Grey Doffin

Bunmei is a nengo, time period. Began in 1469 and lasted 18 years. Can't tell much of anything about the sword from the tiny pictures. Grey

Hi Steve, Maybe we have confused you. This sword is not a main-line Hizen-to; it is something else with the signature of a main-line Hizen smith. The signature is cut too deep to be easily removed without leaving evidence of the forgery, which likely means it won't make sense to have it polished. What you'll have is a suriage (shortened), if not o-suriage (greatly shortened), Shinto katana with a fake signature and no up side, no place to go to make improvements. Not what you should want to collect; I think you can do better. Grey

Hi Steve, If all the pictures in this post are of the same blade (hard to tell for certain) the signature is Hizen no Kuni no Junin Tadayoshi Saku. This is a very big name and forged signatures are common. If it is a true main-line Hizen-to I'd expect it to be priced much higher than $2K (if sold by a knowledgeable seller). The hada doesn't look to be typical for the school and the sugata may be wrong (looks to be a typical shape for Kanbun era but the Hizen smiths often, if not usually, worked with a stronger sori. Not saying this is gimei; just that you need to be careful (coming here before purchase was smart). Other guys might have a different take on the sword; I'm often wrong. If you are a beginner you need to work with a seller you can trust. Grey

Hi guys, Any of you who have inquired about an item or tried to contact me through the site have not received an answer. There is a glitch and customer messages aren't getting through to me. I'll try to get this fixed as soon as possible; in the mean time, if you need me, my email is gdoffin at gmail.com. Grey

Thanks Jesse, That was my mistake and I fixed it. The new site can do a thousand things, maybe a dozen of which I understand; I'm learning. And Luca, I'm aware the site is slow. I'll be asking the 2 site developers if it can be made quicker. Grey

Thanks guys and, Alex, I'm hoping to add to my sold pages Grey

Hi guys, My site was built on outdated technology; it had to be rebuilt. Just in the last few minutes the new site has gone live. If you have bookmarked the old site your bookmark should work for the new site; if not, here it is: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/ I've tried to keep most of the new site familiar; I don't think you'll have too much trouble finding your way around it. If you have comments or suggestions please let me know. If you have trouble using it, and especially if you try to contact me through it and don't get a reply, for sure let me know about that. If you subscribed to my New Product monthly email notice, you should continue to receive the new one. Thanks for all your support in the past and hoping for the same in the future. Grey

Not 100% certain but best guess is not made in Japan. Grey

Thanks guys, 2 pix of the tsuba. Grey

Hi guys, I'm about to list a tsuba signed Teiei to my site. Can someone tell me what the paper says before "Tsuba Mei Teiei"? Thanks, Grey

Hi Cathy, A care and handling brochure: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Everyone should know this. Grey

Let me add: what I can see of the horimono does not look promising, clumsy, not well done. Almost certainly not a good prospect for polish. Take time to learn a lot more than you do now. No need for hurry; there will always be good Japanese swords to buy and the more you know before you purchase the happier you'll be with what you get. Grey

Iga no Kami Fujiwara Kinmichi. There were a variety of smiths using this signature between the late 16th and 18th centuries. The sword will have to be seen in hand by someone knowledgeable and honest before much more can be known about it. Grey

I think the markings mean the blades were made yesterday in China. Grey

Try taking the pictures with a black background. As is, we can clearly see the off-white background and the tang is indistinct. Best guess from what I can see so far is Shinshinto at the earliest, possibly 20th century some time. Grey

Hi Joab, Not newer made but to begin to tell you how old it is we'll need a better picture of the tang. Grey

Hi K. Dim, Do not try to remove the blemish yourself; if it is to be removed it has to be done by a properly trained polisher (of which there at least 2 in the US). Well meaning amateurs have made terrible messes with attempted repairs. If I were you I'd leave it as is. The blemish is cosmetic only; it will do no damage. If you absolutely have to get it removed, only those with proper training should touch it. Grey ps. Click here and scroll down to Care & Cleaning for a maintenance manual. https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/

Thanks for the kind words folks. And Jack, 3 & 7 are the Namban. I would recommend you stay away from ebay until you know a lot more about this; buying what you like without knowledge is an easy way to buy a modern fake. I, and many of the other dealers on NMB, will never lie to you just to make a sale. You could give some thought also to investing in a few books. The more you know about tsuba before you buy any, the happier you will be with what you get. There is no need to be in a hurry; there will always be good tsuba to collect. Grey

I think it is possible that more than just the one signed tsuba are real; maybe one or the other Namban also. However, all are low quality at best and nothing you should want to collect. Check sellers here on NMB, both on the For Sale forum and the dealers. You'll have no trouble finding much better. Grey

Hidetoshi, I believe. Most likely Showa-To but I can't be sure. Grey

A few good books. Grey

Hizen no Kuni no Ju Omi Daijo Fujiwara Tadahiro. Grey

I agree that Tsuba Kanshoki is a good reference but, unless you can read Japanese, make sure you get the edition from 1975 with English. Here it is on my site: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b823-tsuba-kanshoki-torigoye-1975 There is an earlier edition but it is Japanese only. I can recommend also the current 2 volumes and one day 5 volumes of Tosogu Classroom from NBTHK/AB and JSS/US via Markus Sesko Best advice I can give is not to hurry. There will always be good tsuba & fuchi kashira available. The more you know when you buy the happier you'll be with what you get. Grey

Hi Chris, The fuchi is real but the signature may be a forgery. As is often said here, the work confirms the signature, not the other way round. Show us the work, please. Grey

Hi Ron, I know of Kashu Toko Taikan: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b818-kashu-koto-taikan Kashu Shinto Taikan: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b660-kashu-shinto-taikan-kihei-ueno-%26-yoshiaki-adachi and Kashu Shinto Shu: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b462-kashu-shinto-shu-kanazawa-branch-nbthk All currently out of stock for my website but maybe someone else will have copies. Cheers, Grey