Grey Doffin

Hi folks, We've been back in our house for 2 weeks; still living among boxes and piles of stuff but it is good to be home. I moved my sword books out of storage the other day; I'm ready for business. For a week or so I'll give a 10% discount on any item on my website: books, fittings, or swords. Save $10 on a $100 book or quite a bit on the Tsuda Sukehiro katana. If you are interested in anything please contact me by email through my site or gdoffin at gmail.com, not personal message here at NMB. I need your emails to keep track of business. And a big thanks to all of you who wrote kind messages after the fire. Grey

Hi John, The card is a license (torokusho) that lists the signature but says nothing about the legitimacy of the signature. Grey

Hi Noah, Not possible to know much from just the one picture but what I can see looks promising; this may be special. Here is a link to a care and handling brochure that you should read at least once: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Brian has just posted before me. The brochure will help with handle removal. Resist all urges to fix anything; you don't know how and may do damage. This needs to be seen by someone knowledgeable and honest (hard to know which is in shorter supply). Don't oil the tang, just the blade. Hoping for the best, Grey

Hi Al, Any sword with a big name signature (Hizen Tadayoshi in this case), offered on ebay without a paper from a respected organization, by a selller in Japan, is almost 100% certain to be gimei (signature forgery). If the seller thought the mei were real he would have had it papered by the NBTHK and it could have been worth tens of thousands of dollars. You own a real Japanese sword with a fake signature and there is little to be gained by sending it back to Japan for a paper it can't get. The price you paid is not outrageous for what you received but, if your aim was to own a quality sword with a true signature and paper, you need to stay away from ebay and deal with someone you know and trust; ebay is a snake pit for beginners. Grey

Hi Chris, Here is a link to a care and cleaning brochure: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ You should read this. It tells you how to remove the handle and you will do no harm if you follow directions. If the handle hasn't been off for decades it may be stuck. If that's the case feel free to call and I'll talk you through a solution. A picture of the nakago (tang) will allow us to tell you a lot more about your sword. Grey 218-340-1001 central time

The area below the horizontal line is original nakago and the area above is new nakago after suriage (shortening). No folding involved. Grey

Hi folks, Just took in and listed to my site 4 tsuba, a fuchi kashira, & a pair of menuki. Some quite fine work and, I think, reasonable prices. Have a peek if you're interested: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/item-category/tsuba-kodogu/ Cheers, Grey

Hi Jiri, You wrote: From what I red Nakago on the the bottom should be horizontal and shouldn't be into V shape so that's good sign for me and cast tsuba should have some rim inside Kozuka and also I should have been able to see some bubbles on surface so I believe that this tsuba is genuine Yes, but. As there are exceptions to every rule you aren't safe buying tsuba that conform to these rules. Not all cast tsuba have rim inside the ana, not all have bubbles, and there may even be a real tsuba or 2 with a v-shaped bottom of the nakago-ana. Do not rely on rules; rather, you need to study good tsuba, either in hand or in good pictures, to learn what you should buy. The more you know before you buy the happier you'll be with what you buy. As Jean says above, there is no need to rush; there will always be good to great tsuba available. The tsuba you picture is mediocre and hasn't been mounted (not a good sign on a mediocre iron tsuba); you can do much better. If you insist on buying before knowledge, you need to find a dealer you can trust. Grey

Except for very late pieces (late Edo, Meiji, and later), there should be little or none of the design on the seppa dai. Late pieces were made as art or to sell to western tourists, not as a functional part of the sword. This makes the tsuba in question less desirable in my eyes. Grey

When shipping within the US, unless the customer requests something else, I use registered mail in a stout cardboard tube. No other service is safer or less expensive. Grey

You should not sand the tsunagi. Doing so can introduce abrasive grit into the shirasaya and then, if the blade is reintroduced to the shirasaya, the polish will be scratched. A sharp plane is the better tool to use for reshaping the tsunagi. I doubt that anyone could successfully bend the tsunagi with steam or boiling water (sideways yes, but not front to back); it is too thin to survive the force needed to reshape with steam (which is more proper for bending wood; boiling water not so much). Spoken from 50 years as a furniture maker. Grey

Hi Ni-Hyun Kim, Best guess is that the blade in shirasaya and koshirae are a marriage; the koshirae was made to fit a different sword and was sold with your sword to make an appealing package. It isn't a good idea to place a polished blade in old koshirae; dirt or worse inside the old saya can damage the polish. The shirasaya is the best protection for the blade; best to keep it there. Grey

Hi Tom, This is a naval stainless steel sword from WWII. The stamp (anchor) is an arsenal mark and the black paint are numbers (36 & 62) used to keep parts together for assembly. Grey

