jbeer1212

Hey Folks, One more of the swords that my friend brought to me,this one has quite fine mounts(whats left of them at least). Silver foil Habaki and a very nice early Onin tsuba. It appears that the tang was once upon a time signed, but I really cannot make out any Kanji, unfortunately, however I see that there are lines chiseled against the file marks, and appear to be remnants of a signature. Any thoughts on how to possibly capture those would be appreciated. It appears also that someone "polished" it but really it seems that they hit it with steel wool, or a buffing pad, so the Hamon , while visible is very hard to capture. I am curious if the form of the blade or any features stand out to anyone? Also does anyone know the Mon on the saya? Like the others I posted I will shoot better photos, but my light set up is dismantled at the moment, as I am just rather busy at the moment, and haven't had time to put it together. Many thanks, Jeremy Overall length is 79.5cm cutting edge is 63cm

Hi Alex, Thanks you. I too wish it was signed, but stylistically I thought the Nakago fit Bizen. I also wish it was in better shape, the tip is broken off, maybe 1mm missing... Oh well. Cheers, Jeremy

Hi Dan, I will do that, thank you. Jeremy

Hey folks, A friend brought me a number of swords recently to try and identify. This one has seen better days, but looks to have some age, and is seemingly from Bizen. Just curious everyone's thoughts. I will take some better photos later. Just slammed with work. Many thanks, Jeremy Overall length is 63.5 cm cutting edge is 51cm

Hey Folks, Sorry for the rushed pictures, its been busy around here as of late, and when work settles a bit I will take some better photos. I am curious your thoughts on this blade. It appears to be signed Masayoshi, but I can't quite make out the full signature. Any thoughts are appreciated. Cheers, Jeremy Over all the length is 84.5 cm and the cutting edge is about 66cm

Dale, Thank you so much for the replies, and the information. I actually took a look at the Varshavsky Collection after your first reply, Amazing wealth of knowledge. I wonder does the thinness point to earlier? I ask because there are two or three on there sub 3mm and the dating is mid-Muromachi period. Also there appears to be lacquer or a coating of sorts on the iron in a few spots, very worn or flaked off, is this an original feature. I was wondering if the second cut out was a Tomoe, but it seems to be missing the curvature and the ball end. Thank you again. Jeremy

Just a few more photos

Hi Everyone, Recently a friend of mine brought over a number of swords, and asked my opinion. This really is not my area, though over the years I have had quite a few Nihonto and such pieces, but I do collect early Japanese and Korean ceramics and therefore people bring me literally anything related to Asia ( always a fun learning experience). I have reached out to an acquaintance who is rather experienced in these things and he tentatively dated it to Circa 1600. I am curious the thoughts of the members of the forum, is there a guess to the school, or examples similar to this? The blade this was on has a silver foil Habaki ( I will take more photos tomorrow), and I suspect it is a rather old blade. Any info or insight would be most appreciated, and I will be posting the blades and other fittings ( these swords lived a tough life and are not complete, except one type 98... a shame really) shortly but I find this to be the most pleasing for some reason. I also apologize for the rushed photos, I will shoot better ones in the morning. Many thanks, Jeremy Beer The width is 77mm the height 78mm and the thickness is 2mm

Okay I have added a dozen more pictures of individual pieces, let me know if that works. thanks, -Jeremy

Thank you for your help, i had thought Kaga but did not know the rest. -Jeremy

hello, I am new to collecting armor and other Japanese items. This is my first armor and I am seeking any information about it. the description I received was that it was edo period and not much else. I know that it is in rough shape though I intend to clean it a bit and display it. thank you for any and all help. -Jeremy http://www.flickr.com/photos/7590030@N05/ i cant seem to post images so here are all of them on flikr.