Brian

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/52285-tsunagi-maker-sought-in-north-america/#comment-546002 Mike Virgadamo is kinda under the radar and doesn't really publish contact details online, but I think his phone number is in the book, and someone will have pm'ed you his details.

Forget Google. Search this forum for those last names and all will be revealed

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ray also recommends Josiah Boomershine.

Well...it's a real antique Japanese katana. Likely a few hundred years old. In that condition, it's hard to really say much more about it.

Love it when you research something Mal. For someone relatively unknown, you have presented more info than many recorded smiths have available

Japanese utility knife/tool, used in woodwork and other crafts. Very traditional, going back hundreds of years. Basic and effective.

Been proven to be false. There were no specific "tankers" or "pilots" swords.

I'm of the thought that this may have been left over from a polish, where the polisher didn't think it worth removing more. A sensible decision. Of course it could have happened later, but the possibility exists it was just not shown well in the pics/video. That said, it doesn't bother me too much. These "nail-catchers" would be far more serious on a Juyo or TH piece. But on a wakizashi of average quality, I don't think they are too serious. It's up to you and what you paid of course. But they aren't by any means a critical flaw, although undesirable.

Worst of the worst when it comes to fakes unfortunately. Nothing there remotely genuine.

It's upside down. Please edit and rotate. Can't even see a mei.

Jacques, You're wrong, whether Shinsa has progressed that far with "modern swords" or not. Have you downloaded the RJT documents and requirements and seen what was necessary for a sword to be made and stamped by them? Aside from fake star stamps (no different from examining any other sword) a star stamped blade with a genuine RJT stamp is considered a Gendaito.

Yeah, maybe a leather retainer strap for a wartime mount.

Don't think this one would satisfy anything aside from the desire to own something "old" Yes it's genuine, but it's never going to be more than just a project blade that likely no-one will get to. Cost of restoration would be far more than the outcome value. Your call. If it's in the low hundreds, maybe something just to display, but I wouldn't spend any sort of real money on it.

It is rare to find a sword with original koshirae. These were changed often over the life of a sword, and almost always you can consider them as replaced at some point. Not a big deal. The 2 holes means it was remounted at least once, and they drilled a new hole...again extremely common. The blade is usually the important part, the fittings are secondary unless they are very high quality. Find a restorer who can add sekigane to your tsuba to tighten it up. Not a very difficult job. If a sword comes with a very good tsuba, very often it will be swapped out for another one when selling. Don't worry too much about your fittings.

Star stamp is the prize. Means it's a RJT smith, meaning it's a Gendaito, handmade from tamahagane. Likely a decent sword.

I would put money on the fact that this was redone at some point on a knifemaker belt sander or arsenal level. The Japanese were fussy about quality, even late war. Fairly obvious if you are in the knifemaking world. Sharp edges on all the stamps and grooves shows it too. Plus the surface finish is a belt finish, not the usual buffed one. Not serious though, since they are monosteel I don't think it detracts much. Nice sword and as Sam said, a rare one.

Well done Dale, wish you success, and thanks for all you do with these publications.

The ones I have seen had real blades, although nothing spectacular. Shin shinto mainly. But it's a very striking koshirae and must have meant a lot to someone.

Thanks Mike, appreciate your understanding. Saves us all another huge back and forth debate that has been done to death here. Ads for your sword, with that "chippy" style mei, it's almost certainly a Showato. I'll leave the translation up to those more qualified than myself.

Marius, Probably 90% of the visitors here are novices or people with a casual interest. I think your book looks extremely interesting and covers topics that I haven't seen addressed anywhere up to now. I think you underestimate yourself, and would love it if you posted about it. Sorry to call you out....I want to see our members get the recognition they deserve and you have contributed a ton towards serious tsuba study..it's only fair people support your efforts

Ok, not to be funny, but I do feel like I want to mention this, as it is something I have been wondering about for a while now. The Nihonto community has a resource here that gets between half a million to 1 million visits a month. Visits..not hits, which are over 10 million a month. Maybe only a small fraction of those are serious Nihonto enthusiasts, but that is still many thousands a month. And it's free. Mahala. Gratis. So why aren't publishers/authors taking advantage of free promotion? It costs absolutely zero to post about a new book here. You have more freedom that just about any place offers. You can post links, excerpts, contacts, information...all free. Contributions are voluntary, there's no pressure. Not even expected. And you reach your target market instantly, from over 32 countries. So why aren't people taking advantage of this and posting about their new publications? Why wait until some random customer posts about it after stumbling upon it accidentally? Can't be lack of time...it takes seconds to post. Can't be cost...already mentioned it's free. Lack of motivation? Disinterest? Unaware? Whatever the reason, I encourage people who have new publications, shows, events etc to post here. If you need help or have any questions, just message me. I promise, I won't tie you up and torture you to contribute. I've seen new (and by the looks of things excellent) books coming out from people like @Marius JSSUS, Paul Martin and others. You don't have to post them here. But I can't think of any reason not to.

Indeed. Chinese fake, with all the above applicable. And like Kiril noted, those looking like "Damascus" welded blades seldom are anyways, just acid etched. Not that it matters.

Mike, You'll find that amateur (non traditional/fully trained) polishing is frowned up on here, and we don't advocate for it. Welcome to the forum, I'm sure there will be some interested in your other services, but best to avoid the topic of polishing to avoid the usual debate and criticism.

Worth bearing in mind what Darcy had to say on the subject. https://web.archive.org/web/20200923034718/https://blog.yuhindo.com/daisho-and-daishoisnt/