tesscoothome123

I was hoping someone could help me with this complete tranlation. I think this was made by Mototsugu if I translated it right, but the rest I do not know. Regards, John

Hi Stephen, Your two top bidders WWWPPK and ssyn0517 you do not have to worry about. These are great buyers and in the past two years I have sold both quite a few swords and being paid is not a question for these two. Both have Hong Kong addresses and easiest way is to send them USPS Express mail international with insurance (always about 68.00USD). If you need some more information on them let me know. Regards, John

Hi, As Martin said this one is very easy to translate and I still have trouble at times with translation, this is also a live auction on Ebay that does not end for another 5 hours. Regards, John

Thank you Chris and Piers, I am very grateful for the knowledge you share with me and others. John

I was hoping someone could help me translate what these papers mean and how to start to understand them. This is something completely new to me. Thank you much, John

Hi Timothy, This sword has been listed on Etsy.com for months and months with no takers. You now have a little bargaining power to get it cheaper. Regards, John

Hi, I think it reads Kunimasa. You paid quite a bit for this sword as I saw the auction for it. As others have mentioned with the hamon running off the blade this might be a learning experience as many of use have had. Regards, John

I was wondering if anyone could help me with what design is on this tanto blade and what the characters are on the bottom left. Thanks for any help. Regards, John

Hello, I picked this tsuba up at a small auction near me and was really drawn to the quality and very large size of it. I was able to translate the Yasuchika characters , but not the rest of what this tsuba has to offer. From what I have found this is signed the same as the Yasuchika of the Kinko school. This also measures about 82 mm wide by 86 high and appears to be a blackened brass and quire heavy. I would appreciate any more help people could give me. Regards, John

Hi Kai, What you have is a WW2 Kai Gunto (Japanese Naval Sword) made by Toshiharu. This has a higher end rayskin saya that very nice. These Kai Gunto saya's either came in wood, wood with rayskin(as this one), and metal. Regards, John

Hi, I believe your sword was made by Yoshiaki. I also see a partial Showa stamp. Regards, John

Hi Jean, Thank you very much for the help again. I was kind of leaning towards Sukesada, but the incomplete short strokes of the mei have caused me problems. I can see if the strokes were extended the similarities would be there. I am going to do some more on this one. Would you think this would be a good canidate for restoration? I do not see any flaws and it is in decent shape with some minor darkening that would easily polish out. I want to keep this one. My answer would be yes, but you guys are much more advanced. Best Regards, John

Hi Jean, I have been trying to translate this for a couple days now. I think what is confusing me are how small and incomplete the mei are ( small stokes). This is what I have been able to find the date 6th year tensho 1578 and as far as who made this Bishu Osanfune ? ? and saku. I have also been able to translate another longer one that has more complete characters yesterday. Thsi is my first like this one. Regards, John

Hi Jean, I do not mind doing work, could you please point me to what kanji to start with, That is more confusing to me than anything. I can get most two and three character mei with work. I also say that being surprised about buying what I do not know would be a problem if it was more than 250.00 dollars (this is what I paid for it). I know it is worth a whole lot more from reading the board and what little I have learned. Best Regards, John

Hi Everyone, I have a new toy I picked up a couple of months ago and need some help with this one. I have not needed any help in quite a while, but this one is way past my knowledge and trying to date it I would be lost without some help. This I think has some good possibilities of being restored and would like some input if I should or not. It is beautiful in person and does not have any flaws except I believe the Nakago has been shortened many years ago. This was put into WW2 mounts that where in really bad shape. Thank you, John

Hi, Thank you again Morita and David. Morita or anyone else I have a question about this tsuba. Is this the same Masatsuge that worked in the Jingo school around 1680. and Is this worth taking to Shinsa then trying to get papers for as David mentioned . Best Regards, John

Hi, Thank you for the idea Morita. After I took these I ordered a new digital camera for aplications as close as three inches and a new printer scanner as David suggedted. Best Regards, John

Hi All, I want to thank Morita, Thomas, Curran, and David for the help. I have been away fr the last few days for Labor Day and can now post some new pictures. I hope these help and thank you all for helping me learn. Would any of you have suggestions on what Tsuba books to start with? This also appers to be made of either bronze or a very nice patinated brass on copper. Best Regards, John

Hello, I was hoping someone could help me translate this tsuba. I think the first character is Mi or San and the other two I can not find at all. The second picture is what the characters look like. Best Regards, John

Hello, I just want to thank Morita and Koichi for the help you have given me. I would have done this sooner, but have had no power due to electrical problems and a small fire due to a power surge. I thank you again and have made a donation to the board. Regards, John

Hi, I have not been able to post here in a while due to some health problems and am happy to get the chance today. I was hoping someone would help translate these for me as I am tagging my swords(Just in case) so my wife knows what they are. I am new compared to many, but have had quite a bit of sucess in the past translating many, but due to medications and changes in sight I recently find this near impossible. What I would like to due for the help is make a donation to the board. Best Regards, John

Hi, Thank you very much Dirk and Koichi for your help. Would this be worth having restord? I only have about 100.00 in the blade. Regards, John

Hello All, I think I may have found a good one. I have found this blade which from what I can tell is a "Yoshimichi" Mishina school blade. I can also tell it was from the Kyoto school of his. This has a horimono on both sides. My little but expanding knowledge limits what else I can figure out. I think this is worthy of restoration as there is no pitting, bend, and only a small chip off the tip. Would you also agree? Who would you use for this? I have done some searches and found many people that do the wwork, but is it better to send it back to Japan or is there anyone in the U.S. that could do this work. Best Regards, John

Hello, I was hoping someone could help me with this translation. This is an older sword I was able to pick up with a large nagasa of just shy 31 inches. I believe the first character is "Yoshi" and I can not figure out the last as this is very hard to read. I was hoping one of the veterans here might know and be able to tell me a bit more about it. The mounts it was in are in terrible shape and the last picture is the best I could get as a whole picture of the blade. Thanks, John the newbee, but learning!!

Hi Mark, Thank you for your help. It seems when I think I might be getting somewhere translating I take two steps back on the next one. Best Regards, John