Geraint

Hi Brain. I think they look gorgeous! However, though I can't speak for the ones inside the case I think you might find you have a problem with the two on top unless you keep them safely in shirasaya. All I can tell you is that it wouldn't work where I am. Love the ken by the way. All the best.

Right so far, there are several variations on the way the kuni kanji s used. What two characters are likely to precede the mei on the kogatana? All the best.

John is giving it away a bit at a time :D I think I can make the mei on the tsuba read Kunihiro, not an uncommon mei on a plain iron tsuba like this. Al ltthe best

Sorry Brian, my suggestion, my fault.

Hi Ken. First image is the smith signature and the second is the date. Have a look here; http://www.jssus.org/nkp/common_kanji.html First two kanji of the signature are the province, scroll down the page and you will find a mei that will really get you in the right direction. All the best. (By the way, the tsuba images are upside down.)

Hi Ken. Welcome to NMB. Not all flaws are fatal, I can see at least some grain openings so far but not much else. The ones to beware of are hagiri which ususally are hard to spot but are cracks, often very thin, extending from the edge into the blade. I can't see any but then the photos are not going to show them. Can I suggest at least a shot of the full nakago, both sides, with the habaki removed? In hand can you see the hamon all the way around the boshi? It looks as though it might be quite wide and there is a possibility that the blade is not past hope. How about some images of the mounts in the tosogu section? Enjoy. All the best

Hi Gwyn. Kyu gunto are the earlier style. There is a range in quality of mounts in both kaigunto and shingunto. The treatment of the saya and the quality of the mounts themselves can vary quite a bit. I am sure others will have examples of all sorts. The example that Hoanh shows is very nice, the silver mon on the menuki is a nice touch, as is the lacquered shark skin saya. I am not certain of the relative merits of army and navy in Japanese culture except to note that naval power has perhaps a less dominant position than might be the case in England. Naval swords are less often seen and this is usually explained as a result of many going down with the ship. Lots to explore. All the best.

Hi Scott. Why not post some images here and see what comes? Much expertise and at the very least the chance to get some opinions on whether your sword is worth an in hand look. Not sure how much you already know but at least an overall shot and pictures of the nakago plus dimensions. If you are not sure take one of the sword as a whole and let members advise you on what to do next. All the best.

Hi Andy. Your'e doing well. The other side should fall into place for you. As regards the sword in general, the nice habaki fits the mei, same place, and the blade looks good though we can't tell too much from the photos. If you have the blade in hand look carefully. The mounts are a strange mixture and look cobbled together from some gunto parts and perhaps an original saya. On the whole an interesting sword which might be better in shirasaya. Just my thoughts. All the best.

Hi Pete, If you mean the bit in the water by the rock then I think it might be thee reflection of the moon. All the best.

Hi Paul. Saved the image and zoomed in a bit, perhaps it is the image quality but around the mekugi ana? All the best

Hi Mick. You wouldn't call the yasurime higaki then? (Which would point us toward Mino). All the best.

Hi Zhang. The following options are open; make a single seppa to take up the slack in copper, most people will say that this is a give away of a changed tsuba though I do have one sword with an entirely authentic koshirae that has a single o seppa to make the mounting look right. Second and slightly better would be to either make a pair of new seppa to take up the slack, or even a pair of thin seppa to add to theones that already exist.. Then of course you have the cardboard option or a piece of leather, neither very satisfatory. All the best.

I can see it now on all sorts of Ebay offerings, "See where the edge was chipped against samurai armour in battle, an honourable scar!"

Thanks Brian, you are right Andy's site seems to be missing but no dramas. Good to see several new sites added. All the best

Easier this way.

Hi Kory. That's a great result! Time to find a nice pair of menuki and have the tsuka wrapped to complete this lovely package. I don't think anyone has mentioned that the saya appears to be covered in lacquered same polished back and is rather nice. It's going to be very hard to express an opinion about your sword from the photographs. How about you have a go at an oshigata? No need to get carried away, find some thin paper and a selection of ordinary pencils, tricky work but it can show a lot and the process of trying to represent what is in the blade is an education. In any case, as Roy says, enjoy this! The only question now is will you ever recover or have you caught the bug> All the best.

Thank you Klaus. All the best

I can still remember the excitement of finding Dr Stein's fabulous work for the first time and have probably spent more time there than anywhere else on the internet since that day, (or so my wife says!) I am fairly sure that Brian has been overseeing it recently. In any event it is good to see some newer and very good sites added in the last couple of days and a big "Thank you!" to whomever is keeping it up to date. If it's not going to cause too much grief perhaps we could lose the dead ends; Ronin Swords hasn't been active for some while and WellLink doesn't. if you see what I mean. Bye the bye what did Andy Quirt do wrong? Very many thanks to whoever is doing the work. All the best.

Looks like our original poster decided to move it on, he would be quite close to the Lanes. Have to say that at that price I would certainly rather be the seller than the buyer.

"Sword and Same", doesn't get any better than that Stephen!

It's the copper hilt thing that Chris referred to in another thread......... Beats me All the best

Dear Gwyn. I can't be the one to make it happen but may your dreams come true and a very happy future birthday! All the best.

No disrespect to your photography skills Harvey but Ken is working off your images and they don't do the blade justice. Have a look at this site to see what can be done and good oshigata, http://www.aoijapan.com/ On the face of it you have just "another mumei wakizashi", of which there are many and most of little interest. Brian was pretty spot on with his assessment of the whole deal, non Japanese shirasaya, cobbled together mounts and so forth. And the nakago has been over cleaned. None the less I thought the blade had something going for it, hence my suggestion about an oshigata. Not sure where you are but if there is a sword club anywhere near then I recommend taking it along for someone else to have a look at in hand. I do happen to think that there is more to this sword than meets the eye from the images you have given. Another idea is to see what a polisher thinks, please take advice on this as you really need a properly trained polisher. In any event if you are thinking of sending this to shinsa then a good polish and shirasaya would be a great start. For what it's worth I think someone who knows what they are seeing could give you great advice here, find a sword club.

Hi Phil, No you didn't miss anything. As with all good names the first jump probably is to gimei. I am not aware of a smith signing in the way that your example does, I would love to be wrong but I suspect it is gimei. Most of the Yoshimichi mei are very neatly done, with the possible exception of nidai who seems to have had a handwriting problem. Your example does not look like him. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Perhaps someone has some other information............anyone? All the best.