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Jean, Could it be Norimitsu? Hoanh

You may well be correct, but there are too many red flags for me. I am risk-averse. Hoanh

A few things: 1) itomaki is done incorrectly, 2) nakago, 3) fittings. Hoanh

Chinese junk... Hoanh

David, I would say muneyaki, not hitatsura. Hoanh

Joab, Reading books and exploring the "Sold Archive." Below is one of the must-have primers. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Connoisseur_s_Book_of_Japanese_Sword.html?id=zPyswmGDBFkC

Not necessarily...Your tanto's nakago looks pretty crude. It looks to me like it might have been relatively recently repurposed from the broken tip of a longer sword. Hoanh

Yes, that helps a great deal. Thank you so much! Hoanh

1984 would be Showa 59. For the life of me, I don’t see it in the nengo. Hoanh

My apologies! I was looking at the top pic that says 19. The second pic does indeed say 18. Hoanh

I believe the year is 1944. Hoanh

Certainly not hitatsura! Hoanh

It would cost in the $100-$200 range, plus round trip shipping - not too much in the grand scheme of things. Hoanh

The mei says “Hizen no Kuni Tadayoshi.” Here is one for comparison. https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A021118.html Hoanh

I'll stick my neck out to be shot down. The nakago looks fairly new and it lacks details expected of a Japanese sword, and it's unsigned. I would guess Chinese made. I would steer clear of this one. Hoanh

Mark, I like your sword a lot - nice shape, nice nie. On the one hand, the mei and the placement of the nakago ana seem right. On the other hand, as Geraint pointed out, the age seems off. The nakago jiri seems off as well. The workmanship doesn’t match yasuhiro’s Ishido style, either. So, I am leaning on gimei. Again, regardless of the mei, it is a nice sword. Hoanh

Aaron, Does the sword have an independent appraisal, e.g., NBTHK or NTHK? Is it signed? When I hear descriptions such as Nambokucho, ubu nakago, 71 cm, available for $3.5k CAD, negotiable, all kinds of red flags go up. I would approach this sword cautiously and with a hefty dose of skepticism. Hoanh

Julius, I have been happy with John Tirado’s work. I can PM you his contact info if you wish. He is based out of Pennsylvania. Hoanh

https://www.nihonto.com/11-3-17/ Hoanh

Julius, “Restoration” is not a one-stop shop. Each craftsman specializes in one area. Also, it’s not a cheap proposition. For example, if you want to polish the sword, I would recommend sending it off to have new shirasaya made (~$400 for a wakizashi, ~6 months lead time). Then, send it off to have it polished by a properly trained polisher (~$100/inch, ~18 months lead time). By the time all said and done, you are looking at 2 years and $2k-$3k. You might want to hold off on any restoration and do a bit of reading to figure out what you really want to do. Hoanh

Dave, IMHO, it's a nice package. Of what little I can see on this out-of-polish blade, there are some nice hataraki. Hoanh

From what I see, it has zero chance of being a Inoue Shinkai tanto. Age-wise, I would guess no earlier than Edo. Value-wise, it's hard to say. Rough guess, under $1000. More close up pictures, especially without the habaki, will help to narrow things down a little. Hoanh

Very nice and rare sword. Hoanh

The first book that comes to mind: The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords by Nagayama. Hoanh

Nate, It all depends on condition, CGO: $100-$200 FGO: $350-$550 The lower-end can be pretty beat up. Hoanh