Geraint

Dear Jonathan. A tempting dilemma! A lot of collectors will use certain rules to guide their pursuit, quite a few will recount how their initial collecting was haphazard and they were buying anything they came across and could afford. Sooner or later quite a few people decide that what they really want is good swords in good polish, preferably papered. However not everyone works this way and there is certainly no rule that you should. 'Rules' will be cited that say that nothing Shinto without a full mei and ubu should be considered, never buy mumei wakizashi and so forth. End of the day, it's up to you what you collect and what you do with your cash. So. If you buy these they are all going to need some work and you won't want to skimp on that and ruin the sword. This is going to involve some work and quite a bit of cash. Done well you will end up with some very nice looking swords which you will have the satisfaction of having rescued. You may break even in terms of value or you might not. You might have a nasty shock during polish that wipes out the value of the sword altogether. If you are up for it then have at it! What you are considering is no money and I'd be surprised if you get them for that but hey, things happen! If you do get them then there are some things to learn from handling them, a lot of people will say you can't learn anything from these but if you have some fellow collectors to show them to you will certainly pick up a thing or two. One of the rules that I do agree with is that you pay to learn, books of course but you need swords in hand to make sense of what you read. If you can't get to meetings and share with other collectors then that makes life difficult. (That last one has a mei and looks interesting.) Sorry, random thoughts that many will disagree with. If you ever get down to the far West look me up. All the best.

Dear Ian. When you say, 'they', does that mean you have a daisho set? All the best.

Dear Paz. What Stephen said, if it floats your boat go for it. One of my earliest and best is an ubu, mumei Shinshinto katana, subsequently papered. Let us know how it turns out. All the best.

Dear Phil. This seems to be simply a katana with a leather combat cover. Ito was much more varied than we generally see nowadays and I have seen similar ito before. I wouldn't jump to Satsuma rebellion/okashito as the style of wrap on those is usually quite different and the fittings much plainer. Worth going carefully with this one I think. All the best.

Aaaand the habaki is on the wrong way around! All the best.

Dear Jeremy. My apologies! Good observation on this tsuba I thought. All the best.

Dear Simon. I would add my vote to Grey's. Also the seppa dai is incomplete at 11 and 1 o'clock. All the best.

Dear Vitaly. Well, cast or not, this tsuba is probably dead to you now. It's easy to collect, or perhaps the word should be to amass tsuba but sooner or later you are going to find that some of what you have stops speaking to you. Carlos used the term muddy to describe this one and I have to agree, the bevels around the sukashi and the lack of surety in the design, cast or not, make this one problematic. As you hold this tsuba in your hand what do you feel? If you don't get a buzz then it's probably not worth keeping. I have taken a chance on some tsuba and as soon as they arrive I know I made a mistake and I am never going to love it. You asked for opinions and now you have them what do you feel when you hold this tsuba? Sorry, very random thoughts to do with as you please. All the best.

JT, why not go the whole hog and commission a wakizashi with horimono? That way it will stand the test of time and you will have something really special. All the best.

Dear Nikolai. Welcome to NMB. While this may not be a great sword it needs relatively little to turn it into an attractive memento. I would respectfully disagree with Brian that this is an amateur restoration, ditch the nail and get a chopstick to shape a new mekugi. There is a small piece of horn missing from the slot in the scabbard, (saya), for the by knife, (kozuka). Not hard for a skilled person to replace. You need a pair of menuki, the ornaments that go under the hilt wrap, and a new wrap. Probably not worth it to have the blade professionally polished, and certainly not a good idea to get anything else done to the blade, wipe with a clean cloth and some light oil several times and keep as is. It is not too far off looking like a nice sword, nice to see two pairs of seppa, the washers either side of the tsuba, and all in all this will look good and be a great reminder of your family. Let us know how it goes. All the best.

Ah, so from these pictures the habaki is gilt rather than foiled. There is a special oil which I like because it has a little clove oil in it and I always associate the smell with Japanese swords but any light oil will work perfectly well. All the best.

