Geraint

There are many things wrong with the tsuka, profile, section, alternating ito and diamonds. As my father would have said, "t's a bent as a dogs hindleg!" This part is not Japanese, most likely a post war repair attempt. Nothing to learn from that so back to the blade folks. Forgot to mention leather 'kashira'. All the best.

Like Bazza I have a memory of seeing a tachi reputed to have belonged to the Duke of Windsor, the only reference I have found so far is here, https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/01/arts/antiques-swords-with-the-spirit-of-the-samurai.html The Duke certainly visited Japan in the 1920s. Of course, stupid me, the sword was offered as Lot 305 in Haynes original sale. All the best.

Dear Keith. Well I'd be very happy if I had picked this one up. Nice sword in nice koshirae, Namban tsuba and from what I can see very nice menuki that might be two mon, really interesting habaki. I trust that you know how to care for this piece, basically do nothing to clean anything except to wipe a very thin coat of light oil on the blade. Some information here, http://sanmei.com/contents/en-us/p2060.html Look for examples of blades with NBTHK papers and compare the signature to yours. There are several smiths from this school and pinning down which one may not be possible even if you send it for papers. As you probably know the problem of faked signatures is an issue and many people are wary of a sword that is signed by a well known maker without the authentication that these papers provide. We would like some more pictures, one of the overall blade without any fittings if you can. Personally I think this is a very nice sword, congratulations! Feel free to ask any questions, happy to help. All the best.

Dear Jace. I coudn't find the emoji of wiping your hand across your face in relief but I think from all the responses you get the picture. All the best.

Lovely koshirae, Colin. All the best.

Dear All. Iwonder if the image of the jar is not a sake jar and the strange joiner not a gourd? If that is the case then perhaps the design references this. https://lordsofthedrinks.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/the-Japanese-folk-tale-of-the-sacred-white-sake/ Seems a pleasant fancy if not the right answer. All the best.

Dear Tlongnaws. Welcome to NMB. There is a thread here that might help. All the best.

Glen. That last one you posted is pretty much a dead ringer for mine; seppa dai, shape of the ryohitsu, tendril design and so forth. Also the first one, having signed examples is interesting and from what I gather rare. Thank you for posting these. All the best.

Dear Peter. In answer to your first point here is a tsuba that I believe to be of Japanese manufacture. There are slight asymmetrys to the design in that the dragon on one side seems to have a pearl in it's mouth and the tendril that forms the inner mimi turns into the body of the tsuba. The material is shinchu or sentoku, the seppa dai is the classic Namban design and the ryo hitsu are original to the tsuba. The stylistic features and the undercutting on the lower half of the tsuba are quite typical. All the best.

Hi James. Welcome to NMB. For information about this smith see here, http://www.nihontocraft.com/Mishina.html As you will see he is well documented but just a word of caution, the signatures on ko gatana, i.e. the blade, are usually held lightly as many of them are clearly not made by the person whose signature they bear. Enjoy the journey! All the best.

These are really not my field but I think the give away here are the nice shiny file marks where the new mekugi ana has been drilled. Only shows in the one photo. All the best.

Dear Jace. A large shinshinto katana with an o gissaki in nice original mounts, spotted many years ago as I was cycling past an antiques shop I knew. Groaned and pulled over on the basis of, "Well at least I can have a look!" Went in and drew the blade out a little to see a sticker, yes, on the blade, which said £30. Force of habit more than anything else, I asked if there was anything they could do on that and to my surprise the owner said he could do it for £28. With trembling hands I wrote the cheque, knowing that it would make me over drawn, first and last time for that. Next problem was cycling home with it. I still have it, papered now to Inshu Kanesaki. Iron mokko tsuba, gold foiled habaki and seppa, shakudo fuchi kashira and menuki of samurai fighting in boats. All the best.

Dear David. Usually Japanese swords are measured from tip, kissaki, to the machi, the place where the tang begins. If that is so then I have a hard time believing that this is 23 inches long! All the best.

Dear John. Thank you for your input on this one. The more I look and fondle it the older it feels. I'll do some more digging. All the best.

Dear Roger. Imagine inlaying a piece of iron into the surface of your tsuba but rather than making it thin and flush with the original surface, you make it thick so that it stands proud. you can then carve the raised inlay. All the best.

C'mon Piers, stop teasing and show us the polished yari! All the best.

Dea Michael The first exmple is lacquered leather to match the saya colour. @Charles I don't think baleen, that presents as thin, slightly shiny strands, often found on tanto koshirae. Looks almost like a plastic. @Adam, I really like your tsuka, certainly looks like leather. I have two wakizashi mounted in rather similar ways, the one I posted I am fairly sure is leather, but lacquered. The other is more of a puzzle as on close inspection I think I can see a grid pattern under the surface so perhaps a thin leather wrapped around a woven tape for greater strength. Enjoying this thread guys, keep them coming!

Dear Michael. There are a huge range of styles and materials used for this, just when you think you have seen them all another pops up. I'm quite partial to this style. From your desvciption it sounds as though what you are seeing is plainer than this, as Mark suggests a scren shot will help. All the best.

Dear George. As you know opinions based on images are not likely to be consitent here but for what it's worth I think the first one is probably right based on workmanship and the koshirae is/will be nice. The second is also interesting with orikaeshi mei though I can't see enough to be convinced about the mei. The rustic koshirae I also find interesting. The last one, as Domink suggests, is the big question and if rght worth full restoration without a doubt. If you look up Inami Hakusui you wil find out all about him but thought eh paper work is nice to have and should stay with the items it is not regarded as conclusive. Love to know how this story ends, you sure have a knack for finding interesting stuff! All the best.

Thanks again Dale. I had thought Akasaka but when it arrived there are quite a few tekottsu on the mimi and no sign of layers in the sukashi, a bit too large for Owari? Perhaps Shoami it is then? All the best.

Oh, well spotted Dale, thank you. I'd never have come across that. Needless to say that's not where it came from to me. What do we think of the Shoami attribution? All the best.

This tsuba has just joined the collection and I wondered if anyone would care to comment on it. I have seen a similar design somewhere but having scoured the memory palace, well more of a memory ruin these days, I have failed to come up with it. 77mms x77mms, Uniform thickness of 6mms. Thanks one and all. All the best.

Hi Jody. Welcome to NMB. Not sure how much you know so forgive me if I over simplify. This is not a military sword but an earlier civilian mounted or Samurai sword. It looks to have been slightly shortened at the nakago/tang. I appreciate that you are wroking with your phone but an overall shot of the bare blade and another of the whole of the nakago would be helpful. Don't do anything more than wipe the blade with some light oil and avoid touching it with your fingers. Looking forward to some others jumping in here. All the best.

Dear Mike. Forgive me if you know this alredy but don't clean anything! Wipe the blade with some light oil and cloth but nothing more. When you look up Tanba no kami Terukado you will find lots of information. He was working in the 1600s. However there is always the possibility of this being an incorrect signature so don't get too excited just yet. Give us some more pictures and we will see where this goes. Welcome to the complex world of Japanese swords! ALl the best.

Kevin, not very much value for the smaller bits and pieces I'm afraid. Sorry I can't make out the signature on the smaller tsuba. Do we have a photograph of the other side of the larger tsuba? I would guess around$100 to $150 for that one if the back is in the same sort of condition Others will add to this later on. Just one question, are there two of the little ornaments on the hilt? They are menuki and if so and they are OK then maybe a bit in them, can't tell from these photos. All the best.