doomsdaymachine

Is this Satsuma style koshirae? No menuki, deep kashira, beefy tsuka and udenuki ana in the tsuba?

Can I just say that this is a lovely tanto? Have a nice day.

Thank you Moriyama-san! Go big or go home, right?

Any thoughts on this? Cast tsuba, brass, obviously later made. Looks like someone cleaned it, then painted it.

Weird looking, but I like it. Willing to bet this is like satsuma age on a naginata with a broken tip. Odd muneyaki otherwise imho.

+1

It's a fake, but at least it was free!

Michael, same name, but the angular final stroke on the Moto is more rounded out on mine. That's the reason I figured mine wasn't one of the first few generations of Kanemoto (if shoshin) I'm in touch with Ted now. Hopefully there will be a resolution on the horizon!

Is there any precedence for smiths dating to a period, but beyond when the period was? Confusing...an example might be better. Gentoku lasted from 1329 -1331. That means there should be Gentoku 1, Gentoku 2, and Gentoku 3, right? What if something is signed, with no question, Gentoku...lets say 7? That's well beyond Gentoku, and I believe even beyond the next period. Is this a thing? Or maybe a forged signature and date by someone who didn't know when Gentoku ended?

Fujimoto Harunobu?

Lacquered saya or shirasaya? Lacquered saya have nowhere to expand but inward. Un-lacquered wood expands in all directions, meaning it gets taller and wider proportionately to inward expansion, changing the shape of the hole in the wood.

Those look a lot like the mats that Bugei used to sell. If they are they are fun to cut, but they are spongy. Won't provide you the same feedback as cutting real tatami omote. Bad cuts can still make it through just fine. I vote Nihonzashi.

Thanks for the suggestions, Brian! I'm comfortable playing with hot water, but I'm not confident in my ability to only heat the necessary area to just the right temp. I think I'll leave this for a professional. In the mean time, I've cleaned the blade and oiled it but I'm concerned about the water I poured on the habaki earlier. I know WD40 isn't great for swords, but I need to make sure there's no water trapped under the habaki. Thoughts?

Just saw this. Thanks, Lance!

Thanks for the effort, Robert! If there's any risk to the blade, you can bet I'll be leaving it to a professional. I know of Ted, and would love to hear his pro opinion on a solution to this. I guess for the time being, I'll just keep cleaning, oiling, and researching! Even if it turns out the problem is too severe for a reasonable fix, the mounts alone are worth more than I paid for it by far. ...That said, I really hope it's not too much trouble to fix.