ronin223

Thanks for all your feedback.

I blame my parents for such a bad first name. I'll do as you guys say and gently clean the tang. Can anyone translate the mei that was on the non-signature side? Also, I haven't been able to determine what family the mon was. Any guesses? Thanks again Rusty H

So it's okay to just remove the loose red rust without hurting it's value?

I wish I could take pics as good as you guys

mon

Hello everyone, This is my first post. I'm a long time Japanese sword admirer and have a few other swords. I'm a novice and have learned a lot from what I've read here on this site. I recently bought this at an auction. The blade was covered in cosmoline and wood particles. After gently cleaning the cosmoline off with alcohol, it revealed a blade is great shape. A Japanese coworker translated the mei as Yoshichika. I was hoping you could tell me more. The blade length is 72.4 cm. Thanks, Rusty H.