Grey Doffin

I think it's pretty sure that the mei side of the nakago has been abrasively cleaned. If the nakago were repatinated properly, and if the mei is right, and if the cut test is legit, and if the fact that this Shinto blade has been shortened doesn't present too large a problem (a bunch of ifs), the NBTHK might give this blade a paper. Grey

The blue is a bluish cast to the black of the iron; that's the best way I can describe it. If it's there you should have no trouble seeing it under natural light. There's a Choshu Tomoyuki in the Peabody Museum softcover tsuba book, page 21, with a given date of 1750. Grey

I believe it is signed, "Choshu Ju Tomohisa". Tomohisa is a commonly found name among Choshu tsuba-shi. Look for a blue cast to the iron as a sign of good Choshu work. Grey

You could strip the military fittings and replace them, but it would probably cost less and accomplish the same end if you were to buy a nicer looking sword (one more to your tastes) and leave this one alone. You could sell this one and get back some of the cost. It won't be possible to return this sword to Japan. It's my understanding that unless the sword is a traditionally made Nihonto, as opposed to a machine made or made by an untrained smith during the war sword, Japanese customs will seize and destroy (treated as a weapon, not a work of art). I would suggest either keeping it as is or selling it on ebay. Grey

Ditto from me; made yesterday in China. Grey

If the nakago is smooth and waxy feeling then maybe the sword wasn't caught in a fire and maybe it hasn't lost its temper. Swords that have been burnt usually have a coarse, dry feeling nakago (unless they have been shortened after retempering to remove evidence of the retemper). They also can have fire scale, an uneven built up flake-like deposit. A good polisher, however, can make anything look right. I recently owned a very early tachi that had completely lost its hamon to fire. Because it hadn't been retempered the curvature hadn't changed much if at all. This might be a possibility for your tachi. I think it needs to be shown to someone who can tell what's up, a properly trained polisher for example. As long as there's a chance that it has its original temper, even with the ha-giri and possible gi-mei, it has some value. Grey

Tom, The 1st attached picture shows the nagasa to be 31", and the last attached picture shows the ha-gire. Grey

Jim, You should wipe off the WD-40 if you haven't already. Unscented, white facial tissue or even toilet paper works well and won't damage the blade. If you've put anything on the tang be sure to wipe that off as well as you can, and as you've discovered, don't try to clean the tang in any way. You can wipe on some light machine oil, although it probably isn't necessary in Arizona (dry climate). 2 or 3 drops on a folded facial tissue, wipe gently over the blade but not the tang, and then wipe it off with a dry tissue. The tiny bit of oil left on the blade is all that's necessary. Otherwise, there's nothing more you can do to help and a whole lot more you could try that would risk damage; best to leave it alone. Someday a trained polisher can make it right. Grey

Retempering is a possibility that would explain the atypical curvature, the inactive hamon, and the ha-giri. How does the nakago feel: smooth and waxy or coarse and dry? Grey

To clarify: Eisho Ni Nen means Eisho 2 year (1505) and I believe it says NI NI Gatsu Hi (a day in the 4th month). Ni Ni is double 2, which is a way to say 4 without saying 4. In Japanese, "Shi" is one way to say 4. Shi can also mean death. Therefore, you'll never find a package of four of anything in Japan and your sword is dated double 2, not 4. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. Grey

Very interesting sugata; I love it. Jitsua is a big name; the pieces in my references tend to be Juyo Bunkazia and Bijutsuhin. One tachi, in "Token Bijutsu" English volume 22, has the Kanji for Jitsua spaced widely on either side of the original mekugi-ana. It's my understanding that the steel of early blades is softer, less brittle than that of later periods (Kamakura as opposed to Sue-Koto or later). This would explain why the kissaki has been dented, not chipped. Jitsua worked with high shinogi, wide mune, and itame hada, dense, whitish, and with an underlying mokume. Hoso suguba (narrow) and Ko-Midare, and activity isn't expected. The color of the ha is black and there is a little bit of dense nie. (Thanks to Harry Watson's translation of Nihonto Koza. Even with a ha-giri, if it isn't retempered and the signature is right, this is worth something and worth looking into further. It isn't a theater prop and I don't think it's Shin-shinto; it looks very much like an early tachi to me. Nice find. Grey

Josh, Yes, if the NBTHK has papered a sword it is considered good enough to be preserved, something of some quality. Kazu ichi mono, not an actual classification but a generic term meaning hastily or poorly made thing, would not be said about a blade with NBTHK papers. Of course, anyone can call any sword kazu ichi mono if he wants to, but the paper should prove him wrong. Grey

