Ganko

The koshirae appears to not be too old to me.

Here are some pics of the Kiyokane. One of the star stamps is a different size. There is a stamp on each side of the nakago. The koshirae is the 4th one down from the top in the pic.

Looks like "Kanemitsu"

Tsutsui Kiyokane was the first swordsmith to receive a license to make swords after the war. I had a blade by him that actually had two star stamps on it. It was of excellent quality in late steel scabbard double button mounts.

Qsaka Shinto?

I am thinking maybe sue-Enju. Late Muromachi? It appears to be pretty good quality work.

A large loss for the Nihonto community. May he rest in peace.

I saw one in a real nice clamshell holster years ago. I think it was 8mm Nambu rather than 30 Mauser Cal.

It appears stamped or cast.

How can you copyright something in the public domain? I would refrain from viewing his site.

Just when you thought you'd seen everything. That is really strange.

The friction that holds the sword in is supposed to be on the ha and the mune, not the sides of the habaki. The sides should just barely touch. If the pressure is on the sides it will tend split the mouth of the saya over time.

Now that I see the additional pictures, what looked like a strange irregular hamon on the omote side is staining from rust removal. This may be a late Edo Awa Kaifu piece. They made katakiriba blades quite often, and strangely would sign them on the ji.

Looks like it has yakiotoshi about 1/2", which would imply that it is ubu. Probably a Shinshinto piece.

Those clusters took many hours to do, that is an over the top one.

I believe it was from a Japanese site that was in English, it may have been "Kichigai nuri". I had a tachi kake that was done in that manner.

Robert, I recall reading some time ago that it is sometimes referred to as "idiots lacquer", since anyone would have to be crazy to spend the amount of time it takes to produce it. I like it. Great koshirae.

I believe the line you are looking at is the boundary of a difference in metal composition. The hamon hardened differently for that reason. The center metal is slightly different from the sides in that area.

Very nice koshirae. I think the rust on the F/K will clean off fairly well, as Geraint says, a little work with sharp piece of bone will tell you more. The lacquer is a variant of Wakasa Nuri I believe, and very nicely done.

Looks like Chinese fake to me.

Maker is ?. ?, Kanemasa. and dated Showa 19 (1944) 8th month( Aug.)

Well put, George and les. There are many of us who could care less about snob appeal. We acquire what we like for whatever reason we are attracted to it, whether it is an unsigned Shinshinto piece or a signed Juyo. Fortunately ,we do not all have similar likes and dislikes and in Japanese swords there is something for everyone. If I collect NCO swords am I to be looked down upon by the Juyo Ko-Bizen collector, I would hope not. Buy what you like for your own enjoyment for whatever reason and you will not regret it. There is nothing to be gained by putting other people down.

Here is the notice

It is Kanehiro saku kore, Showa ju roku nen,(1941)

It is my understanding that the friction between the habaki and the saya mouth should take place on the ha side and mune side of the habaki. The cat scratches may be there to keep ugly rub marks from appearing on the sides of the habaki as it occasionally touches the mouth or maybe they are purely decorative?