Jacques

Hi, Seems to have some ware on this blade, one on the shinogi (center of the pic number 7) and one on the shinogi ji (pic number 2 center of the katana-kake).

Hi, About the mei i've zoomed it You can see the chisel strokes clearly and i think it is definitively a "funny mei"

Hi, this blade is tori-sori, suriage, and not so old (yasurime are visible easily) To my eyes the mei is a "funny one"

Hi, Seems only a date.. Showa ??? + arsenal stamp. It seems to be a machine forged blade, not a traditional nihon-tô

Hi, Tango no kami kanemichi was the fourth son of the founder of the Mishina school he lived in settsu (Osaka) since Kanei to Kanbun, his first name was Naomichi. There were five generations of Tango Kanemichi. You are a lucky man this blade looks good and the boshi is a typical mishina's one (with hakikake). Just a bemol, it is slighty suriage.

Hi, Sorry, there are 3 pages :? but i can't see the first i suppose it contains all the informations.

Hi, Starting with the beginning (sugata-----> kamakura... muromachi...keisho shinto....etc...) would be better, More easy with the measureaments

Hi, Gimei 100%

Right, So, i think that because the yasurime (file marks) are not the same all along the nakago; they are kiri (horizontal) and below takanoha (hawk feather) and the patina of the upper part (up the nakago-ana ) is more clear than the bottom.

Hi, Darcy... oshigata is here RayE's blade seems to have been machi-okuri (kiri and takanoha yasurime) About yasurime takanoha is not in conformity with Mishina-ha but some smith in Morimichi-ha used them.

Hi, The best for comparison (and pleasure for the eyes). Both blades are juyo Bunkasai.

I think that this blade is gimei, look at the oshigata below and be attentive with the second and third kanji, they are differences in the chisel strokes.

Hi, There are several Morimichi; Morimichi ha worked both in Mino and Owari, smiths of this school are descended from the late Koto Smith Muromichi of the Seki Muroya ha. Two main families with parallel dévelopment each succeding to their own title: Sugura no kami fujiwara Morimichi (shodai, nidai, sandai) Musashi no kami fujiwara Morimichi (shodai nidai sandai) worked in sue-seki style. Darcy, it is not a eventuality, it is a fact, i have an oshigata of Suruga no kami Morimichi (nidai) wich reads Mishina Fujiwara Morimichi. source: Mino-tô

Hi, I'm not sure but it seems that Shinkai and Sukehiro worked together only for two blades, a katana and a wakizashi. The katana was made in Enpo 3 and was listed int he Bengi Oshigata: Concerning the waki Tanobe sensei (Token Bijutsu n° 606) says that:

Hi Patrick, The dealer says the same thing but he thinks that it could be the shodai, what do you think about that? I know that the nidai had made some mumei blades.

Hi, The second mei may be Kawachi no kami Hirotaka.

Hi Michel, No, i don't know why, but my old eyes are open to read your explanations. Tu pourrais mettre ça sur notre forum aussi :D

Hi, Looks like the Hashimoto family mon (real name of Hizen Tadayoshi lineage).

Hi, You can try with a cleaning gun brush 22 long rifle caliber (nylon and cotton only) i've used it for cleaning an old saya of a Kunishige blade.

Hi, Thank you Darcy, Just a little remark, :D i personnally don't find that the mei itself is so near the bottom of the nakago. :?

Hi, this blade seems to have a keicho shinto look, i don't think that it was suriage but perhaps machi-okuri; About the mei, if it is Yamashiro no kami Kunikiyo (hirokawa school) his mei is often low down on the nakago and ends near the nakago jiri (that i should like to see). Hada is not incompatible with this school one. In any case there is a good occasion to learn something :D

Hi, Yamashiro no kami Kunikiyo (frome Echizen) signed in tachi mei.

Darcy, Thanks for the commentary i'll be less ignorant when i'll go to bed this evening. Yes it's a yari (shinto yamato tegai mei Kawachi no kami Monju Kanesada) other pictures: For the pleasure, another Norishige, this one is kokuho :

Hi, May be Katsukuni from kaga :arrow:

Jean, All that say Tsuruta san is not my cup of tea concerning sue-bizen school, yes it is a late muromachi one (sue 末 means end). you can also read this : that come from: http://www.nihonto.ca/yosozaemon-sukesada/index.html