intosight

Hey John, Could you decipher that a bit for me? The polish on this sword is old, but from what I can tell the Hamon is fairly straight with a gentle wave, not nearly as dramatic a some examples I've seen. As for the smiths they are only names on a list to me. I've pured over Stein, but as you know, you need enough knowledge to look in the correct places. David

Hey guys, Glad that worked. Without my son here I would have been fighting hard on the photos. Clive, its funny you said Yoshinori. I was looking hard at his signature earlier today. I don't know how well it came through in the photos but the next two characters below sanjo have been gilded at one time and the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of Yoshinori's have some similarities. It is just so pitted there. I actually believe there to be a further two possibly three, but I dont know how you could ever decipher them. Also, forgive me butchering the terminology. It is a great deal to digest in a few days. FYI: Blade length a hair over 28 inches, with tang just over 36 and a quarter. And I realize the tsuba is Namban and probably later but the craftsmanship blows me away. The beards on the dragons are like wire but they have been sawn and filed out. Incredible. Please ask anything you might wish to know. I love this stuff! David P

John and Mark, I opened the online album to everyone(I think). See if that helped while I work on the rest. David

Hey John, I'm going to have to reformat pics to be able to e-mail them and unfortunately my resident I.T. guy is spending the night at a friends. Give me a bit. Just tried to attach a single here but it was still too large. I have a zip version I'll try and send direct to you. David

Thanks John, Name is David. I was a bit unfamilar with the format and thought my posts would be signed automatically. I am located in what could politely be described as bfe, Missouri. Kansas City, mo. or Tulsa, ok. are only relatively close metro areas that might have something, but I have been unable to locate anything. Tried including photos earlier but format was too large. Here is a link to an online album: https://cid-3781b780682b4394.skydrive.l ... 2B4394!105 Please let me know if it works. Thanks again, David P

Hello Members, Wish I could have been more specific on what exactly I'm looking for, but I feel like I have entered a hall of mirrors. Basically I have just become responsible for a sword, most probably a Katana, acquired in Japan in the early fifties. I am acting on behalf of the widow of the man who acquired it on no more recommendation than some skill (limited) on a computer. It is however a responsibility that I take very seriously. I have since spent days and hours researching the subject and have been able to determine that at the very least the sword is handforged. The tang is very corroded so the mei is difficult to make out excepting san, the first character. I believe the first two represent sanjo. There is evidence of at least two more characters but the pitting gets very heavy. The sword has probably been shortened and I do not think it is in its original mounts. I have been utterly fascinated by these blades and the artistry involved here. The wealth of information far exceeds the time and ability I have to devote to it, unfortunately. I feel like I'd like to retire and spend the rest of my life studying it. In any case, I am at a loss as to how to proceed. I believe at the very least we need to establish something approaching value for insurance purposes, and beyond that I believe she may wish to market it. And I realize the sword probably needs to be seen personally by an expert for this to happen. Any advice?