Kronos

Did you not submit it with the mei first before removing?

Yamato Kuni Junin then may be Kane and i have no idea about the last kanji, maybe naga but that's a stretch.

tariff code 9705 instead of 9706. Still 5% Vat. Basically it's a collectors piece of ethnographic interest.

Interesting, looks as if TH and Juyo papers are slightly easier to get now and you need TH to go for juyo.

The most impressive Shinto sword I've seen was a toku-juyo Yasutsugu as well on a Japanese dealers site last year, maybe it was the same if anyone had a photo of this one? It had a magnificent O-hada with a gentle notare-midare hamon that was in perfect harmony.

Kaihō Kenjaku and Kokon Kaji Bikō.

I'd agree with ray although the haru is quire hard to make out. The higaki yasurime would point to kaneharu although it's rare in mino daito compared to tanto. Excellent point for kantei however as it can really narrow a sword down. I don't have my swordsmith index to hand right now but I think the only morimitsu signed like that were a couple of early kozori smiths.

Period: middle of shinto circa Enpo School: Osaka SukeHiro Smith: Tsuda Sukehiro I think it is probably a student but it's hard to make out some of the details from the photo's...

Will have a go Saturday if you cam keep it open until then. It looks very distinctive and I have an idea already...

It'll be one of the Ganmaku ujinobu, there's 4 or 5 of them to choose from but not very big names so no oshigata i don't imagine. The only way to tll the generation would probably be shinsa but very unlikely to be gimei.

Yes, finding them before Oei is a problem, especially seeing as I have a Katana mei Wakizashi with 42cm nagasa dated Eiwa 3 (1377). It's one of many things that confuse me about this sword so I thought I'd try to find something similar. It's signed by a really obscure smith so it makes literally no sense for it to be gimei and yet if not gimei it's of somewhat historical importance being perhaps the earliest known wakizashi which I find just as hard to believe.15 years isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things but it can also be an age...

I'm currently looking for examples of early ubu, Shinogi-zukuri wakizashi (30-50cm we'll say) from Joji-Oei, preferably before Oei as they're quite common with Bizen Morimitsu/yasumitsu etc. The reason i ask is I'm sure I've seen at least one or two dated before Oei but can't for the life of me find them now. We're talking the very first Wakizashi that would later find prominence in the Muromachi. Thanks in advance for any you can find Here's an example of what i mean: http://www.nihonto.us/HO%20NORIMITSU%20WAKIZASHI.htm

One of my swords is with Paul at present and the polisher said 6 months. He uses quite a few so you can probably find one without an extreme waiting list.

That's not a very nice thing to do to Nick

My first thought was Hizen as well but like Paul says there are a few things that differ. I'd go with the first half of the Shinshinto period around 1800 but I know practically nothing about that era. It looks to be quite nice in a good Japanese polish.

They updated that a couple of days after I emailed parcelforce last November after being stopped in a post office. Before it was rather unclear, only giving examples of weapons. Now it specifically states "Weapons that are banned under UK law" which was always their intention, but now it's clearly put in writing and as we know Nihonto aren't banned under UK law like say flick knives. You may still have trouble at smaller post offices as they have no idea what they're doing so I'd suggest a printout from their website and hope the person behind the counter can comprehend what they're reading.

I'd still prefer him to cut something with it than a real nihonto

That to me seems wrong. While they are art objects part of their qualities is the engineering to make them such good weapons. While I see the reasons not to have them razor sharp, I disagree and would compare it to a hagire. You cannot see a hagire however the problem is how it affects it as a weapon whilst having no bearing on it as an art object. The main purpose of a polish should be the beauty in a fnctional weapon by creating a good balance, nice lines and yes sharpness. Bringing out the activities in the Ji and Ha imho should be in addition to these fundamentals.

Having now found oshigata it's not a match as the Joji morihisa signs: 備州長船住守久 Whereas mine is 備州長船住盛久. The only other Morihisa that comes close is from Markus' Index : However, mine is dated 1375 which is when Moromitsu started working and from the dates would most likely be too early for a younger brother unless "tradition" is wrong. It makes no sense for it to be gimei as there's at least 20 better smiths working in Bizen at that time Like Masamitsu, Morikage that would be a better target and I doubt the Joji Morihisa changed that kanji (the rest of the signature is distinctly different as well). It's Suguha with Ashi and is distinctly Oei or earlier Bizen work so not exactly a late muromachi copy. It looks like it'll be very nice in polish with a very bright, even hamon, good nioiguchi etc Without the mei I'd haf expect it to paper to a better smith. So I am thoroughly confused, anyone have any theories?

Thank you very much Grey, I can't tell you how long I've been looking for this particular Oshigata which may just be the only one published by this smith. I have a feeling Grey's lending library will do well next year when I expand my own library

If anyone has this book and time would it be possible to get a Scan/photo of Pages 681 & 682? It would be much appreciated. Edit: Koto hen.

Let me clarify what i believe everyone is in agreement over: 1) For blades in good polish don't use uchiko, rather a good microfibre cloth and IPA is all that is required. Only use 99% IPA and maybe only half a bottle before tossing it as when open it collects water which dilutes it. 2) For blades in bad/old polish Uchiko will help bring out the hamon so this can be used with the above IPA and MF cloth (not the same cloth for obvious reasons of cross contamination). I hear Bob Benson makes his own Uchiko that is very good quality. 3) There's no need to oil a blade if it's stored in a dry, temperature controlled environment, however if you live in the tropics or near the sea a thin coat of some light mineral oil or good choji oil is needed. From the other thread I recall Fujishiro oil was highly recommended. Does that cover pretty much everything?

My worst purchase is probably a sukesada katana I bought in December. I've learnt a lot in just six months since and probably overpaid a lot. It's balanced out though by something else i got at the same auction for <$500 that I feel might turn out quite special.

http://nihontoart.com/item-details.php?id=140 I've seen quite a few sukesada's signed this way without dates and own one infact. Whether they're kazuchimono or not I have no idea.

Echizen Ju,.. not sure on the rest.