Geraint

Hi Luca. So what you have is an iron tsuba with a dragon, false mei and has been mounted on a gunto koshirae, hence the cut out at the seppa dai. Is the dragon of such quality that it seems almost alive? Teruhide is one of the greats, this one is not his work. But you knew that, didn't you? All the best.

Hi Randy. For your 'clan mon' have a look at this, http://www.nihonto.com/abtartyasutsugu.html and for the kiku mon this, http://www.nihonto.com/abtartshinkai.html though found with the mei of other shinto smiths also. Looks like fascinating volume. All the best.

Hi Luca. Sorry for the delay. Whatever I say is bound to be a personal judgement and I am sure that otehrs will have different ideas. Just for the sake of comparison as it is already sold, this one came up on Andy's site recently. http://www.nihonto.us/NARA%20KINKO%20DM041.htm I suggest that the tsuba you originally posted is weaker in design and execution than the examples. Do I see some cracks in the plate to the left of the face? It is hard to judge because of the wear to the tsuba but for me the composition is a little wooden, static. I know that the image of contemplation does not exactly call for movement but if we compare to the example from Andy's site you might see what I mean. Second compare the quality of the carving, look at the sukashi where there is least damage. There is nothing wrong with the tsuba, but it is not of the same quality as the others in my opinion. If nothing else this might provoke some debate. Enjoy.

Hi Luca. Have a look at these, http://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/samurai/ scroll down a bit and you will see the tsuba, click on it for an enlargement. And http://www.shibuiswords.com/tsuba.htm#nara Both provide quite good closeups. The tsuba you show has some issues with wear it seems but have a look at the quality of the work, even in enlarged views. What do you think? All the best.

Hi Joel. You may find the information on this link useful. http://members.chello.nl/tfujimot/ All the best.

Hi Dirk. German Volvo? Those will indeed be hard to find. Swedish Volvo on the other hand.... bmoore1322 likes this Like This Dirk German Volvo is a rare offshoot branch who learnt their trade under the original Volvo makers and then emigrated to a castle town to supply the demands of their Graff. All the best.

Hi Grey. Your thoughts regarding oak were what went through my mind, certainly English oak has a very high tannic acid content which will rot steel screws quite swiftly. However these antipodean timbers are a whole different ball game and apparently Hairy Oak is in a different group of timbers altogether from the oak we know. It would still bother me having a bare blade touching the stand whatever it was made of. Not sure I could bring myself to use a toilet roll holder as a kake either but looking forward to seeing how it turns out. All the best.

As always Thomas, wow!. Just wow!. All the best.

Dear Joel. Have to echo what Paul has said. Personally I would be a little unhappy about the flaws on this sword, especially as it is shinshinto. Have a look here, http://nihonto.org.uk/index.html I am sure that you could arrange to visit and see items in hand and not too far away from you. No huge shipping costs, no hassles with customs etc. Also if you are a member of the Token Society you will have ample justification for importing swords when you need to. If you have not already both the V&A and British museums have some swords to see. Take a handkerchief, drool on the glass is considered bad form in museums generally. Have fun.

Had a look at this from the first thread as I had not come across the term. From what I can gather it refers to the shape of the kissaki when viewed from the mune, likening it to paired pine needles. (?) If so then this part of a naginata would have very obvious shape like this, almost resulting in a narrrow diamond, this would be standard for naginata and not something unusual or indicative of a particular school. All the best.

Hi Joel. PM sent All the best.

Dear Sugi. This is only a suggestion as I have no evidence to back this up but they would seem to me to be an easy identifier for the smith, or perhaps the craftsmen assembling the sword in its koshirae. We often find painted assembly numbers on sword tangs, perhaps these are an alternative? This theory would gain weight if the fittings on your sword were stamped with the number 3 but even if not the marks may be a way for the bladesmith to keep track of his work. All the best.

Hi Eloy. Your tsuba looks as if it might have had a fukurin at one time, see the lines near the rim? Have a look at these to compare the quality. http://www.nihonto.us/YOKOYA%20TIGER%20DAI%20SHO%20TSUBA.htm All the best.

It's always exciting when the parcel finally arrives, isn't it?. Congratulations, enjoy. All the best

Hi Steve. Brian has just mentioned in another thread which you may have missed, the posts on the back of the menuki are fitted as a separate piece so see if they are done that way on yours. Are you thinking of mounting this with the fuchi kashira? If so then they will look fine in my opinion. As a matter of interest what bothers you about non identical menuki? They often feature two characters from the same story or two animals in different poses to give life to the subject. All the best.

Hi Salvatori. The tsuba is signed Hirado Kunishige but the signature is thin and does not inspire me with confidence, I have not come across the use of a kao. The style of the tsuba is also a concern but have a look for yourself. Here are a couple from The Monzino collection. All the best

Hi Jim. In the first example you give the suggestion is that the smith intended to form one hamon but misjudged the temperature which caused a different hamon to form. The second example seems to be similar in that it suggests the boshi turned out to be other than intended. Is this what you are driving at? If so then the commentators are suggesting that there has been some misjudgment on the part of the smith during yakiire. If you are asking how they could come to this conclusion then I suppose it is because the hamon is unusual both for the smith and perhaps not a form that suggest conscious control on the part of the smith. Any use?

Dear Gheorghe. A pretty little tanto. There seem to be several possible smiths working in the shinshinto period who signed this way; Kofu Fujiwara Shigemitsu, a student of Shigetane, Nakagawa Shigemitsu in Shinanao, another in Tosa and Nakagawa Shigemitsu of the Yamaura Saneo school. (All these from Hawley's Japanese Swordsmiths.) I think it will be hard to narrow down exactly who made your tanto but enjoy the research and let us know if you get a result. All the best.

Dear G. Given the nakago jiri what has lead you to the Kaga Kiyomitsu group? We have only the nakago to go on but have a look here to follow up on Peter's suggestion. http://www.sho-shin.com/sue6.html Looks like it might be worth buying if the price is right and the condition is sound. Have fun.

Hi Brian. I have e mailed though I felt embarrassed asking. Not heard yet. Will let you know if I do though I can't really see the debate here. All the best.

Dear Ben. What you have is a Japanese tanto, possibly a wakizashi if the length of the blade form the tip to the notch at the back where it joins the habaki is more than 30cms/12". The fittings are nice though seem a little neglected. The blade has been shortened at the tang which accounts for the three holes for the peg and as far as I can see the signature might read Bizen no ju Osafune.... and then we run out. This would mean that it was made in Osafune in Bizen province. One of the major sword producing areas in the past. The mountings are attractive. All in all a nice piece which you should look after. Please, please do not attempt to clean it or restore it, a little light oil wiped on the blade is all you should do. If the bug bites and you want to start collecting then sooner or later you should show this to someone in hand who can give you more advice. Thanks for sharing it. Enjoy. All the best.

I had a feeling we might restart this one when I saw the ken, (Yes, I know but really! We can be pretty sure that this was a typo can't we?) on Aoi Art. Very pretty thing! All the best

Mick. You probably already have this information but the incident features in Fuller and Gregory. The sword and the caption are in the 5th Royal Enniskilling Dragoon Guards museum and although the name of the Japanese officer is not given the text says, "..a Japanese officer armed only with this sword climbed into a tank and stabbed both Captain Carnaby and his gunner before being shot by Lance Corporal Jenkins, MM, in hand to hand combat in this tank." (MM = Military Medal, a gallantry award.) All the best.

I guess all we need now is a gold sharpie for the kinzogan.

Hi Grev. Typically this paper would only tell you about the blade, any comments about the saya would only be on a paper associated with the koshirae. All the best.