mercierarmory

Here is an overall shot that he provided and a closeup of one section. I wish I was able to see it in person to look for damage due to what it was used for after the war, but he doesn't live nearby. It has some corrosion but I don't know about other issues yet (nicks, cracks, scratches etc).

Omi no kami. What does that title mean?

Here are the tsuba and menuki that belong to the sword

LOL I'm not sure what happened. Lets try again.

Wow! I was just asked to help out with another translation and I just don't have the time to work on them. I am trying to be a friend, but when dealing with a 4 year old and a 4 month old, when does anyone have time?! This one looks interesting, but he said his grandfather used to cut tobacco with it when he brought it back after the war. If he did, it doesn't look too bad. The tsuka is trashed but the tsuba is still present and so is one menuki. Any thoughts? Mike

A friend of mine asked for my assistance translating this blade of his however my translation skills are so limited, I wouldn't call them skills at all. It is in a standard Army mountings except the saya is black laquered wood. I am really hurting this time because I haven't come up with anything for this one. As always, any help would be greatly appreciated! Mike

No!!! I decided to purchase the tachi I was trying to get translated earlier this month with the extensive mei and the unthinkable happened. While it was at the packaging store ready to head my way, apparently it was "dropped" and the tsuka hit the floor. My best guess is they were holding it by the saya and it slipped out. The tsuka wasn't in the greatest condition in the first place, but there is no hope in saving it now. I will have to get a replacement made. Luckily the packing company said their insurance should cover the damage, but that is just one more thing I don't have the time to deal with right now. Mike

My hat is off to you, Sir! Not being versed in kanji, I am just impressed I was able to get close to the date. You however nailed it! My only question now is about the seal. What does that signify? Here are pictures of the sword in question Mike

Here is the opposite side with a stamp/seal that has me a little confused. Could someone possibly explain that? Mike

Hello all, It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I am attempting to help a friend with a translation on a sword of his Grandfathers brought back during the war. It is a decent looking tachi, but it believe to be dated 1871. The mei is quite extensive on both sides and I'm having a heck of a time with it. Can anyone identify what this might say? These pictures are the mei on the one side. It is quite long. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have a friend who just picked this tanto up at a yard sale of all things (and for $75 too!) I was trying to help him with the translation, but I just cant seem to get it. Could I get some help please? Mike

Well, it sold for $1425. Close to what I was looking to get I suppose. Now the question is if I want to sell the shin-gunto with the Ando Kanemoto signed blade. I reallllly want to keep that one if I can. Mike

I asked the guy if the auction was a joke and mentioned that I thought it might be a fishing spear. This is the response "What do you mean is this auction a joke? A fishing spear? You have no idea what you are talking about!!!!!! Why dont you do a little research, Or I should say in your case a lot of research!!! Find someone else to be STUPPID to....." Wow. That's all I can say.

Thanks for the comments. It is a wonderful sword and only the 2nd Japanese weapon I have owned. It truely hurts me to part with it, but as I'm sure a lot of you know, sometimes other situations take priority. I am quite intrigued by the leather covered saya. It is very unique and I haven't really heard of any other examples like this. This sword as well as a WWII field grade officers katana I have (and 2 Filipino blades) were all bringbacks from the same US veteran. I didn't want to break them up, but I know someone out there will enjoy the sword and I hope that if they decide to get it polished that I can get some pictures of it when it's finished. That was my original plan. Mike

I know this part of the forum is for discussion of ebay auctions but I don't know if it's appropriate to post a link to the sword I'm selling. I hate to do it, but my truck's engine died and had to be replaced. Therefore, I have to sell the sword. http://cgi.ebay.com/Late-17th-century-J ... 0223854905

I was browsing abebooks.com and found a 1st edition of Broad and Smallsword Exercise by Colonel Thomas Stephens for only $5USD. Not knowing much about this book at the time it still sounded too good to be true so I bought it. Since then I have only heard of 2 copies for sale in the past 2 years and the only libraries in the US that own a copy are big name ones like The Library of Congress and West Point. Lets just say it's quite rare. I also managed to pick up the 2nd edition printed in 1861. for under $50 I believe. These books were highly recommended for the US Army Cavalry for swordsmanship training and give detailed instructions for the use of the saber. The earlier edition had the plates of the soldiers in Mexican American War uniforms and the 2nd edition uses Union and Confederate uniforms. Mike

Thank you for the effort Pete! We had a chance on Thursday to give the tsuba a closer look and hit the books and were able to verify the Teruyuki part. I was not aware of the rest and appreciate the extra information! Mike

Any idea of the significance of the notches? Mike

I would say overall smooth and waxy except for the more pronounced corrosion areas which I believe are noticeable in the photos. Mike

the only markings I can find are 4 evenly spaced notches on the edge spaced 3/16" apart. This picture was the best I can do, but I assume you get the idea. Mike

and the other with a ruler for reference

one side of the tang

Ok, sorry I didn't get back sooner with the pictures. There is better light at my work so I brought the sword there for photos. Here is the overall blade...

Ok....I'm new. Forgive my questions but I am quite curious. I have collected swords for around 10 years or so, but original Japanese weapons are quite "foreign" to me. I just bought 2 swords, one being a WWII officers and the other is an unsigned, what I would consider, tachi, however the nakago was cut down at some point. The blade starting at the hamachi (I think that's the right term) is an impressive 33 inches. (this would be a tachi, wouldn't it?) So here's my question. I remember reading somewhere that it was possible (for professionals of course) to possibly date an unsigned blade based on the corrosion of the nakago. First, how the heck do they do this, and second how do I find someone to do this. The only real problem with this blade is (I would assume) the soldier that captured this sword finely sanded the blade down and there are very light scratches on it, but the hamon cannot be seen. As much as I would love to see this blade as it once looked, I don't know if the high price of polishing would really be worth it. Thanks for the help, Mike

Does anyone have any information on Seki swordsmiths from WWII? I am looking for details about Ando Kanemoto whos signature is on a sword of mine I just purchased with the Seki stamp. It is in beautiful shape with a nice hamon and I can't seem to find anything about him online. I have seen the name "kanemoto" a handful of times, but not pared with "ando". The picture below shows my sword's signature (with enhancement to help with seeing it online) and a copy of the signature out of a book. Mike