Mark S.

Thank You!

Not questioning, just trying to learn. I thought it was Okayama (based on the context of what I could read)... but the Oka on the nakago looks nothing like the Oka 岡 kanji I normally see?

I read (top to bottom) Bi zen ? yama ju Kuni mune

Funny you mention his name... I was going to make a joke earlier that I just hoped he wasn’t off somewhere screaming into a pillow about my efforts so far...

I am confused... I always thought a traditionally trained polisher works to restore the blade ‘as it should be’ for the smith/school and that it is returned to the owner in the condition the polisher intended? I find it difficult to believe I could ‘improve’ anything someone with all that experience and training had already done? If the polish requires more work to make ‘better’ or ‘more perfect’, then to what quality/standard is the polisher working toward? I thought we were having blades polished to bring out everything that can/should be seen? Are we saying the polisher isn’t capable of that... but somehow I am? I’m not being argumentative... just confused about this.

I’ve also read Jimmy Gilbert’s article that states washing tsuba with mild soap and water is ok and that even boiling is acceptable. Not sure I wanted to go there? I’ve seen that boiling can turn some of the red rust to the more desirable black? I know there are several threads regarding all this, and did not mean to rehash all that info. I was however willing to accept all advice/criticism of my current efforts though. Thanks everyone so far and open to hearing more.

I was concerned about the moon inlay and the tiny gold/silver dew drops(?) would be polished and the high points (especially the grasses) would have patina rubbed even more? I’ve never done the back pocket thing so don’t know the overall effect.

And just for future reference, until you know the blades aren’t real, laying them on rocks for pictures won’t do them any favors. If these are the seller’s pictures, that should tell you a lot...

I picked up this tsuba basically for free (thrown in as part of another purchase) because I liked the simple theme. It was also something to work on without worrying about ruining something expensive. It came heavily coated with surface rust and yet also had some very thin patina in certain areas. Unfortunately, the shakudo (correct material?) plugs are very scratched as well. It almost seems like tsuba was in a drawer (or other) and allowed to slide around which made the back side patina and shakudo much more damaged than the front. The tsuba is signed Yamashiro no Kuni Fushimi Kaneiye, but I assume it is one of the many later copies of this smith/school. I have slowly and carefully been removing the extensive rust using slightly sharpened bamboo and a fiberglass pen and rubbing with cotton cloth. I’ve gotten quite a bit cleaned up, but no matter how much I work, the areas that are sunken or have more ‘grain’ just won’t let go of very dark but still red rust. When scraped with the bamboo, some areas will still come up with dusty red rust. LOTS of work still to do I think... or not? Other than time, does anyone have any recommendations to help the appearance of the shakudo plugs? I tried not to touch the silver moon, but simply rubbing with the cotton cloth removed some dirt and or patina of silver. I am sorry about that. Trying to leave remainder on it. Also, depending on the angle the tsuba is held in the light, the areas with thin patina are still ‘black’, but when light shines off them, they appear bright and shiny. I would assume this means patina is not completely removed, but has just been ‘polished’ too much? Here is a progression picture from purchase to now. If I’m doing something wrong, please let me know as well. I know we say restoration should be left to experts, but I’m just trying to stop active rust and make it look a little nicer... not ‘new’. All advice welcome...

Condition is good, although it has purple colored bolt when it went through arsenal refinish. Shoots well. As most things Russian that have to deal with Russian winters and less than optimally trained conscripts, it’s robustly built and designed for function over form.

ChrisW said: “ That or a G/K43 rifle or an SVT-40. Something about 10 round semi-autos are just so much fun at the range!” My SVT40

Probable fake. Unfortunately bad photos from seller. I asked for close-ups of areas that should show serial number and Arsenal stamp. No response. From what I could see in the photos, it doesn’t appear to have a serial number and I believe the pointed end of the bohi near the habaki is usual a tip off of fake? True? The only reason I’m checking is that it is being sold garage sale style for a ridiculously low price, so figured I better check.

More pics in the above thread... but here is the mei...

Second blade... I decided I wanted to take the chance on a ‘project’. I know... I know... Picked up a very inexpensive wakizashi that had some interesting activity and maybe had some possibilities (I thought). Showed it to Woody Hall and he agreed it might be interesting. Sent it off to him for polish. We shall see... Please forgive me... forgot to take an overall pic of blade showing shape.

Picked up two blades at the Chicago Show. First blade was on Mark Jones table. Amongst many, he had 2 katana attributed to Hizen Kuni ju Omi Daijo Fujiwara Tadahiro. I picked this blade because I loved the shape, a well cut full-length bohi, great condition/polish, and the hada and hamon are extremely well done. NOW... FULL DISCLOSER: the blade came with no papers, but does have a sayagaki (more info on that in Translation Section) that may be signed by Kanzan Sato. I say this because I got some advice both at the show and after reaching out on-line that the signature may be gimei and that also puts the sayagaki into question. I also got some advice that it is a wonderful blade in excellent condition and reflects the workmanship of the smith. I AM IN NO WAY saying that Mark didn’t sell me a wonderful blade at a great price. He was excellent throughout the process and sells QUALITY items. I went into this with eyes wide open and do not regret the decision one bit whether blade is gimei or not. THANK YOU Mark for this blade. Next year’s Chicago Show and Shinsa will be interesting.

Steve, Thank you for your always generous and patient guidance and knowledge. Did I get the date closer (posted before this one)?

From SteveM above: Second picture 時代慶安之頃 as John says. After that 地刃健全優作之一也 I tried to figure this out, and think a couple parts are close. But the overall meaning that makes sense? 地刃 = Ji ha ? 健全 = Kenzen = Healthy? 優 = Yu = Superior? 作之 = Kore = Made this 一也 = Kazuya (Ichiya?) = “one - to be”

Section 2 is going to take a while... But thank you both so much. Your help is always generous and appreciated.

So here is the second try at Section 4... closer?

Thank you in advance. I know I am asking a lot.

And finally... I think I got this right.

I just can’t read or figure out the date the attribution was made.

Got a little of it... but really not sure. I’ve seen the first two kanji many times at the start of what would be the blade length, but does it actually translate to nagasa or something else?

I have no idea how to translate this section. Any help appreciated.

May I please have some help translating a Kanzan Sato sayagaki for a Hizen Tadahiro katana? I tried my best, but much is just beyond me! I’ll start at top and work my way down. Each section will be in a different post. Please feel free to correct all mistakes no matter how minor.