ resident of the foothills of Mount Noro）.It has convas cover.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/205749037590 Something similar? The one you are looking at is cheaper and better in my opinion - no idea what the theme is but another in Sasano's book 212. page 272 says Shimizu and described as "Butterflies"? [It is not particularly close in design though]

I have one that is very similar, but there is no tekkotsu on mine.

Yes, that is one of the crude theories, but it is ridiculously unlikely when you think about it. I am working scientifically on this TEKKOTSU subject and hope to be able to present results in the near future.

Yves, this is called TEKKOTSU (= "iron bones"). It is a special feature of some TSUBA makers or schools. There is some discussion about what it is and how it is done. Unfortunately, most writers have no metallurgic background and try to approach the subject from the aesthetic side which does not lead far. Your TSUBA would be classified as HEIANJO style, in this case an earlier one with HIRA ZOGAN technique (flat inlay), most of which is still present. There are information that some TSUBASHI working in that style did not make the TSUBA plate themselves but bought them from more specialized smiths to decorate them afterwards. This may be the case here. Attached is an image of a HEIANJO TSUBA with another decoration style.

HIRAGANA character "KU"? Whatever, I like it!

A schematic representation of the Hotei bag?

Captures the chaos of the battle. I love the huge war club!

There is a lot going on on that TSUBA! Might replace a Chinese martial arts video!

It seems to be a nice sword with very strong masame. If trying for Tokubetsu Hozon, I would submit without the old paper from blank beginning. As the NBTHK has attributed it to Sue-Hoshō they see it as a Muromachi era sword. By default it would be that mumei Sue-Hoshō can only achieve Hozon level. There might always be an exception but so far all 17 NBTHK attributed mumei Sue-Hoshō that I have data on are all Hozon, even though some of would be good quality. Please send us pictures after Woody has worked on it.

Should be this item https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/24617

Hi, I wrote about this sword here. The sword was twisted, and as a result of repair, these shinae appeared. Best Hoshi

Famous name, no papers, IAITO TSUBA - what do you think?

We have come at the same issues from opposite directions! I had a sword from my dad, and the more I learned the more I got hooked on the history. And it looks like you came from the other direction, hooked on the history, and found some cool swords! I think most of us have really been blessed by our collecting by the fact that it has exposed us to so much history and the human endeavors of all kinds. I don’t want to distract you from our need for addictive views of your sword, but I do appreciate your angle on early Japanese history leading up to World War II. There are a number of factors that led to what happened as we all know. But your angle is an interesting addition.

I appreciate your passion for history and your connection to the Type 19 sword, but I wanted to offer some perspective. It can be interesting to draw parallels between personal experiences and historical events, but some of your ideas, like Japan’s actions in WWII being a response to "oath torment" and "Stockholm syndrome," aren't supported by mainstream history. Treaties like the Convention of Kanagawa were unequal, but Japan’s actions were influenced by many complex factors beyond simple coercion. Be careful about projecting psychological concepts (like Stockholm syndrome) onto historical actors and situations where they may not fit. Nations and cultures act in complex ways that can’t be easily likened to individual experiences of trauma. History should be viewed with a broad lens that accounts for the complexities of the time. As for your sword, I’d advise against altering it, especially on the basis of unverified historical hypothesises, that you are likely to find not holding true in the future. Historical artifacts, like swords, carry important cultural significance, and modifying them erases part of that history. Maybe get a sword box 刀桐箱 which can be decorated with hakogaki 箱書き to express your beliefs

Don't forget the tsuba that have no Hitsu-ana, Dan. Not so common but you do see them.

As amazing as they can be to look at, I'm not really a huge Soten fan precisely for this reason! They're like sensory overload haha

It does look like someone did a superficial buffing wheel job on it, decided polishing wasn't worth it, and sold it as is. Doesn't mean they were right, mind, but it does look like trying to revive it might mean removing fatal amounts of metal. I have a blade here that had worse done to it - instead of the buffing wheel they went for the belt sander

Phew. I was waiting for the flames