Grey Doffin

I can think of a few I'd tell you to avoid at all cost. I'm not much on gendai value and I'm not familiar with the smith but here goes. You can figure at least $2,000 and probably no more than $4,000. Maybe someone who follows that market can get closer to a value and/or correct me? Grey

If the blade has no mekigi-ana there is no reason to expect it to be a treasure and there is also no reason to remove the handle. A very, very few great swords have no mekugi-ana; made to be presented to a temple is my understanding. That isn't the case with one mounted as a cane. Odds are you have something made post Meiji sword wearing ban and any attempt to remove the handle (which is either pressure fitted or glued on) risks damage to the handle and/or blade. It also risks disappointing the owner with what he finds. Grey

Hi guys, I just sold a sword to someone in the Russian Federation. He tells me that his Customs requires the blade and koshirae to be packaged and shipped separately, blade in one tube and mounts in the other. Anyone know if this is true and if so why? Thanks, Grey

I too was watching that one. It's possible that the buyer did well; also possible that he paid a high price for something not very interesting. Very difficult to tell much from the photos and description; ebay is a real crap shoot. I didn't think the sugata was right for an early blade and the end of the hi in the mono-uchi was less than encouraging also. Hawleys lists 24 Hoju. Do you know which one this is or if the signature is right or if the blade is retempered? I don't. Grey

Hi guys, Anyone know what happened to Jim Breen's Muli Radical Kanji search page? I'm unable to connect. Also, Amazon has Ogawa Morihiro's book Japanese Master Swordsmiths: The Gassan Tradition, new for $20 plus postage. http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Master-Swordsmiths-Gassan-Tradition/dp/0878463097/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247427066&sr=8-2 Not a bad price for a sword book. Grey

Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke Saku. Very crudely cut; pretty obvious gimei, IMHO. Grey

A magnet will tell you very quickly if this is steel. Grey

Me also. Grey

with a Seki stamp. Grey

Edward, There are 4 Sukemitsu listed in my index (linked by NMB), 3 of them Koto. Maybe one of the included references will help you find your smith. Grey

Sorry about that; I should have looked closer. Grey

I don't think I've ever seen an early Koto tanto in shinogi-zukuri. They were pretty much all hira-zukuri, weren't they? Grey

A big chunk of trouble in learning is that text books and online Kanji charts are print and the signatures on swords are handwriting; they often don't look alike. (Watch out for blatant self promotion) My Kanji Flashcards are handwriting. Email for details if you're interested. Grey

Not Takada; Fujiwara I believe. Grey

Yes, go! There'll be many times when your lack of language presents problems, but who cares? Japan is a perfect place to wander cluelessly; you can't get in serious trouble and if you get in middlin trouble someone will step forward and fix it. I'll let others who know more about the country than I do help with your other questions, but I know you'll be very happy you went. Grey

Since this will be a bunch of work, and tough to do from photographs, I think you'd be better off finding a Japanese person where you live or nearby. Since the writing dates to WWII, not that long ago, any reasonably well educated native speaker of Japanese should have little trouble reading this (at least that's my guess). Grey

If the menuki were signed on the backs then the shinsa team wouldn't have seen the signature and the paper has nothing to tell us about the validity of that mei. Or were the menuki signed on the side? Grey

Curran, I don't know the official answer but I would be very surprised if the NBTHK were to issue any paper, let alone a higher level, to anything with what they considered a gimei. My guess is that all signatures have been authenticated. Anyone have a different answer? Grey

Which Kanji for kura are you suggesting? Hawleys has 2 Kanekura listed with that kane and 2 different kura, but the kura don't look anything like the kanji in question. Whoever wrote the saya-gaki thought it should be read Kanemoto. Grey

Grand is US English for thousand: a few thousand dollars. Grey

Hi Ed, Second Yasutsugu, the smith mentioned in the other paper, was also well known. If Utsuki Shigeru, who wrote the papers, was/is a known authority on Nihonto his opinion should carry some weight and increase the value of the swords. If not, his opinion doesn't count for much 65 years later. However, the papers do add a bit of history to the swords and in that way they add to the value. Grey

Here is a picture of a sarute from an itomaki no dachi koshirae, from Meiji or not much earlier I believe. This isn't clasping hands but something similar. Is it possible that the gunto sarute was developed from the earlier design? Grey

Hi guys, Before I get to what I have to say, I want you all to know I'm not trying to make enemies (I have enough already) or ruffle feathers, and I'm glad you all collect what you do because I don't need more competition for what I collect, but I don't get it. 25 years ago when I first discovered Nihonto I could sell a gunto for $300. If it was signed "Nagamitsu" or "Emura" (didn't matter which; they were considered to be the same guy) I could sell it for $400, because of the story about him being a prison warden with a smith at the prison training the prisoners. The $100 premium wasn't due to quality; a gunto was a gunto. It was only because of the story. Is the value really there? For $3,000. you can buy a papered, in polish wakizashi by a decent Shinto smith. You can buy a Sue-Koto katana. You're not even sure all of the blades signed Nagamitsu/Emura were made by one or 2 smiths; these things are so common (at least they used to be) that some of them might have been made by others. Is the quality really there? Well, if nothing else maybe I've brought some excitement to the site. I've put the target on my back; feel free to open fire. Grey

About restoration: A proper restoration (polishing of the blade) is expensive, at least $2,000. I would recommend against a polish unless and until you decide you're going to get serious about Japanese swords and learn proper care and handling. Every polish, which is done with stones, removes some of the steel and eventually, after one too many polishes, some of the core steel of the blade shows through the diminished skin steel (we call this tired; it decreases value and artistic merit). Beginners have a tendency to muck up new polishes with scratches, dings, and fingerprints, and when the blade passes on to its next owner he wants it in polish and the blade has to suffer through another one. A polish isn't necessary for preservation; a very light coating of oil is all that is needed. Here is a link to a sword care and etiquette brochure that explains all: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm Grey

Here's a neat trick for determining the age of kin zogan (gold inlay). When the inlay is done the gold and surrounding steel will be at the same height. With time, the steel corrodes and expands a tiny bit; gold doesn't corrode so it stays the original height. If you can't feel a very slight difference in the 2 metal's heights, you can assume that the zogan was done relatively recently. Grey