Ed

Bruce, Yes type 98.

Bruce, Here is another Mantetsu for your files. Picked this up a couple of weeks ago. Serial number starts with the Hiragana character "TO". TO99

Shirasaya are made specific to each blade, so you don't just find one. Saya are very difficult to match as well for the same reason. You said fittings, if that is what you mean then you must be referring to a koshirae. Again, for proper fit these are made to fit the sword. It is rare to find one that "fits" your sword. Bare bones, basic shirasaya will cost no less than $600-$800 when using a quality craftsman. For a custom made koshirae the sky is the limit. The correct order to do this is to have the shirasaya/koshirae made prior to polish. My recommendation would be to get a shirasaya made for it, in order to properly house/store/protect the blade. Then plan on keeping it. This is a common mistake with new collectors, investing more in a sword and restoration than the sword will ever be worth. You have an unsigned(-), un-papered sword (-). Polished (+) but no shirasaya (-).

You did a good job. I wouldn't critique it but two things that I would offer for future endeavors 1) finish the center of the flower, 2) Carve the flower flowing with the wind. Your flower leans into the wind which is unnatural. Keep it up and good luck. Ed

No problem, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it is better you know the truth.

Good pass on your part. Kozuka was decent but that is all you would have been buying. Sword was not worth the cost of restoration. Kogatana is signed Sagami no Kami Masatsune. Famous Owari smith, but this one was gimei as many are.

No shirasaya? You put this freshly polished sword back int the gunto mounts?

This is a wide spread issue. Customs does do it's share of theft, butchering or whatever else leads to the item never reaching it's destination. I lost two items coming through customs in Trenton, NJ. A kozuka from Germany, and a ubu Kikuchi Yari from Japan. With the Yari, I was finally able to speak to someone at the facility and they opened an investigation. In a mere Two days they sent me an email stating that after an extensive investigation (2 freaking days) they determined the item had never been there. Yet Japan tracking clearly documented it's arrival to NJ. The kozuka was insured, the guy who sent the yari did not insure it, total loss. USPS is just as bad. I shipped a sword to MS and it was routed through the huge hub in Memphis where it disappeared. The buyer lives nearby and went to the facility where he showed an employee a photo of the sword. She admitted to seeing the sword. She said it had come out of the box and therefore was sent to Atlanta to the "dead mail center". Buyers father is a prominent attorney in Memphis who contacted his friend the senator. Once they became involved, the sword miraculously turned up in Memphis, not Atlanta. The lying bitch at the PO is probably the one who stole it, she damn sure didn't send it to Atlanta. Box was crushed, sword completely undamaged. I have friends who have lost things, high end things coming through customs and San Francisco as well.

I would say that this is a gimei Hamamono/Nagoyamono tourist piece. The mei is not nearly good enough for a Goto Master and the Kao is horrid.

Thanks for the positive comments guys. Have no idea what the intended function of this tiny blade was. I found this in Japan many years ago and brought it home. Jean, I don't remember the kasane right off. I would have to dig it out of the vault to measure it. Being Moroha zukuri I wouldn't think it was a yoroi doshi, but again I do not know for sure it's intended function.

Morita San, Thank you for your help. I could not seem to match that inscription to those characters. Best, Ed

Wanted to run this by you guys. A friend owns this kozuka with a war time motif. The inscription has been difficult to get a conclusive answer on. When he bought it he was told it read Banzai, but from what I have seen this is incorrect. It seemed to me it could be a patriotic slogan, but I have not found any to match. Another possible reading was Toshinori, but it is not certain. Any ideas?

I have a copy of that book and it is super hard to find. Someone got a great deal at that price for a book so rare.

Stephen, Thanks for the offer, but I already have the habaki.

Thanks Franco, I already have that source. Just didn't use it

OOPS my bad! F*cking metric system Round of apologies. Starting over. Tsuba needed in suaka 1.75" X 1.25" X 0.1875" You want to know what that is in mm, do the math your damn self!

Just seeing this post. I have a tiny little moroha tanto by Osafune Kiyomitsu. Approximately 3.5" nagasa and 5.5" overall.

I have one you can see here: https://yakiba.com/gallery/

I appreciate your attempt to alert me to a possible typo. However, those measurements are correct. It is for a small tanto and I know exactly what I want. It should barely protrude outside the width of the seppa, no more than 0.25" or 6.3mm. (see attached).

Looking for a small hamidashi tsuba in suaka copper for a project. Dimensions of approximately 1.75" (0.069mm) X 1.25" (0.049mm) X 0.1875" (0.0074mm). With or without the kozuka cutout as seen in the provided example. No motif or embellishment required, in fact I would prefer a plain smooth finish. Something like this iron piece only in suaka. If you have something like this, please contact me via the email address below. Thanks, Ed

Brian, I do not think you are being unreasonable at all. When you first began the dealer section, I considered it. Ultimately I decided it was an additional expense I did not wish to incur. However, out of respect for your hard work as well as this group I also stopped posting anything for sale here. No reason other than I didn't feel it was right to offer anything for sale without joining the dealer section.

Seems to be a crap shoot with this dealer. Many praise her, many hate her. I have heard her nickname is Damnyou54. ???

Mumei, 2 mekugi ana, no attribution. Who cares, stop nit picking, that is a very nice blade and a very fair price.

Second generation Bungo Shigeyuki (c. Kanbun 1661-1673) signed Fujiwara Shigeyuki.