When I saw that sale I wrote to the seller telling her it was a fake. This is what she wrote back. "Hi,you arent the first one that emailed me that this is a fake sword i dont have alot of knowledge in Japanese swords but i bought this sword in christies ny like 18th century edo period Japanese sword.i will remove the listing and take it back to christies ny telling them it was a fake.thanks alot for letting me know doris" She has stopped the sale. What's strange is that Christie's told her it's real. Either Christie's didn't know or they chose to lie about the sword. Either way it's strange; not what you'd expect. Grey

According to my index, Kagashiro Masakiyo can be found in the following references: Yumei Koto Taikan by Iimura, page 503, Zuikan Tomei Soran by Iida, page 341, and Fujishiro's Nihon Toko Jiten: Koto Hen, page 393. Grey

Since no one else has, I'll answer the question about collaboration. Yes, 2 smiths worked on and signed the blade. It could be that one did the forging and the other did the tempering, or that each smith tempered one side (least that's my understanding). This wasn't a common practice, but I wouldn't call it rare either. Grey

I see no reason why this wouldn't take a polish; whether it makes monetary sense to polish it is another matter. By the time you pay for polish, shira-saya, and the naginata you'll likely have more in this than you could reasonably expect to sell it for. Small to medium size Shinto naginata by smiths who aren't terribly important don't attract much interest (they're often called "women's naginata"). Understanding that, and the vagaries of ebay auctions, if you want to buy this naginata I can see no reason not to. Grey

Paul, The mei reads, "Kanemichi Saku". I haven't done any research on the mei so I can't say anything about which Kanemichi it may be or even if the signature is right or fake. One thing you should know is that the paper shown in the photos isn't evidence of authenticity. It is the Japanese government issued registration paper. It tells us only that the sword is Nihonto and that it has been registered with the government. Grey

Low 2K for the blade in polish, with paper and koshirae seems fair. Jumyo isn't the most valuable attribution but, hey, you get what you pay for. One way to look at it is, you're paying for the polish, shira-saya, and paper; the blade and koshirae are free. Another way to look at it is to ask yourself how much the kizu will bother you. If you can own this, thinking that it's man made and thus not perfect and a nice thing despite the kizu and you can appreciate it for what's good then all will be fine. If, every time you look at it you'll be saying, "I wish I'd bought something better", then it may not make sense. Yet another way to look at it is to ask yourself what's the purpose of owning it. If purely to have and enjoy, then all's well. If you plan to use it for eventual resale so you can move up to better stuff, then maybe not. It likely won't ever be worth much more than it is now, because of the kizu. Hope this helps. Grey

Me too. Can you tell us more about the sword? What is the length? What is the attribution on the paper? How is it mounted? Grey

With the exception of the one on the mune (which I would consider minor) I would expect the rest of these ware to lower the value of the sword. How much lowering is hard to say without knowing more about the sword. If it's being sold as the work of an important smith then the kizu really matter; not so much if the sword is "just a sword" and priced accordingly. Early Koto blades retain more of their value with kizu than would a Shinto or Shin-shinto blade. In any case, this is a lot of trouble for one sword. Grey

I wouldn't say the blade is tired because of that spot; it could be just an area of different grain. If it were a sign of tiredness it would be darker material without a grain inside. Grey

Not early Shinto; most likely WWII era. You see a lot of this type of knife, often with unusual shape, almost always about 6" nagasa, and always with a short, ugly, artificially colored nakago. They were made, possibly during the war, for what use I don't know (they're often called Kamikaze dirks on ebay). Or, equally if not more likely, they were made right after the war to sell or trade to the occupying forces. In any case, they're never very interesting; just stuff. Any one have a different take? Grey

About the sori: Kanbun Shinto swords have a very shallow curvature; they aren't straight but not far off. This is what is to be expected on a Hisamichi. I can think of 3 possible explanations for your sword's atypical curvature. 1. Hisamichi, for whatever reason, decided to make it this way. 2. The blade actually dates from a different period and a false signature was added, either as an attribution or forgery. 3. The sword is retempered. Fires happened frequently in Japanese history. If a sword were caught in a fire it would lose it's hamon. The sword could then be tempered again, either to make it into a usable weapon or to sell to the unsuspecting. One of the signs of retempering is an exaggerated sori. Option 1 is OK; 2 & 3 are not. Before you commit to the price of restoration you need to know more. Someone who can make the call has to see the sword in hand. Grey

Often, when looking at a sword, it appears as if there is a gap in the hamon. Usually, by turning the blade relative to the light source, you can see the missing temper. This is normal and not a problem. If there is an actual gap in the hamon, nioi guchi, that is a serious problem. Except on a very old sword, it would be considered a fatal flaw. Grey

1st Hisamichi worked in Kanbun (1661) and later generations weren't far behind. Isn't the sori on this blade awful strong for Kanbun Shinto (isn't the curvature exaggerated for a time period that produced mainly nearly straight blades)? Any thoughts? Grey