Grey Doffin

Joshua, The blade is in very rough condition. I see areas of loose grain or openings, plenty of pitting from corrosion, and chips in the edge. The polish is completely shot. The mounts aren't anything special. The price is about twice what I'd expect for an unsigned Shinto wakizashi in that condition. You would do better to spend your money on books and attending sword shows to learn what to collect. Unless you're looking for a wall hanger and nothing more I doubt you'd be happy with the sword. Just my opinion; worth what I charge for it. Grey

You might add the NBTHK American Branch to your list of sword societies: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/index.htm There is a European branch also. Sorry, I don't have the url. Thanks for the links. Nice work. Grey

A ew years back a friend of mine was practicing cutting (tameshigiri) with a Chinese made sword. The blade shattered. A piece came back at him and severed many useful parts of his hand. He's lucky to have regained most of its function. I don't know which Chinese brand sword he was using so this post isn't about Paul Chen specificly. The message is: be very careful which sword you use for cutting; they aren't all safe. Grey

Brian, Glad to do something stupid so others can learn. I often have trouble with my computer; last night was no exception. Shinshu was the best I could come up with also. Thanks for the help. Grey

Please work.

Maybe the picture will appear this way. ftp://ftp.cpinternet.com/homepage/137_3756.JPG Grey

Since I can think of no advantage in an unusually shaped ana I would guess this is a nakago with 3 mekugi-ana, and 2 of them share space. In other words, the smaller top part of the keyhole is an older ana and the larger bottom hole was added nearly on top later to fit a different tsuka. My opinion and a buck gets you a ride on the bus. Grey

The picture right above this post shows kiri (horizontal with the blade upright) yasurime, unless my old eyes are failing me. Grey

The signature is definitely a forgery and the yasurime (file marks are wrong also. I wouldn't expect the blade to be anything special. It shouldn't be worth much. Grey

Guess you knew that. The closest match in Fujishiro's Koto-hen is listed as Kanemoto, Kodai. Kodai means unknown later generation, I believe. The nakago definitely looks Seki, but later than Sue-Koto. Hope this helps. Grey

Kanemoto.

I have a group index of over 50 Japanese sword references (all the major and quite a few minor) and sorry to say that Sadanobu is included in none of them. The only Sadanobu that made it into the index signed "Bishu Onomichi Ju Goami" and has a date of 1494. Grey

The NBTHK/American Branch has a thorough care and etiquette brochure on line that discusses oiling technique. You will find it here: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm Take care, Grey

My guess would be Bishu. Grey

And don't ever use a fake for cutting practice. They can shatter and send pieces flying. Grey

I can also recommend Yumei Koto Taikan by Iimura. It covers Koto only, but is available in the $400 range. Shinto Taikan, also by Iimura is a good reference for Shinto and Shin-shinto Taikan finishes off the set. Few of us can afford to buy all the great books at once; buying any one of the above would be a good start on a library. Grey

The mei reads, "Inouye Shinkai". He was a big name in early Shinto times, so gimei is always a possibility. Good luck. Grey

I vote Chinese fake. Grey

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I don't think there is any doubt about this being aikuchi; it definitely is. Looks very nice. Grey

Something I've wondered for a while: those fake Japanese swords on ebay, the ones that were supposedly made by Chinese slaves, when & where & for what purpose were they made? I don't believe the slave story, I never saw one till I 1st logged onto ebay, they all have the same amount of dirt and corrosion which tells me they must be artificially aged: they've got to be fakes. But why would someone/some company go to all that trouble to make something that looks nothing like the original? Can any of you enlighten me? I'd appreciate it. Grey

To my knowlege the article doesn't exist in digital form. Barry Hennick is our (JSS/US) web master; Barry, can you help here? Grey

Chris Leung wrote an excellent article on the subject of habaki schools and traditions that appeared in the December, 2005 (Volume 37, #6) "Newsletter" of the JSS/US. Grey