Brian

Some seriously fine koshirae there. I guess there were no blades. Most on loan from private collectors?

Yes, I'm aware there was a themes hiccup, and some may have been set back to the default theme. If you used another theme, just select it again in your settings or below the forum. Was doing some maintenance, and had an issue. In the next few months, we will likely update to a brand new software version, which will be exciting and offer many new features, but there will be some changes (shudder, you guys don't handle change well) but there will be plenty of advantages. In the meantime, one thing that will definitely change is that you will need to login with your registration email address as username, not your current display name. But this is a while away, so you don't need to do anything now. But prepare by checking in your profile what email address you use, so that you are prepared. This is a standard thing where all forums are going, due to the fact that publicly displayed usernames make hacking much easier, as they are readily visible. By using emails (which are not visible to anyone) you add a layer of security. I'll be updating the news over the next few months, but no need to panic now. All remains the same.

Wow.

Sorry Nazar, but at least you got some good education out of it, and I am sure the next one will be much better. Good luck that side! Hope you stay safe. Now if you can just find a way to get me a captured Kampo Ratnik 6X9-1 bayonet out of Ukraine...I'd be a very happy man :-) They keep dangling them at me on Reibert, but can't have one...lol We have some Ukraine collectors here, so the swords are out there. One hint, if you can see very visible hada like that, stay away. Nihonto usually has very subtle and less visible hada and the fakes overdo it.

Nice!!!

I'm with Ray on this one. Looks like a legit sword with an added mei, and the nakago jiri is very reminiscent of Kaga.

Been ages since I was there. But I remember just walking down the book street, and every single shop I walked into had a section of books on swords or tosogu, mostly at cheap prices. You can really stock up if you feel like it. Some had far more than others, but there was no shortage.

Edit the post and try uploading the pics again.

Rob, It's going to be easy to take offense and think you are being treated unfairly. But if you've been here long enough, you'll see that we are fairly strict about restoration, don't allow amateur work at all, and are all of the opinion that we don't entirely own these items, just preserving them for future generations. That said, it is a wartime arsenal sword, so not as critical as antiques that we generally deal with, but hopefully you'll also understand that people are going to be harsh. Mainly to make sure that those amateurs reading who haven't yet taken their swords to a buff or sandpaper get the message, and maybe will reconsider. We are in the game of preserving and properly restoring. Sanding, buffing etc may make a sword look better to a knife collector, but to a Japanese sword collector it looks worse. Hides any hamon that was there, changes the edge geometry and generally takes it out of the league of collecting and into the hands of the general "sword swinger" Again, not trying to offend, just being blunt for the next guy who reads this before doing work himself. You have a genuine piece of WW2 history. What's done is done. It has an antique tsuba that may have been worth a few hundred. Resist the urge to do any more work, and it will still have some value for the future. Nakago patina is vital to the value of a Japanese sword. Cleaning it halves that value. Anyways, hope you got some decent info on the smith and what the sword is.

All the work on the blade, fittings and tang are exactly the opposite of what should be done on a Japanese sword. Kinda hurts to read. Ruined a lot of the value it would have had. Too late now though. It's a wartime sword, and it does have a temper line. But with the work done to it, there is little chance it will be visible now, without very expensive professional restoration. These are also not sharpened like knives, you don't take a stone to the edge. Sharpening is accomplished through the blade polishing process which is quite complex and expensive. I suggest doing no more work on it, and just keeping it lightly oiled.

Always a market for custom reproductions, especially USA and maybe UK etc. The question would be the end price. But as limited production and marked as such, I think you'd find buyers who want to shoot them. And you could make them fairly accurate, so some would want them for competition. But a ballpark price would be better. I'd see this in the same league as custom modern Kentucky-style rifles.

Sam, you're one of my top picks. I'll be in touch in a day or 2 to work it out. Will be great to have you as one of the admin team. Sorry to put people on the spot, and I understand if people don't want the task, but I'd love to have @Bruce Pennington to help moderate the Military section, and @SteveM to help with the Translation section if they are willing. Maybe doing just one section would be less work and more acceptable for some, while some may be ok with multiple sections. @Matsunoki would be great in one or 2 sections if he's willing. Few others I'll mention soon.

No secret that with my health see-sawing the past few months, and also the amount of new members and off topic stuff going on...it is putting a lot of strain on myself and the maintenance of the forum. I haven't heard from @Jean in a while too. Has anyone heard from him over there in France? We need to check on him and see if all is ok. That said, it is definitely time to consider another moderator or 2. Preferably one in USA and one in UK/Europe area, maybe one in Australia timezone. Need to carefully consider who will be impartial, well liked but strict, and who will get on with most members. I have a few names in mind, but before I mention any, I would need to check if they are willing. Not a lot of work. Mainly editing the occasional post for mistakes, moving threads around, and deleting any spam etc. But that person would need to be online fairly regularly, preferably have been a member for a few years, and most of all, be willing to do it. I may even consider moderators just for certain sections. So here's your chance to maybe nominate or discuss any choices. Thanks all.

