Marius

Here is the link to Matthew's previous post: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/24593-rcently-aquired-old-tanto-for-id-please/

In Matthew's pics this looks more like a wakizashi. Correction. A tanto, indeed. The cutting edge is 12", which is ~30.5cm.

The blade is only out of polish, the condition seems good. In order to determine age, looking at the shape is the first step. Actually, I will save you my babble, just go here: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/appreciate.html

I hope Richard posts some pics.

Here.

Has anyone seen the incredible pics Richard George has taken of blades? I have seen some, and they are awesome!

I was referring to the gomoku zogan tsuba, which is iron.

17th century? Doubtful. I would say this is a 18th-19th c "tosho" which has been adorned (read "defaced") by the zogan, most likely some time after the tsuba was made. I will give you a tip regarding attribution... Whatever is not obvious, you can attribute to "Shoami". Of course this is pointless, as Shoami is a grab bag. But if you need an attribution for your guards, this is the way to go.

Craig, Please forget the "koshirae". It is pretty obvious that the tsuka does not match your sword. Have the sword polished, put it in a new shirasaya. Keep the mountings as a souvenir.

Josh, Thanks for your comment. I have posted this naginata to show that there are always exceptions in nihonto. Of course, I agree the naginata shown by Alexandr is mid to late Edo. But this does not mean that a pronounced saki zori in a naginata proves it is of a later make. The blade in my photograph is an early Kamakura naginata, displayed among other swords in the Futarasan shirne in Nikko. Attached is the full picture, with the nagaye of this blade. Many early naginata seemed to have a strong curvature. Have a look at the Heiji Monogatarki Emaki (Heiji scroll).

Hi Pablo, The hollyhock mon has nothing to do with Tokugawa. It was often used as a sign of prestige after the demise of the shogunate. What you have here is a sword in Meiji period tachi mountings (koshirae). The blade looks like a real Japanese sword (nihonto). Please do not do anything with this sword - no cleaning whatsoever, or you might damage it and significantly reduce the value. If there is any rust, apply machine oil (no other kind of oil!), but very sparingly. The sword is out of polish, which will make an identification a bit more difficult. Please do not attempt to polish it - only a qualified polisher can do it. Whatever YOU do, you will damage what seems a healthy sword. In order to say more about your acquisition, we would need to see the shape of the bare blade. Do you know how to get it out of the hilt (tsuka)? Here is a guide for you. Please do READ it, BEFORE handling the sword: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/swordcare.pdf and some more of the same kind: https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/care.htm http://weblog.tozando.com/Japanese-sword-mainteance-guide-part-2-how-to-maintain-your-sword/

While I agree with the statetement about the shape, here is a short naginata. Can you say something about it? This is not an attempt to hijack the thread.

Forum search: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/15007-tsuba-by-naoaki-student-of-jirotaro-naokatsu/?hl=%2Bnaoaki+%2Btsuba

Luis, yes, definitely. Please proceed cautiously and don't overdo it. It is too nice a tsuba to allow the patina to be damaged. Here is a thread: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/12837-restoring-the-sheen-of-iron-tsuba/?hl=%2Brust+%2Bclean+%2Biron+%2Btsuba

A tsuba that would look nice on a koshirae. Simple iron, go stone shape. Interesting mimi. A nice Edo piece reminds me a bit of later Hoan work.

Thanks, Henry, a friend is in Tokyo now, I have sent this to him

Sorry. I have misunderstood you. Stupid me

Post the picture

Two exapmles of really good tsuba. Also google Hirado tsuba - often made from btass (shinchu).

Jussi, I agree 100%. Modern steel wins. However, comparing modern pieces to antiques is not fair. We have a body of nihonto, ranging from 1100s to 1800s and within that body we can make comparisons. Ideally our comparisions should be free from romantic notions of age and history. However, any comparison is impeded by the simple fact that while you can (though nobody will condone it) destroy a shinshinto piece in an extreme test, you won't do that to an Awataguchi sword (for obvious reasons, value being the most important one). The criteria of samurai who depended on their blades quality are still valid as they were in the 14th or 16th century. We just can't test them.

Jussi, that is an excellent advice for people with lower budgets. But with $25k you can buy an excellent sword, which will be a good investment. After you have it, your knowledge can grow up to the point where you can appreciate it. Also, and forgive me my bluntness... most of us (I am not an exception, of course) have not the faintest idea what a good sword is and why it is good. Yes, we are self-styled "experts" admiring a "wonderful hada" or this or that hamon and this or that activity (the more kinsuji the better, etc). But when it comes to judging the quality of steel, we have no clue. How many times have we heard something like "this is a wonderful hada" and "that is an excellent hamon" and "many activities, with profuse this and that". While hada and hamon seem essential for kantei and activities are interesting, it seems that it is in fact the steel that matters. Like in Yasutusgu retempering Kamakura masterpieces and wondering why the retempered swords came up better than those forged by himself (a legend, for granted, but with a grain of truth). Please, don't ask me why so many Kamakura swords are masterpieces. I have no idea. Must be the steel, no? For it's certainly not the hada or the hamon, by which we judge "quality". Now, I am waiting for the flak, apologies for hijacking the thread.

Aoi won't offer the advice that Darcy will offer. With that budget (especially at the higher end) Darcy is the choice. He has a stellar reputation and knows his stuff. He will advise you on the resale value.

Ad 1: not bad. just undesirable and adversely affecting market value. Not ruined, just altered, with lost signature (if there ever was one). Ad 2: It is not a must. See above. Ubu is always desirable, the older the sword, the more desirable it is. The younger the sword the more undesirable if o-suriage. Read this, if you have not: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/O-suriage.html http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/articles/Suriage.pdf http://nbthk-ab.org/Standards.html

What Henry thinks is fire scale is evidence of folding, as far as my weary old eyes can tell

Do not raise your hopes Ben. It was put on eBay. It is out of polish, so workmanship cannot confirm the mei. The seller said gimei (good chap, unlike many others). Shinsa will say gimei. That's what you must prepare for. And shoshin is what you can hope for - a jackpot, basically In any case, it is fun and let's see what Andrew says after he makes a window. Keep us informed, please