bobtail44

Wouldn't varnish leave a nicer/clearer finish? Trent S

I have a shirasaya with a sayagaki written on it which I want to preserve. It was written by a famous person who has passed away and I think it should be preserved. Is it wrong to vanish the shirasaya or would it devalue it? Is there a better way to preserve it? I thought id ask people more knowledgeable before I let loose with a paint brush Cheers, Trent S

Its from the United States of Lebanon according to eBay Beautiful kissaki though Trent S

The sword by itself with the damage/wear shown id say would go for about 500-600 dollars at a stretch. It also doesn't look traditionally made from the photos. Having the photo of a guy with a sword doesn't mean much unless there is concrete proof tying the sword to the owner in the photo. Even then, unless he is someone special or of rank..... It costs upwards of $75 dollars an inch to get a sword polished properly and you would never consider that for a sword like this unless it had sentimental value as it isn't commercially viable. There are much better shin gunto swords out there for around $1100 dollars that are in much better condition. Id say skip this one and look around ebay. It might be a shark tank but you can always get your money back through paypal and there are some very good sellers on there. Just a few examples: No guarantee on any of them but might be worth a look. http://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-Japanese-O ... 4625d01fe8 http://www.ebay.com/itm/MANTETSU-WWII-J ... 3393f9bb6a http://www.ebay.com/itm/NO-RESERVE-Worl ... 2a41f5d094 That was just a 1 min search, there are loads of them on there every week. Don't get too hung up on a single auction, sometimes people go stupid with there bids or its just shill bidding. Trent S

:lol: What would you classify that hamon as Trent S

I just figured it out because I added sensei so a lot more came up on him because then I could search through Dr and kantei. Is there a way that I can preserve the fading writing on the shirasaya, like a light coating of clear varnish? I don't want it to wear off anymore, its a part of its history. Trent S

Yes the blade length matches Thanks for taking the time to post that great diagram All of the information seems correct. Id love to know who the person was who wrote on it and what relationship the two smiths were to each other. Cheers, Trent S

some more cos I can ;D Trent S

Here are the images :D :D Trent S

Do you happen to have any information on them, im interested in the history. thanks for your help. Trent S

No, That is from when I bought it and it was translated from the nakago According to Hawley they are from the Shimosaka group,I wonder if they were brothers. Trent S

Yeah it says that it cut someone in half through the chest into the ground. Trent S

oh I see. I tried matching the nakago to the shirasaya but it didn't all match. Now I know what the other bit is. Thank you. I was looking for more information on this smith but the information that I found seemed to say that he wasn't alive as late as the blade was made. I might have been confusing smith generations though. That guy might have been an author: http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/560764 but who knows http://www.jp-sword.com/files/books.htm down a few books Cheers, Trent Spencer

Got home late, no photos today Trent S

Sure can, when I get home in 8 hours ill be taking some pics Trent S

I cant read kanji I just match them. Ive been collecting for a few years but ive only had a couple of hours free time to learn to Japanese. I wanted to confirm what people thought the date was. Also why is there so much text on the shirasaya, is it just a repeat of the same thing? Trent S

The lighter kanji starts at the top and im guessing was written first and it gets darker as it goes down towards the tip of the blade. Trent S

I have this blade and it has artistic writing that I am guessing is of of various ages on the outside of the shirasaya. Just wondering what it says. Im still learning to read kanji and finding it hard to find the time to translate especially when it is all hand written. If someone feels like cracking the code feel free and thanks Cheers, Trent NOTE I added images of the blade on second page! :D

After reading through this whole post id have to say stop buying nihonto. If money is an issue, start on this web page http://japaneseswordindex.com/kizu.htm then go back through the whole site. Then read this book as mentioned before: http://books.google.com.au/books/about/ ... edir_esc=y After reading all that, you will be a much more informed and successful treasure hunter. If you keep up your trend of buying, then you are going to have a bad time in your hobby Trent S

You guys said that they are rare, and its the only other one ive ever seen so I thought one of you might like it. Not a bad blade in it either, Not my thing though Trent S

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-JAPANES ... 1e9011f215 Who wants one, condition looks good Trent Spencer

looks good could you take a close up picture of the blade collar area, where the blade meets the tang? Just curious about it Cheers, Trent

It says put me in the translation section Trent S

That is awesome! Trent S

Should at least post some pics now so we can see what you bought Trent S