Can only laugh at the response...and after all that, still didn't address my comments about modernizing Japanese steel being irrelevant to everything we study and collect. May as well make a sword out of Elmax or Maxamet. Not sure what the point is...that the Japanese have been doing it wrong for 1000 years? Yes...if you want to talk about modern sword production from a purely functional point of view, there are many forums for that. This isn't one of them. So tell us Mustafa, once you get this electroformed steel you seem to passionate about, how does the nie, inazuma, chikei, nioi, sunagashi etc look? How about the hada? Hope you are able to duplicate 1000 years of art, beyond function. Oh...and I play chess multiple times a day. Not an expert by any means. Far from it. But I know my Sicilian from my Caro-Kann Send my regards to my good friends and suppliers at Akkar Silah Sanayi, Girsan, AKSA, Akdaş Silah A.Ş, Kral Arms etc etc.

Yeah, but what's the point? We aren't devoted to what steel performs the best in the world, we are here because of the Art of the Japanese Sword. How to improve the steel or make them in more modern ways isn't our focus.

Fair enough, I copied the wrong link. But Kotani Yasunori worked at the Yasukuni shrine and used Yasunori from 1935 to 1945, this sword was dated 1937. So was made at the shrine, right? https://yakiba.com/yasunori-kotani/ https://swordsofjapa...ani-yasunori-katana/ https://www.japanese...dex.com/yasunori.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenzō_Kotani

Ok...so let's hear you commit to an opinion. Based on the pics above, and in your opinion (you don't have to state categorically, just what you consider most likely given what we see) is this suriage or not? Don't want to hear "can't decide based on the info presented" since life and collecting is about making a call based on what you see, wrong or right. What's your call?

I guess you should take that up with Ed. https://yakiba.com/yasunori-kajiyama/

Did you read the post I highlighted above? "...September 13th 1934 he received the smith name Takenori (武徳) from general Nara Takeji (奈良武次, 1868-1962), from that time onwards he signed all blades made for the Yasukuni forge with Yasunori, and all other privately made blades with Takenori" Elementary my dear Watson. I got that by Googling "yasunori yasukuni swords" and it was in the first few links.

Umut, I can't give you references or technical breakdowns right now. However it's not rocket science. Pretty much the same way just about every single sword made by any custom maker or manufacturer does it nowadays. Regular mono steel billet, forged and heat treated. Same as any military sword worldwide. Except they did differential hardening during yakiire. https://swordis.com/blog/shingane/

Jacques, You think you can prove something by finding the occasional and rare outlier? And you call yourself a scientist? Sheesh.

As mentioned, discussions in a for sale listing are frowned upon, and can affect the sale. In this case, it was easy to answer. Also Google. All good, I'm sure many learned a bit about his swords now. But let's keep the questions to the other sections out of respect to sellers.

Very early blades were mono-core. Like 1100/1200's. Aside from many tanto, most swords after that weren't mono-steel anymore.

"YASUNORI (靖徳), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tōkyō – “Kajiyama Yasunori kinsaku” (梶山靖徳謹作), “Yasunori” (靖徳), “Yasunori kinsaku” (靖徳謹作), “Takenori” (武徳), “Daitō ́a-mamori Masamune” (大東亜守正宗, “Masa-mune, for the protection of Greater East Asia”), real name Kajiyama Tokutarō (梶山徳太郎), born February 16th 1881 in Nigata (仁方) in Hiroshima Prefecture, other sources say he was born on April 2nd 1907 but this is disproved by an extant blade dated 1938 and signed with “made at the age of 58,” he was the son of Kajiyama Tomohira (梶山友平) and signed in early years like his father with the name Ujimasa (氏正), he also studied under the Osafune smith Yokoyama Sukeyoshi (横山祐義), on July 8th 1933 he entered the Yasukuni forge and became the smith name Yasunori from the minister of war Araki Sadao (荒木貞夫, 1877-1966), later he became the managing director of the forge, in 1934 he had the honour to for a guntō for the emperor, on September 13th 1934 he received the smith name Takenori (武徳) from general Nara Takeji (奈良武次, 1868-1962), from that time onwards he signed all blades made for the Yasukuni forge with Yasunori and all other privately made blades with Takenori, he retired in June 1940 and returned to Hiroshima, from November 20th 1943 onwards he signed his blades with “Daitō ́a-mamori Masamune” (大東亜守正宗) or just with “Masamune” (正宗), records show us that he made about 1,250 blades for the Yasukuni forge, his speciality was an excellently hardened suguha, he died on January 8th 1954, other sources say it was 1967, kihin-jōi (Akihide), Special Honor Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)."

If you're into the researching aspect of these steels (Japanese swords) then here are a few links to check out. There are many more online. https://mrforum.com/...9781945291173/75.pdf https://www.esomat.o...esomat2009_07018.pdf https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com https://www.hilarisp...169-0022-1000162.pdf https://www.cambridg...a-japanese-sword.pdf https://www.pyrometa...ags2000/pdfs/133.pdf https://www.matec-co...esomat2015_07001.pdf https://www.jstage.j...erseas/1/2/1_49/_pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anh-Pham-119/publication/338464901_Crystallographic_Structure_Study_of_a_Japanese_Sword_Masamitsu_made_in_the_1969_using_Pulsed_Neutron_Imaging/links/5e1680ef92851c8364bd39d7/Crystallographic-Structure-Study-of-a-Japanese-Sword-Masamitsu-made-in-the-1969-using-Pulsed-Neutron-Imaging.pdf https://papers.ssrn....?abstract_id=4692889 http://www.nihontome...e_and_technology.pdf https://www.jstage.j...mon/25/3/25_206/_pdf http://naippe.fm.usp...by/Sawasu_Part_2.pdf Only linking to them, nothing hosted here in case of any copyright issues.