SAS

Steel color seems in line with Koto and/or northern production.

Like putting lipstick on a pig; it makes it prettier, but it is still a pig.

The Japanese have a saying, better to wear out than rust away, or something like that.

I do enjoy and value the board, and hope that my small financial contributions are helpful. If everyone could do the same, I am sure it could give Brian some peace of mind.

It looks to have been polished down quite a bit; whether it is tired, depends on how old it is and what the rest looks like (kind of like people)

As Lemmy says, we are all going to be "Killed By Death"!

You are not helping out that sword by "cleaning" it.

In the era of combat with swords, practical testing would reveal which methods yielded more useful swords; utsuri may have been a by product of particular hardening techniques, that was then replicated for its utility.

I always thought it was just a artistic appreciation thing, but I am willing to be corrected if wrong.

Early Kanbun Shinto is probably all that can be said....seems reminiscent of Mino Kanesada work, but the heavy hadori makes it difficult to see the actual hamon.

Strange dings on the nakago.

I would wonder why the aoi crest is carved onto the tang as well as applied as horimono on the same blade......things that make me go hmmmm.

My meaning was not that the polish should be just cosmetic, but not "professional", at all.....what i was saying is that sometimes to remove pits is not in the best interest of the sword, as excessive material would have to be removed through the polishing process. A conservative approach means to "conserve" the sword by not doing inappropriate work chasing defects, which I believe most legitimate polishers would agree with. Or so it is said

Chop wood, carry water......

The masame run like bright lines in the ha, ji, and shinogiji, but are very hard to see....I may not be able to photograph it., but will try.

The yasurimei has kesho, which is a Shinto trait as far as I know, and the blade is heavy, which also points to Shinto. As you point out, it seems to be thinned from polishing, so it must have really been a beast when new. Some of the later generations of Kunikane school kaji had pointier iriyamagata nakagojiri like mine; my working hypothesis was this was a unsigned student sword destined for the armory. I might take this with me next month and show it to Bob Benson, if he is available.

There are a lot of swords out there without the issues this one has.....I would let this pass.

A few more non great photos...

Sugata photo..... it also has a nice silver/copper 2 piece habaki.

I bought this sword recently; it had some condition issues, but the price was tempting. After some cleaning I was able to see some features that lead me to Yamato den, Hosho or Sendai Kunikane school as a provisional identification. My photos do not really show the features well that led me to this idea; i will try to get better ones. Nagasa 49 cm, motohaba 3 cm, sakihaba 2 cm, chu kissaki 3 cm, nakago 13.5 cm, nakagojiri iriyamagata, sujikai yasurimei with kesho, chu suguha hotsure hamon, ko maru boshi, masame jigane (hard to see) steel whitish in ko nie deki, nijuba, uchinoke, and hakikake visible. One small ware in ji, pitting in monouchi and kissaki, pitting/possible kirikomi on mune. I am thinking it may be middle generation Sendai Kunikane school based on the attributes and the shape of the nakagojiri,mid to later Shinto. Please share your thoughts, especially Peter.

Wartime quickie polish?

Looks kind of Mino Kanemoto like; it is hard to tell before hand how much will polish out when rust is so widespread. Sometimes pitting and staining remain if the polish is conservatively done, but most swords can be improved, even if not cost effective based on market prices. I happen to like Mino work, and I like your sword.

Blood Moon..... Actually Barry's fluorescent light over the shoulder suggestion was helpful for me tonight while trying to kantei a new acquisition....the masame hada was hard to see, but his tip did the trick, thanks Barry.

And now we know why some swords have weld lines.....

Wow, so uncool....I have done some gun shows and powwows and always had paranoia when people would crowd in and start handling things. I am sorry this happened to you, one would hope people at a sword show would have higher morals.