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Justin, Here is what I have come across - tsuba from the Hartman collection, sold in 1976, now on sale on the Silk Road website. Do you have the Christie's sales catalog "The Hartman Collection of Japanese Metalwork?" http://www.silk-road.us/ship1.html The tsuba is listed at $950 (not selling, mind you). It was part of a two-tsuba lot that sold for 95 British Pounds in 1976. Hope this helps you in some way. Regards, Hoanh

Other than the fact that the rim of the nakago ana seems to be rough, I don't notice anything amiss. Hoanh

If a wakizashi is not ubu nakago, it could be very old - as old a Kamakura or earlier. If the nakago is ubu, then see the previous two posts. It all depends on the sword. Hoanh

Rob, I have not had any personal dealing with showa22, but what Chris said jives with what I had read on this forum. Use the "Search" button on top of this web page (next to "PRIVATE MESSAGE" and "FAQ") and put in showa22. You can get a better idea of what has been said in the past. Regards, Hoanh

Jean, No need! I do appreciate any help or any friendly gesture! Regards, Hoanh

Hi Jean and Moritasan, The kanji in the first picture are Yamato xxx, may be Yamato Ju? I looked in Haynes' Index and found a few Masahisa, but no one from Yamato and the description of their works don't seem to match this style of tsuba. May be an unrecorded tsuba maker? Any more help is much appreciated. Regards, Hoanh

Hi, I have a tsuba that has been with me for a couple of years. I like it a lot but know very little about it. Any help with this tsuba is much appreciated. In hands, it looks like a mokume tsuba, but the photos probably didn't capture the details too well. Dimensions are: width = 7 cm, height = 7.5 cm, thickness at seppa dai = 3.9 mm, thickness at rim = 2.9 mm. The surface is convex on both sides, but one side seems to be more convex than the other. Regards, Hoanh

Interesting! Some poor soul actually bid on it. Hoanh

I saw this tusba about 1 hr before Veli posted. I must confess I was scratching my head, too. Kudos to Veli for asking the question. Hoanh

Andrea, Can you post close up pics of the sword? Also, a pic of the entire tang would be helpful. Regards, Hoanh

It looks like Yasuhiro. May we see the entire tang, shape of the sword, and may be the hamon, please? The signature alone can't tell much. Regards, Hoanh

One copy for me, please. Hoanh

Can't wait until the next soap episode. Hoanh

Dear C. Lewis, I have cold beers to go with the drama as it unfolds. This is going to be entertaining. Regards, Hoanh

Josh is correct. Look through all of the mei in your collage and you will find a consistency in the placement of the first kanji of the mei relative to the original mekugi ana (if there is more than one mekugi ana). Also look through your collage and you will find a consistency in the nakago jiri (if the sword is nakago ubu). These two things are the first things one would look at before diving into the strokes of the kanji. The hamon on your sword looks very attractive, and I see tobiyaki. I don't recall any mention of tobiyaki regarding Yasuhiro's work in Nihonto Koza and Fujishiro, or have seen it in papered swords of Yasuhiro's. You can always submit this sword to the August shinsa in San Francisco before investing in a fresh polish. Regards, Hoanh

Michael, It looks like your sword has been introduced to a sharpening stone or a grinding wheel. Hoanh

Brian, This sword came with a niju habaki, so restoration will only run around $2k for shirasaya and polish. I plan to take this sword to San Francisco in August to show to Bob Benson. I'm undecided right now and might decide to let it go back into the wild after August. If it were katana size or tanto size, I would take the plunge, but with a wakizashi, dunno... Regards, Hoanh

Thank you Chris. Any direction on school to look into? Regards, Hoanh

Mariusz, The kissaki will need to be reworked for sure, but the boshi is all there. You can actually see the boshi turn back with the long kaeri in the pictures. Hoanh

Hi All, I have an osuriage, 18" nagasa, wakizashi, that I am guessing is Shinto Mizuta for the following reasons: 1. Very long kaeri. 2. Extensive muneyaki. 3. Gunome midare with abundant nie. 4. Very fine hada, almost appearing muji hada to my eyes. I am not too confident of this assessment, though, because my hamon is nie deki with pretty even-sized ko nie. But, according to Nagayama, Shinto Mizuta swords have nie that is "vigorous, but the nie's size is uneven." I would not be surprised of I missed the mark by a wide margin. Your thoughts and comments are much appreciated. Regards, Hoanh

I think both of you are right. I really only see two kanji, but infer there is one between them. Otherwise, there is too much spacing between kanji. Hope this helps. I also agree I see Yuki. Regards, Hoanh

Dear Marcello, It's next to impossible to tell from the pictures you posted. May be close up, focused pictures of the boshi, yakidashi and the whole sugata would clue us in. Regards, Hoanh

They really killed the sword and the tsuba all in one shot. What a sad state of affair! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Edo-Wa ... 20d3c0f945 Hoanh

Please sign your posts. It's a rule of this forum, or the Mods will delete your unsigned posts. Regarding the sword, it's beautiful, in great shape, O-kissaki, and has Tokubetsu Hozon paper. I am hard pressed to find anything to dislike about it. Excellent find! The winning bid will probably be several times the starting bid, so be prepared to spring the cash! Even in today's downturn in the sword market, anything under $10k for this sword is a bargain IMHO. Regards, Hoanh

Thank you Jean for the search link. It's very informative and entertaining (for lack of better expression). Regards, Hoanh