Dear Tom. While doing a bit of digging I came across your post in another forum where the NTHK paper is illustrated, I think you can take that as pretty definitive, especially as the sword has a mei. It is unlikely that NTHK would paper a blade that had such issues as your second authority described so perhaps not someone to rely on too much in the future. By the way, NTHK certificates usually come with a work sheet, did you get one of those? Enjoy the sword. All the best.

Dear Joel. Just to add a little to what you already know, the habaki, (blade collar), is a two piece type which is slightly unusual and the seppa, (washers), look to be gold foiled, an expensive thing to do. (The one on the tsuba is back to front). There is a possibility that the habaki is also foiled, have a close look at the back edge. You might be able to see it looking something like this. , Don't get excited, it's going to be low carat but it does suggest that this was a well mounted and well thought of sword in it's heyday. Light oil and a clean cloth, quite a bit of dirt will come off so keep renewing the cloth. Very un likely that anyone can tell you who made it in its current condition but it gets more interesting as you go along. Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Volker. Not sure what you have already but Higo no Kuni Hagi Jiuemon Munekage. Another thread here. Your search will be complicated by the fact that someone has chosen to copy one of his swords for modern reproduction but others are, http://www.ricecracker.com/japanese_swords/past_swords/s2/s2_dotanuki_munekage.htm and a little here, http://www.sho-shin.com/4munekag.pdf Inevitably I am going to ask if we can see the whole blade please? All the best.

Dear Weston. Well, looks like you did alright with this one, barring unseen condition issues. This is a genuine Japanese sword made quite some time before WWII and modified to be carried in that conflict. The pale space in the scabbard is where the kurikata, the protrusion that has the sageo threaded through it, would fit but a hanger has been added and it would probably have had a leather combat cover fitted. The tsuba is signed Seiryuken Eiju, a recent discussion here, I would guess that it is a katana, if the length from the tip to the shoulder of the tang is 60cms then it is. Go slow, just wipe with a little light oil for the moment. Others will chime in with more detailed advice but above all resit that urge to clean anything. Welcome and all the best. (Just crossed posts with Brian!)

And fresh paint! All the best.

Dear Brian. It's all down to personal taste but I'd be looking at No. 1, carving seems to go over the mimi, No. 3 looks rather fine and No. 14, theme of Shiguretei, that slightly attenuated interpretation is often seen in Akasaka. Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Edward. Hawley does list one, 4th generation who signs this way, MAS176. Worth a look perhaps. All the best.

I think bottom right of the top mekugi ana I can see one of the little feet. All the best.

Dear George. Well, from these pictures we can tell that is is a tanto, given the nakago probably not Gendai. Sizes might help but there is not a lot to be said from out of focus and out of polish pictures other than that you probably did OK. At any rate for that money you can afford to get it polished and in shirasaya. All the best.

Dear BaZZa. I believe in his first post Nick told us there was no tsuka, well he said handle but that bit is missing either way. Absolutely agree with everything else you said and the extra missing bits just make it more of a quest. All the best.

Dear Jean. First picture, the iron plate with applied Aoi mon signed Kunihiro. One or two unusual ones here. All the best.

Dear Haon. I assume that by wartime you are referring to Kamakura/Nambokucho period koshirae? In which case there is not a lot of information around but you might find what you are looking for in the Tokyo Museum collection of Sword Mountings. Of course this contains many examples of more recent manufacture but does have some early tachi koshirae. All the best.

Dear Dale. I'm sure you are right, you can see the ken on each of the pieces in the post held downward against Shoki's leg. All the best.

Dear Colin. What a cracker! I love it. I think your Shinshinto call is a good one from the sugata, nakago and what I can see of the boshi. Personally I have ditched the idea of a merchant's sword, unless you have documentary evidence of a sword's history and it's koshirae there really is no way of telling who carried it and, malachite flecks not withstanding, I think this is a very harmonious and attractive koshirae. Thanks for sharing and enjoy! All the best.