Geraint

So it's a ko wakizashi, point one, when were they created? From the pictures the nakago looks to be ubu, would you agree? The nakago finish does not look Koto. From what I can see the boshi appears to be in suguha and with this hamon if it were Koto one might expect the hamon to continue into the boshi. One would not expect to see the features associated with several polishes in a Shinshinto blade, nor the features of the boshi, and the optimum time for Shinto ko wakizashi is early Shinto. Allowing for a little narrowing of the blade as a result of polishes then the original sugata would have been a little fuller as would the boshi. Given that all this is based on two, pardoning your photographic skills, rather limited photographs, and that I know nothing this would suggest an early Shinto ko wakizashi. I take it that the hada is obscured, what can you see in the hamon? Over to you. All the best.

We'll both find out when we see some of the nakago, I think the koshirae is quite nice but would love to see some more of that too. Here's hoping! All the best.

Dear Harry. No dimensions so I am assuming that this is a tanto rather than a ko wakizashi. When you look along the nakago ha into the blade is there a noticeable slope just above the machi? If so then that would suggest quite a few polishes. How does the thickness look at the machi? Again, a narrowing as the blade leaves the nakago would suggest the same thing. All the best.

There is a Showa smith listed as Fukuoka Hisakuni, perhaps this is him? Gabriella, could we see some more pictures of the sword, both mounts and blade? Oh, and by the way, even if the signature is wrong that does not mean the sword is of no interest. All the best.

Dear Nick. Personally I will be very surprised if this turns out to be a WWII sword. I can see why Kirill might think so from the rather tight nioi guchi but he's in his element with swords about 600 years old. If you can disassemble the sword and show us pictures of the bare blade and nakago, (tang). then we can give you more information. Have a look here, http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/care/handling.htm or here, On the face of it this is a Japanese katana in full mounts. Please don't attempt to clean anything but a little light oil on the blade when you can and avoid touching anything other than the nakago. Look forward to seeing more. All the best.

Dear Gareth. Just to amplify a little on what Bruce said about the tsuka, this curved shape harks back to early tachi koshirae, which is of course what Shin gunto and Kaigunto were referencing with their design. It's a very nice sword. All the best.

Dear All. My apologies, I was just trailing my coat with that remark. It was in response to the post by Sunny. Of course it's not the same blade, that was really what I was trying to point out. All the best.

Even from this image two mekugi and a funny looking habaki, plus, as John points out, the seppa issue would indicate a remount. Fake blade dummied up in koshirae would be my vote. All the best.

Well I'm puzzled. The only link I see is to the Nihonto club one which takes you to a sword that is quite different to the example in the original post. The example in the link has a different nakago, different mei and clearly has hi. It also has papers in the form that it is in now. How could that ever be the same sword? All the best.

Bruce is on the right lines; aikuchi refers to a style of mounting without tsuba, not the form of the blade. Any blade could be mounted as an aikuchi. Nothing to do with shirasaya though. All the best.

Dear Roger. As I am sure you know some tachi tsuba have pins that align o seppa and this one comes to mind, http://www.shibuiswords.com/KDirontachi.html It looks from the images as though the hitsu have cushions inlaid but these don't seem to relate to the iron core. One might expect such a cushion to be fitted specifically to avoid the kogi and kozuka rubbing against the iron. I am wondering therefore if the brass faces were fitted to another tsuba and have been refitted to this one. All the best.

Not so good anymore, old Nagamitsu has suffered years of neglect and is all bent out of shape. His outfits are not what they used to be. All the best.

Dear All. This design, in these materials is so common it is not at all surprising that there are multiples around. Quality does vary between them. No need for it to be a split daisho or anything remarkable. They have always been suggested as Nara, it's nice to see a papered set to confirm this. All the best.

Dear Colin. Not that it matters too much but that Echizen example you posted looks very much like a cast replica rather than a genuine tsuba. All the best.

Dear Nick. Relieved to hear that you are not planning to bid, this is horrible! It is pretending to be a kogarasumaru zukuri by Nagamitsu, the same Nagamitsu who works in the Pearl Garden Chinese restaurant down the road. "Nothing to see here, move along now, move along!" All the best.

Dear Ken. These are not in any way Japanese but Chinese. If you look up Chinese trousse you will find quite a bit of information on them, have a look at https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/fine-chinese-trousse-set in particular. At 100euros for the pair I would think you were on the safe side. Many years ago I succumbed and picked up this one. All the best.

And therefore the two faint characters are probably Kashu. All the best.

Dear Mark. No it's not your eyes, I think the province kanji in the shu form has been erased through suriage. All the best.

Dear Brian. You are asking a question that is impossible to answer. You say that it is by a certain maker and ask if it would be worth upgrading the status; it already has papers. So far so good. If the flaws in the shinogi ji, which by the way would be described as kitae ware, or forging flaws, are what you are asking about then welcome to the world of Koto, these are not serious. However you don't even tell us if this is a katana or wakizashi. I assume that it is a katana. So, you have a katana with papers by a known maker which is suriage but still retains it's mei, it seems to be in good polish and we can assume shirasaya but what about koshirae? It is being offered by a friend who you, 'really trust and respect', so what is the question? You trust the seller, you can afford it, (I hope!) and presumably you like it. So buy it. A lot of people will tell you that you can get a better deal but at the end of the day regard this a s a hobby which is going to cost you. The rewards in terms of satisfaction and delight are tremendous, they are worth the money. You will study this and learn a lot about swords from owning it, it will start to create your mental map of the history of the sword and Japan. What's not to like? Will you be able to sell it and make your money back? Who knows? Do you really care about that? In effect you are paying to rent a piece of history and high craft, if not art. It will bring you a measure of joy if it can be owned without too much financial pressure. Let us know what you decide. All the best.

Dear Mark. I think the answer is almost implicit in your question. Being able to tell that the quality of a blade is worth a certain rank does not always equate with being able to pin down the time of it's manufacture. All the best.

Dear Gary. This is a case where I would absolutely not go down the route of restoration. The wear and the colour of the shakudo below is an indicator of the age of the piece and I am pretty sure that any restoration would devalue the piece for ever. This wear is the result of long and honourable service and has a value as such. In many antiques the concept of patina plays a significant part, for example repolishing a piece of Chippendale furniture 'to make it more shiny' would be catastrophic, I think the same applies here. A more recent piece that has suffered damage is a different proposition. All the best.

Dear Daniel. I note that you have not had a reply to your question and assume that you have probably found out the answer anyway by now but just in case, http://www.sho-shin.com/tokuno.pdf Nice sword by the way. All the best.

I'm sure many of us know where you are at and sympathise. Just wanted to assure you that this field of study is compelling and can still be enjoyed during the time your family are growing. A visit here and there with a fellow collector, local sword club if there is one within reach and plenty of browsing online will keep you learning and vicariously enjoying swords and fittings. Eventually the time will come when they have all grown up and you get to play with something other than Lego again. Mine are all grown up and gainfully employed now and while it was a thin time regarding swords while they were growing I wouldn't swap and with the help of a few friends managed to keep learning. Hang in there. All the best.

Not to get in the way of Peter's ambitions regarding the red list. And agreeing with all that has been said about the For Sale section, especially Stephen's sword. This is a perfectly legitimate Japanese sword with a late but authentic koshirae. All the best.

Slip of the key board Brian? My experience of shakudo is that it's copper colour before patination, no? All the best.