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Thank you Stephen. I just sent him an email to inquire. Regards, Hoanh

Thank you Thomas. The fading looks unnatural, though, doesn't it? Regards, Hoanh

Bump! Hoanh

Diego, You need to either photograph a small section of the blade with a macro lens or to look at the blade with a good magnifying glass. Either way, what you look for (among other things) are nie, the presence of which indicates a traditionally-made blade. In the absence of nie, chances are very high that your blade is non-traditionally made. Hope this answer helps. Regards, Hoanh

Hi, I am looking for a brown & blue company-grade army tassel for a gunto - something in the $100-$120 range. Regards, Hoanh

I know. Saw that one and wondered if the seller knows the sword is junk now. What a shame! Hoanh

Thank you Markus. Very interesting indeed! I do have a TH-quality suriage shinto daito that I will submit. Regards, Hoanh

Thank you Arnold. It sounds like suriage shinto blades can now receive TH. Am I reading it correctly? Regards, Hoanh

Joe, I remember reading about you dropping some blood over it Nice sword, though! Hoanh

Greetings, I have been pulling long hours for the last 12 months and am just coming for a bit of air. This is for all Muto Hidehiro fans on the board. The sword was clearly originally mounted in gunto mounts, as there are arsenal stamps on the nakago mune, but by the time I got it, it was dressed in gendai tachi mount. Regrettably, gunto mounts and sword have been separated. The current (gendai) tachi mounts are in very good taste, with everything (habaki, menuki, tachi tsuba, etc.) sporting matching kiri mon. I would not be surprised if it was a custom-order job. The only bad part is the itomaki was done by an amateur, which can be correct easily. The sword has 25.5" nagasa, with tachi mei "Chikugo Koku Ju Muto Hidehiro," dated "Kouki 2602." So, it makes sense that there is no star stamp this early. There are inspection stamps on the nakago mune, though. The yasurime is kiri, consistent with his early works. The entire sword is ilterally covered with nie, with some areas sporting larger nie sizes than others. The nie is so thick that I can't see what the hada is underneath. The sword will need to be polished to correct the loss of yokote, but it is worthy of a polish, and I will have to save up for it. Enjoy the pictures, and any/all comments are welcomed. Regards, Hoanh

How interesting and unexpected! I was thinking Shinto Ishido surely, especially given the flamboyant hamon and how the boshi is not a continuation of the hamon. Thank you for sharing, Travis. Regards, Hoanh

Michael, If, at some point, you get nervous about your swords being in others' possession for so long, you can always ask your togishi to return your swords to you. If they don't fulfill your wish, then and only then would I consider them stolen. Regards, Hoanh

Edward, Looking at the hamon and the boshi, your sword might be shinto. Regards, Hoanh

Edwards, Do you have macro photos of the hamon, hada, and boshi? Your sword looks lovely. Regards, Hoanh

Chris, I would stick my neck out and guess gimei. 1. Hizen wakizashi are usually signed katana mei. Yours is signed tachi mei. 2. The hada is much too coarse for a Hizento. Regards, Hoanh

http://nihontocraft.com/Yokoyama_Sukenaga_Wakizashi.htm Hoanh

I have seen this type of bandaging once on a shikomi-zue I used to own. It's pretty charming (for me). Joe already noted that the nakago looks a bit funky. The mei seems to read "Izumi no kami Fujiwara Kunisada." Although the nakago ana is placed correctly with respect to the mei, the kanji look too far off from shoshin mei - my 2 cents. Regards, Hoanh

It looks to me as though the hitsu ana were added latter. Regards, Hoanh

Richard, Something seems odd with the nakago. Hoanh

Ern, Probably to fit the nakago into some torturous, contorted tsuka. Hoanh

Ern, I don't think the nakago is in its original shape. It has been, uh, "reworked." Hoanh

Thank you Markus Hoanh

Hoanh

Thank you Markus. So for my own education, would my smith be Saikomitsu or Torimitsu? Either kanji seems close to the mei. Regards, Hoanh

Hi Jean, That could very well be it. It could also be "Tori." I tried looking to Hizen no kuni Torimitsu, but with no success. Oh well, another unrecorded smith for you... Many thanks for helping! Regards, Hoanh