remzy

well made suguha hamon are amongst the hardest to make and in many people's opinion including my own, some of the finest hamon out there... Please, do not molest this nihonto more than it already has been on basis of its hamon...

As I said in my first post, it could be an "accidental" block whilst on the battlefield but I dont know, it is kind of rare to see such things, more likely that it was faked as mentioned before, but choose to believe what you want, because it does no difference, it is still an oddly placed block on a ware. I highly doubt that a hit on a sword would be able to open a such a huge ware in the mune, metal does not work that way. regards, edit: by all mean, do not let this stop you from cherishing your sword, its just wild speculation in any case.

I have a wakizashi that has this mark as well, it will not decrease the value of the blade as far as i know. Yours seem like it could be an accidental block? since it is at the very end, i don't see how this could have been done without the wielder stretching his arms in an awkward fashion. Is this a kitae ware i see on the mune?

Bah! where is the poesy in that? :D Good point tho.

It depend Alex, there has been many style of blade construction over the century http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/construction.html Muku is basically monosteel

Every time i restore old and ancient leather, i use 100% pure neatsfoot oil with nothing else (no petrol, no minerals ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neatsfoot_oil check the ingredients before buying. It come directly from the animal and serve to humidify the leather, protect it and make it more supple without "sealing it" or crusting it or "painting it" like most leather products do. Most shoe, couch and leather products out there contain neatsfoot oil PLUS chemicals. My two cents.

Sure, modern steel is purer etc. but what about a monosteel blade versus, say, a kobuse blade made using modern steel. Would a mono steel still be stronger than a kobuse made sword with a outer layer of modern steel with a softer modern steel at its core? assuming there is absolutely no flaw in the weld, thats the question that interest me. I believe a balance of softness and hardness make for a stronger blade, but I am no engineer. Historically, we see less Muku style of construction than we see of kobuse style, and it cannot be because they were harder to make. Regards,

I would tend to believe that a good quality traditionally made nihonto would be stronger than a modern made monosteel sword or gunto, simply because the good quality blade might warp under EXTREME abuse, but not break, due the the way the sword is manufactured. whilst regardless of the quality of the monosteel, it would only break, not bend. In the end, swords were never meant to hit against extremely hard objects... so this is pretty pointless. Regards,

Hello, if you have access to a scanner, you can scan the blade as well.

Thanks you Darcy and Brian, that is the reasonable approach, Do you gentlemen think it would be possible to identify the maker based on this scan? Ignoring the mei. http://oi41.tinypic.com/2ex1x04.jpg http://oi40.tinypic.com/kq64p.jpg http://oi40.tinypic.com/5lb15i.jpg

Greetings everyone, first, I am sorry to resurrect this very old thread but a question emerged and I am in a bit of a dead end... I have been talking to someone about this particular tanto and he showed interest in it, even tho I have informed him of the huge possibility it being gemei (99.5%). Now I know that I have paid way to much for it back then, live and learn, but I was wondering how much I should ask for it, so that I do not rip him off, knowing all that I know, it still is an old Nihonto, even if it is out of polish, average quality and gemei. I do not want to scam anyone and I am lost as to what would ethically be correct to ask, my guess would be around 350. I know some of you do not like to discuss finance and I am sorry for that, but short of giving it to him or asking too much, I greatly appreciate to have some sort of average idea. Best regards, Remy

At first i thought it was a rooster, but there were too many heads, so the turtle sounds more like it.

Gourds often serve as a reminder that human have to be careful not to grow crooked and always remain straight, the spinerweb and worm bites "might" represent old age. Or as stated, it might only be a season theme.

I humbly believe that copper patina improve over time much faster than steel, so all is not lost if this tsuba is well cared for, you could still enjoy a nice patina on it in your lifetime

Interesting points there Pete and Ted, it might indeed be why the metal look so "porous" as mentioned. That combined with age and corrosion.

i see nothing wrong with this tsuba... beside that it is all bent!!! he he, just kidding.

This is certainly the best diamonds i have seen so far, granted i havent seen a whole lot. The menuki look pretty good too!

I wouldnt touch it if i were you, just in case the blade is refound later on.. and as mentioned before, the wrap is of excellent quality!

Paul provided excellent advices, here is a link to the tool that were refered to. http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/tools.html You could easily make your own based from the pictures, as mentioned by Paul, the goal is to protect yourself and the blade from damage and injuries.

Hizen? Great hada

As per my first post here, I am still waiting for pictures of both side of the nakago before speculating farther than `this look like a handmade sword`.

Anyone who would take an old Shinto blade in Kyu gunto mounts and part them by selling the koshirae on eBay shouldn't be collecting Japanese swords. Shows a terrible lack of respect for the sword and its history. The sword is most certainly old and I strongly suspect shinto, the Kyu gunto mounts make it very desirable to gunto collectors. People will pay $1000 for the sword in that state without even seeing the nakago... I would. That is your opinion ,but i am not a gunto collector and once this blade is polished out, it would not be a good idea at all to put it into that mount and it is by no mean traditional. To me That would be a lack of respect for the sword, to me ww2 mounts are untraditional, ugly and modern, but to each their own. That is my opinion, opinions are fine but passing judgment about individuals is not...

Hello Dave, you would need to show us pictures of the nakago in order to get a better idea as to if it is worth restoring or not, right now my feeling is that this is a handmade sword but this does not rule out the showato possibility (showato are non-traditionnaly made swords) i wouldnt send a showato to a togishi for restoration. My gut feelings tell me this is a true nihonto. The mount is not worth a thing unless you are into old WWII stuff, so I would ditch it or sell it on eBay. Someone is bound to buy it if only for the tassel.

I guess you could put a little gelatinous rice glue or resin glue on the place where the ito string is supposed to go, place the string correctly where its supposed to be and wrap the tsuka tightly a couple of turn with some cotton cloth to keep a gentle pressure on it while it dry, this shouldnt damage the ito as long as you dont use chemical glue, it should be fine. Of course theres always someone who will tell you to leave it alone, so, use your own judgment.

Im still far from being knowledgable when it comes to this but, i am wondering if i am the only one to find the nakago ana and the kogai hitsuana to be oddly shaped?