Grey Doffin

I wrote a couple articles on oshigata for the JSS/US "Newsletter" a few years back. If you email me (link below) I can send them to you as an attachment on my return mail. Grey

If a sword has been polished so much that the ha-machi has disappeared the nakago can be reshaped; metal can be removed from the nakago ha, to make the sword appear more healthy. It's not possible to know how many old blades have had this done to them. You can't say, if the ha-machi is gone the blade is tired and if it still exists it isn't; it's more complicated than that. Tiredness refers to the condition of the blade's skin: coarse grain, openings, blisters, or core steel showing through. A sword with no ha-machi can be tired or not and a blade with a ha-machi can be tired or not. That said, it's always better to have a ha-machi and I would be leery of an ebay sale if the seller doesn't show the machi. Grey

For those of you who have access to PBS (public TV in the US), tonight on "Nova" the show is titled, "Secrets of the Samurai Sword". Should be worth a watch. Grey

I agree with the last post; this is a nakago that has been ground down. It looks too clumsy to have been done by the smith. Grey

Brian, You need to read the description a bit more carefully. Grey

There are no signed Sadamune. This is one of them. Grey

Should you wish to bid on this katana: http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Hand-Forged-Katana-Gunto-27-Pierced-Tsuba_W0QQitemZ300156591560QQihZ020QQcategoryZ4080QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem you'll find you're up against some very serious competition. Grey

I heard also that one of the blades to come would be the O-Kanehira. Hard to believe that the National Museum and/or the Japanese government would allow it to travel but if it does make sure you get to see it. Even if you have to walk from Texas it will be worth the effort. Grey

A broken top of a katana fitted as a tanto in China. The yokote is at the wrong angle. The geometry seems clumsy. The koshirae are classic Chinese fake. I still think this is a fake; no doubt. Grey

I agree; it's a fake. Grey

This Kanehisa made it into none of the 60 or so references I've added to my index. It probably will be tough finding anything on the smith. Grey

I just picked up a tanto with an interesting kotsuka. It's made of iron in the shape of a nakago (complete with a dimple to represent the mekugi-ana). I'm wondering if one of you can translate the inlay for me. Thanks, Grey

Grasshopper, What you should have noticed, what I can see from the photos: 1st pic: the ko-shinogi (continuation of the shinogi line in the kissaki) is straight. It should have a curve to match the curve of the kissaki. 2nd pic: what you are looking at here isn't hada. This is a mix of different metals put together and etched to bring out the differences. Real hada is crystaline structure in the steel body. Look at pictures of good swords and you'll see the difference. 3rd pic: The mei was cut with a dremel tool rather than with a chisel. A dremel removes metal with a spinning abrasive bit. A chisel doesn't remove metal; it moves it. 4th pic: The tsuka-ito is crudely wrapped, nothing at all like it should be. Real Japanese swords aren't mounted in fake mounts. Also in this pic: the saya is painted, not lacquered. Experience and study will help you recognize the difference. The fuchi and koi-guchi (fittings at the joint between tsuka and saya) are crudely made and meet at a weird angle, often the case with fakes. 5th pic: The ha-machi and mune-machi are too deep (the nakago is too narrow for the width of the blade). This is often seen on the Chinese fakes. Buy books and study. Grey

I agree with Stephen, an obvious fake. Study Grasshopper. Grey

I'm hoping one of you can help me identify something Japanese. Haven't seen it yet but this is how it has been described to me: It came along with a sword, purchased from a Pacific vet. It is a cylindrical rod of heavy, dense, black wood, 18" long and 1" in diameter, finely polished and with a cap of mother of pearl about 1/2" long at either end, all enclosed in a silk brocade bag. All help will be appreciated. Grey

