Geraint

Dear Paz. Not papers as such, though I like Dan's idea. Like most collectors I do keep some records and add to them as I come across other information. Here is one example of the sheet I use if it's of any interest. Photographs go with this and sometimes an oshigata. Oei Bizen wkizashi.docx All the best.

Dear Yves. Usually the kogatana/kozuka fits into the saya on the opposite side to the kurigata, the kogai, when present is the one that fits underneath the kurigata. And there are usually two fittings, one sliver of horn or other materials just underneath the saya opening so that the back of the kodzuka does not rub and a horn or sometimes metal fitting across the saya at the mouth, Have a look here, https://www.rockisla...th-saya-and-kogatana I see that Matsunoki has beaten me to it. All the best.

Dear David. I'm sure you know this already but on the off chance that you have not come across it, https://www.shibuisw...com/nobu----iye.html All the best.

Yes indeed, well done! All the best.

Dear Dan. Do a search for tsuru tsuba. One here, All the best

Perhaps Moto for the first kanji? All the best.

Dear Henry. The indentation near the kashira is quite common on daggers that are intended to be worn tucked inside the kimono, apparently so that when you reach in to grasp the tsuka you can tell which side the edge will be. It may be relatively recent as Piers suggests but nothing wrong with it. All the best.

So do many others which is why gimei is such a strong possibility. Options: Would you be happy with something that you can tell yourself is Nambokucho Soshu but deep down you know that everyone you share it with will give you that sympathetic glance? If so then this is the one! Would you rather put in the hard hours so that you recognise Soshu and don't need to ask ? Then this is not the one. Would you like to spend the money and buy into Nambokucho Soshu with certainty by buying a polished and papered example? Then this is not the one. Do your studies tell you that this is a Nambokucho period tanto? Is it coming from Japan and if so why does it not have papers when the simplest thing to do would be to submit and confirm? Enjoy the journey! All the best.

Dear Jason. As always there will be several opinions but I have seen one or two of this type of koshirae and they are what I would call late Meiji export work, in other words made specifically for Western consumers. Your example has a nice sageo and a kurikata which makes it a little unusual so perhaps a closer image of the saya would show more. All the best.

Sorry Ron, I get nothing when I click these. All the best.

Dear Bruce. I realise that your interest in the sword is probably from the military point of view but can I just say that the Hamabe school from Inaba produced some very nice blades. Plenty of detail on the link that Jean posted. I've had an interest in the swords of Inaba for a while and have yet to find a Hamabe blade that I didn't like. Obviously condition is a key issue but if you get the chance then go for it! All the best.

Dear Mya. There is a real tension between the rules of conservation as applied by most museums to most of their collections and the way that Japanese swords are treated. For what it is worth the British Museum carried out a programme of conservation on some of its holdings of Japanese arms and armour, the results are available in their publication: 'Cutting Edge: Japanese Swords in the British Museum' Paperback – 20 Dec. 2004 The book is readily available and not expensive, quite a good introduction to the subject. The programme involved a sizeable donation of funds and the swords were sent to Japan for traditional conservation by craftsmen whose training was fully traditional. Let us know how your journey goes. All the best.

Dear Bob. Yamashiro Kaneiye. A reference example here, https://www.shibuisw....com/ELkaneiye6.html All the best..

Dear Tyler. While you are working things out it is important that you don't clean anything, some light oil on the blade is all. The tsuba looks very nice and this was once a nicely mounted sword. Go slow on this one. All the best.

Goodness, Steve, a Tankgewehr! What a beast! All the best.

Aaahh! You know when you are moving up an echelon in your collecting life when you can say that you are buying a better type of rust! All the best.

Dear Ryan. As this is in the 'Translation' section I was anticipating some kanji but I don't see any. Post in the 'Nihonto' section for more opinions. Any help that anyone is able to give/suggest will come from overall pictures of the blade and kissaki. Colour is always difficult to judge from images but given that some areas of the nakago appear quite clean while others are deeply rusted I would guess that the nakago has experienced rust damage as opposed to developing a good patina and that this is a heavily shortened sword. The shape of the nakago also suggests this to me but that might be rust damage to the edges. All the best.

Dear David. Check reply in the Translation section. All the best.

Dear David. Have a look here, https://www.bonhams....615-1868-dated-1862/ This seems to be the same smith so, the nakago on yours does not seem to be suriage to my eye, possibly machi okuri though I may have missed the photograph that shows the machi in your posts. Tachi mei is credible for this smith and given the period then it is perfectly likely that this was always intended to be the sword it is now and therefore not ever a nagamaki. Bear in mind that Shinshinto often copied shortened Nambokucho swords and that would account for the sugata, in other words it may have been an attempt to copy the sugata of what was an original nagamaki. Hope that helps. All the best.

Dear Jake. For once in a very long while I find myself disagreeing with Jean. If this is a yoroidoshi then it's for poking people from a long way off! I think this blade was made as a shikomezue and therefore is post Haitorei, As such I wouldn't invest too much in the mei which is likely to be at best an honorific. This is one of the nicest blades of its type I have come across, true shobu zukuri. All the best.

Dear Max. Things to look for: Reproduction tsuba with poor surface finish, odd assortment of seppa, almost always in pairs so an even number and of the same shape and material on an original koshirae, fuchi cast in one piece - genuine fuchi usually have a different metal base soldered in, hilt binding as already eloquently described above. The blade I think is Japanese and it has a quite nice habaki that may be silver foiled. The signature is questionable but the way the nakago has been treated is a disaster, destroying not only patina but also details of the signature. The same buffoon, (pun intended) also sanded up the blade destroying the sugata. My guess would be that someone had a blade with a saya and threw together the other bits, gave it a good old scrub and stuck it in the auction. For an understanding of how the nakago should look see the sword that Piers linked to, for other details see posts from Grey and William. Hope this is a start for you. All the best.

Chandler, that's a really good plan you have and well done for your study so far. All the best.

Dear Anthony. Please forgive me for making some assumptions but here goes. You might do better to check the original website here, https://kyodaioriginals.nl/shop/ If you are interested then negotiating with the seller might do you a better deal than via an auction platform. However, your comment, ' Looks great for that old', suggests that you are perhaps not too familiar with this field and maybe don't recognise that this sword will have been skilfully re polished by an experienced Japanese restorer and fitted with in shira saya, which is how Japanese swords are maintained and collected. The sayagaki by a well known expert is a nice addition. Your question mark after the phrase 'unsigned' also suggests that you might not know that tachi from this period are almost always shortened by moving the tang up the blade, you can't shorten from the tip because you lose the hardened edge in the boshi. Thus a great many tachi lose their signatures in this way and the seller has elected to call it a katana because of this. The NBTHK papers are a well regarded way to confirm the original maker. (As an aside, and nothing to do with the sword itself, I am always a little hesitant about those who sprinkle capital letters throughout their item descriptions as if they somehow add weight to the statements.) Once again please forgive me if I have made too many assumptions but if you are considering this kind of outlay it would be as well to be informed. All the best.

Dear Evan. Welcome to NMB. Here is a comparison example for you. https://world.seiyud...m/product/tu-060320/ All the best/

Dear Jerry. As John has said but to answer your question the name of the tsuba type is a shitogi tsuba. Look up under that name or efu no tachi as John suggests. All the best.