Bruce Pennington

Posting photo for future when link goes dead:

Anton, The smiths often got quite stylish and 'loose' with the kanji. But with practice (and believe me I have a long way to go!), you start to recognize some in spite of their handwriting. From right to left on the "NORI" kanji, you can clearly see the long vertical stroke. Then, you see the short vertical stroke, and finally, on the left is the 3-box stack with 2 'feet' at the bottom.

That's a great work you've done there! The kokuin appears to be his name in the stamp, which is something I've seen with a few other smiths that used hot stamps. I've added it to the next Stamps Doc update. You've given me a one more TAN stamped blade and a few Seki stamped blades to add to my charts as well, thank you.

Anton, There is no way that this one read "Kanetsugu". Now, there were smiths that changed their art name over the span of their careers. Whether Kanetsugu was one of them, I cannot say. Mal Cox, @mecox, could if anyone can.

Thanks John! I have 4 other Masayasu with the same stamp, now 5. I have a few other smiths with the Ko on the nakago, but they are either on the mune or if on the face, it is together with the stacked cannon ball stamp. Masayasu seems to be the only one that had the Ko marked in this fashion.

No date, Ed? Usually there isn't one, but worth asking,

Nice one, Sam, thanks!

So, the wardrobe supervisor got the NCO tassel right, at least!

Hm. Then we’re back to square one. Because we don’t know where that rig came from.

It sure opens up a different view of these mixed pieces that show up today. Can anyone identify his rank and those wings on his chest? Another thing to keep in mind is that I once read long ago that these photographers had studio swords and weapons for people that did not show up with their own. Even if that were the case, though, I cannot imagine that he would be using a piece together sword.

Oops, I see the difference. I'll correct my file.

Yes, seems like Hirata Kanetaka - 兼隆 (Kanetaka) KANETAKA (兼隆), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanetaka” (兼隆), real name Hirata Kaname (平田要), born November 16th 1896, he worked as a guntō smith

Withe sword 1, there is no way to tell if it was signed. The amount of corrosion is enough to have obscured a signature if it was there. The third has the sakura version tsuba (hand guard) used by the civilian branch of the military called Gunzoku. They wore military styled uniforms and did many non-combat jobs like maintenance, admin, etc. It also has what appears to be a black leather cover, correct? If so, the Gunzoku official likely was serving with the navy. Go to this page for some good general instructions for sword care: Japanese Sword Care.

I have never seen an original WWII bag for sale by itself. The new ones, from Japan, range from $50 to $200. Flags range from $50 to $1,000. I'd say you'd have carte blanche to ask whatever you like on such a unique item.

Hm. I had seen the mark earlier and assumed it was simply a flaw in the steel. But after seeing another one of his with a mark in the same place, I tend to agree with you. There are many blades with punched dots, but up to now, they are always (there's that word!) near the jiri or on the mune. This does seem a unique personal practice of some sort.

That's also a cool piece of history, as it has documentation of it's confiscation after the war. Very nice.

Nazar, Looks like you have more of them than I do. I only have 7 with Seki stamp, and 6 with Tan. All 13 have the full mei, though, compared to yours with 2 kanji. I don't see him in Sesko's list, so Slough is my only source for listing him as Nagamura Kiyonobu from Gifu. Maybe @mecox has a write-up about him in one of his articles?

I admit, too, John that I'd never noticed that the 25s were stamped on the hand guard like the 32s.

This one is posted over on this Warrelics thread. Don't know about a smith, yet, might be an older blade based upon the mekugi location. Will update if he posts it.

Thank you for your discussion, Nazar. It’s nice to see you enjoying and growing in your hobby.

Very strange that both sides were ground down to make machi, as if someone was going to mount a traditional samurai style handle.

Hi Galo, Great find, there. Yes, the blade is older than WWII. I cannot tell you how old, but maybe some of the other guys can give you an idea. Those frustrating black stains do not come out without a professional polish. There are a few guys that do it, but it will cost over $2,000. If your friend wants to spend that much we can point him to someone. In the meantime, here is a good page on care and cleaning: Japanese Sword Care

Hi Brian, It's not happening often, but a couple times this month, one just now, I get a notification (bell at top of page), of someone posting a topic in a forum I don't follow. In this case it was "Jrbjag posted a topic Wanted to Buy: Locating spare koshirae pieces - seppa" I don't follow that forum, nor was I mentioned in the post. Not a terrible problem, just thought I'd let you know.

DOH! Thanks, I see it now.

Is this one of those cases where two smiths worked together to make a blade?