Rice glue is best because it is reversible, it doesn't discolor the saya, it contains no chemicals that might discolor or corrode the blade, and it won't scratch the blade if some hardens inside the saya. I use Kokuho, a short grain white, which I get at Oriental groceries. If you google 'rice glue' you'll find directions to make the stuff at the 1st hit. For clamping I use either of 2 methods. I tear an old sheet into long strips and wrap them tightly around the saya. I also use the paper and masking tape bands that I mentioned on another thread. Wrap a strip of white paper, a bit wider than masking tape, 1 1/2 times around the saya a few inches below where you want the band to end up. Wrap the paper tightly in masking tape. Slide the paper/tape band up the saya till it's tight. Prepare enough of these to clamp all loose areas before you apply glue. Apply a tiny amount of glue, apply the clamps, and let it sit a few hours or more. I always let the saya dry for a day or so before I place the blade inside. Often, the 1st time I replace the blade the koiguchi (saya opening) is too tight. This could be due to temporary swelling of the wood from the moisture in the glue. If you wait a day or 2 the problem usually takes care of itself. This will work if done properly. There is no reason to use super glue or any other chemical based wood glue. Grey

Hawley's Japanese Swordsmiths Revised lists 32,000. Grey

It's actually pretty easy to straighten a Japanese sword with a slight bend. If you have or can get access to a woodworker's bench with a wooden jawed vise you're set. Clamp the blade in the vise near the bend and push or pull the blade to straighten. Go slow; be careful not to over bend; you should do fine. If anyone else has a different take please let us know. The above technique has worked well for me but if problems are possible I'd like to know. Grey

Hank, On whether to get papers or not... Papers can increase the value of your swords should you wish to sell. If you get a paper that says the blade was made by an important smith, a buyer will pay more. However, if the papering organization looks at your tanto and determines that the signature is not right they might require that the signature be removed before papering. This could happen if, for example, the signature claims that the tanto was made by the important Masamune or even if it claims another Masamune but the shinsa team disagrees. The signature is removed by a polisher, is neatly done, and costs a bit. If the shinsa team then papers the tanto to an unimportant smith you really haven't gained much. With the daito, once again the value can increase with a good paper. If you plan never to sell, this won't make much difference. However, unless you live forever or get buried with the sword, it will pass down to future generations and a paper might help your children get a good price if they decide to sell. If you can find someone or someones to give opinions on what you might expect out of a shinsa (they would have to see the blades in hand) that might be a good way to start. Bear in mind that asking a collector/dealer to give an honest opinion on something good is much like asking a shark to carefully examine your flesh wound. It is possible to get an honest opinion but the opposite happens as well. Maybe if you could get to a Japanese sword show (San Francisco in August, Tampa in February, Chicago in May, and possibly Minneapolis in June) you could show it around. Whether you paper or not, sell or not, you need to know how to properly care for these swords (not that you haven't done a good job already). Here is a link to a sword care and etiquette page put together by the American Branch of the NBTHK. http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm Hope this makes some sense. Grey

Kanemoto, I believe. Grey

I read the last 2 Kanji as "Masamune" but the 1st 2 don't look like "Fujiwara" (a clan name). Also, the mei is cut so shallow I'm wondering if this is more of an attribution, tending toward gimei or fake signature, than a signature. I've seen this many times, where the mei is shallow and looks nothing like the real signature of the smith in question. (Quite often the smith in question is Masamune, the most famous of all Japanese swordsmiths. Funny how that works.) No way this tanto is Masamune; it's not his work. How do you guys feel about something late Koto or early Shinto (late 15th through 17th century)? Don't mean to bad mouth the tanto; it's still a wonderful piece. Just curious what it is. Grey

Richard, I would bet that for what you spent on your 10 katanas, from Franklin Mint and Masahiro, you could have bought the real thing. If you are truly interested in Nihonto make your next purchase a good book, or a trip to a Japanese sword show. Learn something and then buy a real sword. Grey

I'm having trouble accepting the blade as real Nihonto. I can buy the kashira as real, possibly the tsuba (although the carving on the seppa dai and the placement of the mei are worrisome), and the nakago could be real Nihonto. The blade, however, looks like chrome plated parade sabre. I'm not saying I think it's a parade sabre; it isn't, just that it looks that way. The exaggerated gunome hamon is too regular, it shows zero activity (not a true hamon but cosmetic), and it nearly falls off the edge in the lower areas of the blade, which may be from improper grinding but also may be from a fake blade. For what it's worth (2 cents). Grey

Another rip off artist on ebay to report. maximillianxavier is selling menuki he claims to be Late Edo or Meiji. Here's one of his sales: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160144451641&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006 If you go to this sale; http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300139020444&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=020 you'll see the set I got from him. Ouch; when will I learn? Grey

Ditto for me. Colin is a great guy. Grey