Hi Noah, Actually, I think a list of sellers of fakes on ebay would be counterproductive. As soon as you think you're safe because you're dealing with a seller who isn't on the list, you are vulnerable. There is no substitute for serious study; knowledge is your only hope. Grey

I doubt this is legit; looks Chinese or another type of fake to me. Grey

Hi Ben, Sewing machine or light machine oil will be fine; follow instructions in the care & cleaning I linked to. Stay away from specially formulated, fancy gun oils. Some of them have additives that can affect the patina of your sword. Grey

Thanks; that would have been my next guess Grey

Hi guys, When I buy libraries I often end up with books I don't need to put on my website but that are too good to take to Goodwill. I currently have these 3. A History of Metallography: The Development of Ideas on the Structure of Metals Before 1890. by Cyril Stanley Smith, 1960, Clothbound, 7 x 10", 280 pages in English. Lots of illustrations and a chapter on Japanese swords and fittings. Raku Shimu Nihonto (or possibly Gaku Shimu). 1972. Clothbound with jacket and plastic jacket, 6 x 8 1/2", 244 pages in Japanese. Photos, oshigata, text. Nipponto by Yamada Hide. 1964. Clothbound with slipcase, 7 1/4 x 10 1/4" 300 pages in Japanese plus 50 or so unnumbered pages of black & white photos. Conditions are good or better. Hoping not to have to bother with photos or more thorough descriptions. All 3 for $40 plus post. If you want these please send an email: gdoffin at gmail.com The books are sold. Thanks, Grey

Hi Ben, I suggest you leave well enough alone until you learn more about Japanese swords. The loose tsuba isn't doing any damage but beginning collectors trying to fix a sword often do damage. Here is a care and cleaning brochure you should read twice: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Welcome. Grey

I have 2 copies at $165 plus post. https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/sword-books/b510-swords-of-imperial-japan-1868-1945-cyclopedia-edition/ If interested send a request through my website please. Grey

Hi Gary, What is the length of your cutting edge (nagasa, from where the tip used to be to the notch at the back in a straight line)? If much greater than 60 cm. (24") it is a katana and should be signed on the side of the nakago opposite to where your signature is. This is common, if not expected, for the Hizen School. Another reason to question the correctness of the signature. Don't spend money on a polish before you know it is right. Grey

Hi James, Here is a care and handling brochure you should read: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Someone knowledgeable and honest will have to see the sword in hand before you'll be able to learn much more about it. Grey

Hi Filip, Your tanto looks to be quite nice; I doubt anyone would go to the expense of the quality lacquer job on the scabbard if the blade wasn't quality also. Here is a more thorough care and cleaning brochure with pictures: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Nothing wrong with you finding a decent set of menuki and a competent handle wrapper to have the handle restored now but I'm going to suggest you hold off on polish. As long as there is no active red rust on the blade (which appears to be the case), a polish will do nothing to preserve the blade; it won't degrade and there is no need to hurry. Polishes are easily spoiled (scratched, stained, whatever) and beginning collectors are often the culprits. Polishes are expensive and every one removes precious skin steel, eventually exposing the less refined core steel (at which point we call the blade "tired"); you don't want to waste a polish. I suggest you take some time to learn more than you presently know about Nihonto. The more you know before you have the tanto polished, the happier you'll be with the results. When the time comes, expect a proper polish to include: polishing the blade, possibly a new habaki, shirasaya (plain wood mounts, you don't put a newly polished blade into the old lacquered scabbard because there may be something inside that would degrade the polish), and a tsunagi (wood blade to hold the old mounts together). This will cost at least $1,500, most likely more. You could save some money if you gave the tanto to an improperly trained, amateur polisher but that would be a terrible thing to do (and may, in the long run, be far more expensive if he makes a mess of it). Decent menuki and handle wrap will cost maybe another $500 or so. Waiting to have both jobs done at the same time likely will save money. Take the time to understand what you're up to; I doubt you'll regret it. Grey

I could very well be wrong on this; I do that a lot. But this presents an excellent learning opportunity for Shad. Do some online research on Bizen and Mino, 2 of the 5 traditions of Koto, and see if you can answer the question for yourself. Come back to us with your thoughts; tell us what you think you know. None of us will be bothered if you make mistakes; they go with the task. I can guarantee you'll be amazed by how much you learn in the process. Grey

Hi Shad, Your sword is indeed signed Morimitsu and, I think, it most likely is by one of the smiths of Bizen Provence who signed with that name in late Koto time (15th & 16yh centuries). Not sure what you're referring to with rebuilt handle but nearly 100% of old Japanese swords have had their handles replaced at least a few times as the originals and replacements have worn out; this is nothing to be concerned about. Looks to be a good introduction to Nihonto; welcome. Here is a link to a care and cleaning brochure; you should read it at least once. https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Grey