ROKUJURO

It says WAKIZASHI.

David, I don't know if it would be helpful for you, but I would like to see them.

Looks like a traditionally made blade in high quality military mounts. With good photos of the NAKAGO (plain, dark, non-reflecting background, photos presented as cut-outs, no HABAKI) and close-ups of the blade you may get more feedback in the NIHONTO section.

Thank you Mauro! Is that water drops?

Thank you Piers! The upper one is an atypical TEIMEI TSUBA, the lower one is a WAKIZASHI-size TÔSHÔ type/age TSUBA.

Hi Charlie, in my experience, most IAIDO teachers will not use or even recommend sharp swords for it. Basically, it is practiced with BOKKEN, and only some advanced masters may sometimes use sharp swords in IAIDO demonstrations for show. Also, there is no cutting involved in IAIDO. A blade without much taper in the KASANE will have a tendency to wobble when a stroke is stopped mid-air. TAMESHIGIRI is another thing, and there, wide heavy blades are used by some experts.

Gentlemen, how would a very humble 'decoration' like this be called on a TSUBA? 'HAN UDENUKI' ? A star?

It was inherited by 8 children of a family and they planned to share it fairly?

In my opinion, the problem is not the production of cheap faked items. The sad thing is that people with no feel for the subject, for Japanese culture, and with no knowledge fall for it and buy them.

Lee did not mention TAMESHIGIRI, and I don't think one would seriously practice it with a sword that has HORIMONO. BOHI in this case are q question of aesthetics and of course money. I would discuss this subject with a competent polisher.

Zachary, as far as I know there are no limitations for TOSOGU or KOSHIRAE except if very old/rare and of national or cultural importance. But that would not be something you buy as souvenir.... I am confident you can have a TSUKA made to your specifications if time was not a factor but I do not believe you could get one without the space for a NAKAGO in it - that would not be a TSUKA. For presentation as TOSOGU set, you would need a TSUNAGI and then of course a SAYA to complete it.

Well, this "half" DAISHO TSUBA (they probably don't know what that is) https://collectorsfirearms.com/20702-dai-sho-tsuba-mgj1405.html/ seems to be a genuine cast trinket.

Okan, very fine and regular NANAKO-JI like this is only found on quality TSUBA! A good one, I believe!

The SHIRASAYA's purpose is to protect the blade from moisture (and other possible damage). HONOKI wood works fine in that respect as it can absorb moisture which might accidentally be on the blade or in the air. Any oil, lacquer, varnish, or paint in or on the wood of the SHIRASAYA will stop this effect. Moisture will be trapped in the SAYA and lead to corrosion. IBOTA wax will not form an air-tight layer on the wood. - Did you ever hear about the damage that may occur in a wooden house in case it was insulated with Styrofoam boards? -

Piers, Here is my old TAKOHIKI which arrived only a few hours ago. NAGASA is 270 mm, width at the base is 21 mm, narrowing down at the square tip to 11 mm. It is forged in NI MAI technique, with KIRIHA grind. The slim TSUKA has "blond" buffalo horn KAKUMAKI (sleeve). The sloppy MEI could read something like SADAMITSU SAKU.

Probably not all of them. This one is on E-Bay.

Piers, your knife might well be a ground-down one of the TAKOHIKI type. There are so many variations in Japanese knife design! I will show photos of my old TAKOHIKI as soon as I receive it. It seems to have a metal sleeve/ferrule, no buffalo horn.

Hi Aaron, you can have a HAMON on mono-steel knives. You have to differentiate between a blade with a visible hard steel layer in the cutting edge (NI MAI like on KANNA blades), and a HAMON caused by differential hardening (mostly with a clay coating = TSUCHI OKI).

Horsetail is basically EQUISETUM, and there are many varieties of it. The plant contains micro-crystalline silica which explains the very fine abrasive effect. In former times, it was used to polish tin tableware.

In my opinion not made for real use. The decoration is partly on the SEPPA-DAI. Recently made with modern technology, avoiding some mistakes of the past, but still fakes.

Yes, TAKOHIKI is the correct term! And indeed often used for octopus.

Piers, a nice one! To me, this looks like a well-used fish knife (SASHIMI). I just bought one of these, not that old, but somewhat similar in shape.

Steve, you have a PM.

Martin, welcome to the NMB forum! I suspect you have a WAKIZASHI, not a KATANA. How long is the blade, measured from the notch on the back (MUNE) to the tip? Remove the HABAKI (collar) for measuring. In case this is less than 606 mm, it is not a KATANA. Consider the cost of a polish (perhaps about $ 2.000.--) plus new HABAKI plus SHIRA-SAYA versus the potential market value of a WAKIZASHI. I don't know if HIROMASA is sought after and collectors are prepared to pay a premium in case you want to sell it one day.

The seller does not talk about the TSUBA which does not look attractive to me. The SAYA is much too long, and the TSUKA looks like a cheap IAITO handle. But I find it convincing that the blade is 25,2755906 inches long!