EdWolf

Thanks Uwe! Is it safe to assume that this sword is made between 1441 and 1444 (Kakitsu). Just asking because I can’t read all the kanji characters. Regards, Ed

Hello John, Thanks for your opinion! Regards, Ed

Hello to all, Last Sunday I have bought an army sword with an old blade. See http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/21832-a-friend-for-my-navy-sword/ It’s signed Bushi Osafune Norimitsu (thanks for helping me with the signature!). There is also a date part that I’m trying to decipher. I think the first to kanji are Kakitsu (嘉吉) 1441. Can one of you please confirm this? Please be gentle, it's the first time I’m trying to read a Japanese date. Regards, Ed

Hello Paul, Thanks. It’s indeed a nice balanced blade. I think the first two kanji characters of the date are ‘Kakitsu’ (= 1441). Regards, Ed

Hello Paul, Thanks for your reply. I had never heard about the dents caused by railway carriage doors. It’s a nice story. I agree, the dent adds character to the sword. I recently bought ‘The connoisseurs book of Japanese swords’. Reading this book makes me convince to buy the sword. I’m now trying to determine the age of the sword. This is difficult for a novice like me. My best guess is around 1500. Maybe I’m totally wrong I must learn a lot. Regards, Ed

Thanks for all the fast replies. Blade length 64 cm. I try to find more information about the sword smith. Regards, Ed

and some more pictures. Regards, Ed

Hi to all, Today I have found a friend for my Japanese navy sword. It’s an army sword. The scabbard is painted with a dark brown paint. Not the more greenish paint color normally found. The paint looks original. The scabbard is not in the best condition. There is a big dent. The reason why I bought this sword is because of the blade. I think it’s an old blade and modified to fit the army handle and scabbard. The tang has two holes and the tang is signed. Unfortunately, the signature is hard to read. Especially for an untrained eye. Maybe you guys can help. Hope you all like this sword. Regards, Ed

After four weeks of waiting I finally received my copy yesterday. Beautiful book. Worth waiting! Regards, Ed

Hi Neil, I’m by far not an expert but I recently found some information about the knots on the tsukamaki.net website. In this pdf file, a few type of knots are mentioned: http://www.tsukamaki.net/PDF/ArtTsukamaki.pdf. Hope this helps. Regards, Ed

Welcome to this forum. Please read the forum guidelines. You can use a tool like Paint.NET to resize the pictures. It’s freeware and easy to use. Hope this helps. Regards, Ed

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting. Regards, Ed

Hi Brian, Thanks for the information! Regards, Ed

The tang is heavily rusted and so far, I can see it doesn’t contain a signature. Should the Kogotana also be signed by the sword smith? Is the Kogotana always made by the same sword smith? Regards, Ed

Hi Erik, I just removed the Kogotana from the Kozuka. I have used the jar filled with hot water method (thanks Geraint!) and wrapped the Kogotana with a piece of leather for some extra protection. The tang was heavily rusted and was simply push to far into the Kozuka. Thanks for your advice. Regards, Ed

Dear Geraint, That sounds like a solid plan. I will give it a try this weekend. Thanks a lot! Regargs, Ed

As George mentioned the Kogatana is shoved too far into the Kozuka. It’s stuck. What is the best way to remove the kogotana without demaging the Kozuka?

Dear George, I think you are right about the boat and fisherman. When I bought the wakizashi the tsuba was positioned wrong. The hole (I think kozuka hitsu is the right terminology) was on the wrong side of the sword. Maybe the previous owner forced the kogotana into the kozuka. Regards, Ed

Stephen, you have good eyes. Yes, made of iron.

The fuchi is not signed. Not the best pictures. It's cloudy and almost evening.

Dear George, Thanks for pointing this out. Never thought that the shield is a straw hat. It’s funny that the sword I was at least interested in turned out to be the most valuable sword. On the kozuka is also a figure I don’t recognize. Do you have any idea? Regards, Ed

Hi Stephen, Thanks for your reply. All prices of the different components you mentioned surprised me a lot. Because I purchased it in a trade, the total cost of the sword for me is in the 300 to 500 range. Depends how low or high I could sell the helmets. Shinto (1600-1764) era blade. I’m way off How can you tell? I have tried to look at the curve of the blade and how the blade was made. I still have a long road to go. The menuki of a man behind a golden shield is nice.

Hi Stephen, As a not native English speaker I don’t know the meaning of WAG. Hope this means nothing bad about the sword. Oil on the blade to protect the blade is probably the best option. Do you mean that the tosogu is a real bonus? Can you give me an indication of the age of the sword? My thoughts, late 19th century but I can’t find any records of a sword smith Ietsugu is this time frame. All information is welcome! I really want to learn.

Hi Jean, Thanks for your reply. Interesting videos. The polishing costs are high and without more information about the sword not a real option. Regards, Ed

Let me begin with a short story. I have collected ww2 helmets for quite a long period. A few years ago, I lost interest in them and sold many helmets. Now, I have only a few of them left. Recently, I made a deal with another collector to swap two helmets for a navy sword. (pictures of the sword are posted in the Military Swords section). Because the value of the two helmets was just above the value of the navy sword an old wakizashi was added. This wakizashi brought me to this forum. The nakago was signed. Now I know (thanks to this forum) that the blade is signed Ietsugu. Unfortunately, the blade is not in the best condition. Because the sword was just for closing the deal I don’t expect the sword is valuable but I want to learn as much as possible from it. Like time-period, how to preserve the blade from further damage, etc. All information about this sword will be highly appreciated. Regards, Ed And a thread without pictures is no thread here are some pictures of the sword.