hxv

Hi Barry, Thank you for your help. Attached is the other side of the tang with the date of Showa 19. This man may be one of the many unrecorded WWII smiths. Regards, Hoanh

Greetings, I can't figure out the 4th kanji and humbly ask for help. The mei reads "Hizen no kuni ??? mitsu." Any help with the 4th kanji and any info regarding the smith are most appreciated. Regards, Hoanh

Wow! That's a long wait. Hoanh

Ken, I think by default, Bob uses John, unless you specify otherwise. Regards, Hoanh

Carl, Brian and John are sayashi, not togishi. They work in concert with a togishi of your choice. You will send your sword to a (hopefully reputable and Japanese-trained) togishi. He will coordinate with a sayashi of your choice and will send the sword out for habaki and shirasaya at the correct stage of polishing. Logistically, it's pretty simple: 1. pick and togishi and tell him you want him to use a particular sayashi and tell him what you want to do with your sword, 2. send him your sword, 3. pay the bill. If you want to send the sword to Japan for shinsa after polishing, all you have to do is instruct the togishi and he will do it for you, for a fee. Regards, Hoanh

Carl, Generally, I have new shirasaya made when newly purchased swords have ill-fitting koshirae or shirasaya, or when I send my swords out for new polish. Considering the monetary cost of having a sword polished and the intangible cost of shortening the serviceable life of the sword, the cost of new shirasaya is comparatively small to protect your new polish. If a sword comes to me in good polish, and the old shirasaya and/or koshirae fits well, I would not bother having new shirasaya made. Having said that, if my sword comes in koshirae, and I decide to have new shirasaya made, then yes, I will have a tsunagi made at the same time to hold the koshirae together. Disclaimer: I stated my personal preference. Others may have different thoughts. Regards, Hoanh Derek: Our posts crossed.

Carl,A straight-on picture of the cutting edge in the area under the habaki will help. If the cutting edge in this area has not been polished (dull), then there is a good chance the sword is a newer sword (WWII era). Also, a picture of both sides of the nakago to show any kind of marking and to show the patina will help. Regards, Hoanh

Thank you for your kind words, Marius. I think it was actually the other way around. Warmest Regards, Hoanh

I am lost for words. Our Veli? He will be sorely missed. What a kind, nice, honest, and generous man he was! Regards, Hoanh

Mauro took the lead. I'll follow. Momoyama period Kanayama Owari province Karigane + who knows? Kanteisho, may be 74 points? Regards, Hoanh

Daniel, Don't despair. Wait another 30 years and many, many of these gendaito will be officially antique! Regards, Hoanh

Brian, The link to aoijapan is for a wakizashi, and my mei comparison is for daito. Yasuhiro was very consistent in the placement of the mekugi ana. Regards, Hoanh

Here is another one on Aoi Japan with Hozon. Note the placement of the mekugi ana. http://www.aoijapan.com/img/sword/2014/14710-1.jpg Regards, Hoanh

I do have a signed sword by the same smith with recent NBTHK papers, and have done an extensive mei study of this smith, using various sources such as other papered examples, Nihonto Koza, Fujishiro, and Markus's Shinto Kantei. It would appear that the mei on this sword is very suspect because it seems inconsistent with all examples I found, especially in regard to the placement of the mekugi ana. Regards, Hoanh

It's an antique Japanese sword, but gimei. Regards, Hoanh

Michael, At under $700, it's definitely a no-brainer. Grab it! Happy New Year

I like the elegance - very, very classy. Hoanh

I would think that by the usual classification, lines of nie outside of the hamon are chikei. But, it's unlike any chikei I have seen. Hoanh

Stephen, I like the tsuba, too. Very elegantly done! Hoanh

Tom, Shipping swords within the US using Priority Mail is absolutely safe. For not much more (compared to values of swords), you can ship using Priority Express. Regards, Hoanh

I agree with Brian: nice sword in good condition. From the look of it, I am guessing shinshinto, made in the style of koto period. Regards, Hoanh

I recall reading this description on nihonto.us - good humor! Hoanh

Denis, Nice sword! I am no expert, but it looks pretty deliberate to me. Regards, Hoanh

Jason, Nice work!!! Regards, Hoanh

Gentlemen, Sorry for going off topic, but all of this discussion begs the question: "How are we going submit swords to NBTHK shinsa?" It this the beginning of the end? I have one sword I was going to submit to NBTHK shinsa after it comes back from John Tirado in January 2015 with new shirasaya, but I am not so sure now... Regards, Hoanh