USMC-LCPL

My new pictures are crisper and clearer, no? Do they shed any light?

The papers are Yoshikawa (sp.) Scored a 72 at a New York Shinsa 2 years ago. Trying to get you a pic, but it's dark right now (bunkmate's asleep.) I'll get it in tomorrow.

Too late Stephen. This guy called down the thunder, and now he's got the boom. Actually I payed Bob Benson 350 USD to fix *deleted by Admin*

Better pictures are up. @ Samurai: They suggest Mino 1730.

If you don't have a shirasaya, I would recommend thus: 1. Oil the blade. Wrap in ceran-wrap. Cover the tip with a (small) piece of hard Styrofoam. Ensure that the foam is tightly wedged over the entire tip, and that the sword is not poking out the other end. 2. Cover in foam wrap, then in heavy construction paper. Tape. 3. Take a cardboard tube large enough to house the wrapped blade. Cut a piece of plywood in the size of the tube's lid. Super glue the wooden circle inside the lid. This will ensure that the blade will not penetrate the tube, while also ensuring (because plywood is relatively soft) that the blade will not bend it's tip inside the tube either. 4. Place the blade, tip end toward lid, inside the tube. Fill the gaps inside the tube with packing peanuts, if you want to be crazy safe. Cover the tube with the wood-lined lid. Tape. 5. Place inside rectangular box filled with packing peanuts. Ship.

Yes he did. He thought it was Mino, late 1500's. That's over 200 years off of the paper date though, and I was curious if anyone else agreed/disagreed. Yes it was a finish polish, but the pic blurriness is due to my inability to control photoshop. I'm trying to size down the photos right now, they look much clearer on my comp screen than they do when I post them. Give me a bit and I'll get you something sharper...

Sometimes, when photographing a perfectly good and in-polish blade, bright lighting makes it impossible to capture the details. However, if you angle the lighting (45 Degrees works for me,) then the Hamon and Grain of the steel become much more visible. However, if the blade has had a polishing agent or electric buffer taken to it, it will shine like a mirror even if the lighting is perfect. I'm just not sure if it's the lighting or the polish. Can you see a hamon if you hold the blade at an angel?

Perhaps you just need to accept the fact that you have a set of beautiful and authentic Koshirae, a quality nihonto and that the two are not meant to be together. Why do you feel the need to fill that set of Koshirae with a blade? Why not display them, and put your sword in Shirasaya instead?

Hello NMB, I have in my possession a papered Wakizashi that I recently had polished. The Polisher, Bob Benson, seemed to feel that the papers were somewhat off. Now that the grain is fully visible, and the hamon has been brought out, could it be that another Shinsa is in order? What school and period do you all think this Wakizashi is? I have the papers here, but I'd rather not bias your conclusions. EDIT: New pics are UP! Thanks for the help everyone!

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Pictures please?

You need to dim and angle the lighting a little bit. I'm straining my eyes like hell trying to make out a hamon... Do you know if this sword was properly cared for by it's previous owner? Mirror finish polishes always mean bad things...

Excuse my lack of experience, but I'm assuming that you made that observation based upon the fact that the thicker portion of the short stroke is on the left side, correct? I didn't know that this was an indicator of the motion of the stroke until now, but it makes perfect sense. And, with comparison to the example provided by Brian, you appear to be absolutely correct. Look at the bottom of Brian's Mei: Clearly Right to Left short strokes.

Regarding the Cost of polishing a blade, I would recommend you ask around a little. I got one quote of 800 dollars for a wakizashi polish from one Polisher, and another (much better) polisher did the job for only 350. It's all in who you talk to. As to the investment it's self, 2000 might be more than the sword is worth. It could also be much much less. Find out more about it, the temper line and grain of the steel will help answer that question.

Weight reduction? Perhaps it was a certain smith's clever but outwardly discrete way of indicating that he forged a mumei sword?

Thank you to all three of you for your help. That was an excellent pair of links Brian, and Nobody, that clear depiction of the characters was even more helpful...

Wow... My first try was epic failure. After 20 years I can still barely read my own Mother's handwriting... I guess it's not surprising that Japanese Sword Signatures are kicking my ass... :| "Showa Ju Hachi Nen Ju Ichi Gatsu." Or, October/November 1944. A Desperation Sword for sure, which might explain the crappy handwriting! I mean, come on guys, you have to admit that the "Ju Hachi" looked a whole lot like "Roku..." :? EDIT: @ Jacques: Is it really 1943? It would appear I need to go back to math class as well...

Ooooh... I'm still so bad at this... The first figure is "Showa," which began in 1926...? I'll try: The second figure is "Go," or "Five" The third figure is "Roku," or "Six" The fourth figure I'm having problems with... The fifth I think is "Ni," or two... but that horizontal stroke doesn't make sense... And the final stroke is "Gatsu," meaning "Month"... Which makes absolutely ZERO sense if you try to string it together as is... but assuming that I'm just getting some of it wrong, and going off your hint... I can make an educated guess: "Showa the 26th Year, 2nd Month," Or February of 1942. I know I got "Roku" and "Showa" right, and that's all I really need for the year. The month however was a wild guess... Um, hows that for a total newbie at this?

If it's too much trouble to get a full translation, then I would be more than content with a "Yup, it's Japanese/ Nope, it's gibberish" answer... But I'm currently trying to restore a family heirloom, a gunto, and I've found one online for a steal that has crap for a blade, but nearly flawless fittings. Exactly what I need. The problem: the sig on the tang is freaking me out. I'm more than aware that a certain risk accompanies all Ebay usage, but I'd like my risk to not be a careless one. Please tell me if this sig is authentic. Thank you.

I finally had the Wakizashi shown to Bob Benson today. He had absolutely no idea what to make of the damage, but said that it was well within his power to repair. Either way, I'm ready to move on about this damned business. To date, I refuse to believe that the sword was damaged in transit: There was no hole in the side of the box, nor was there any hole in the cardboard tubing that Andreas placed the exposed blade inside. The sword was damaged before it was placed in the box. Fin. However, I don't give a damn about reparations or refunds. 300 bucks is a small price to pay for the lesson learned. And meeting Bob Benson was worth the drama anyway. That guy is cool.

Um... Wow. I just gave a Wakizashi to Bob Benson earlier today for a finishing polish and a Tip Fix. Also some minor rewrapping. He said he'd have it back to me middle of next week. He's a really cool guy, we talked for almost an hour and he showed me some of the projects he's working on. It was really cool of him to help a guy like me out on such short notice... he had over 10 swords from a collector in Germany that he still has to work on... and that was just ONE of his orders. I feel special.

Well, does the same line appear on both sides? That would make the answer pretty obvious... *Crosses fingers for "no"* :x

Thank you for the suggestion! What kind of store would I purchase these packs in? And I know about the cost of Dehumidifiers... that's one of the reason's I'm trying to find a cheaper solution :? Thanks again,

Hello all, I recently purchased a "Shadow Box" (read: Wooden Case) to keep my Shinto era Mino Wak in... and I was wondering... Is there something I can place inside of the box to ward off moisture? I have yet to get a functioning Saya for the blade, so this is a matter of some urgency for me. Do you know of any "dehumidifiers" that I can place inside of my Shadow Box to protect my blade from rust? BTW, I'm in Hawaii, so moisture and humidity are both HUGE problems. Thank you all for your assistance!

The picture that Andreas posted of the sword "Before it was restored..." ... is EXACTLY the way that it looks now. This sword was never repaired as you claimed. It was NOT damaged in transit.