Katsujinken

Indeed thanks to everyone, and especially Brian! NMB is an incredibly special place. 

I’ll start this off at $30!

It’s just fine to do this. A good rule of thumb: any old tosogu should be worth less than the sword / mogito you’re using. 
 

With that guideline you’ll never risk anything too valuable or important. 
 

Just make sure the balance is still good or all of your hours of practice will be a waste!

Usually the person on the back is the person who submitted the sword. It could be the owner or an agent. 
 

Sometimes it will be removed or covered up for privacy later. 
 

My Juyo Naoe Shizu was submitted by  Saito Mitsuoki (Hisashi’s father), of Ginza Seikodo, back in 1979-80.

Good question about the two dates!

Brian and Piers are spot on here. 
 

And NMB is indeed a nice place! :-)

Meaning no offense to Jonathan, I would humbly submit that anyone who chooses to buy a book or two first (or spend a few hours watching documentaries on YouTube, or look at Japanese dealer websites, which are not hard to find) would spot the fakes being sold by the jerk that swindled Jonathan here from a mile away. They’re terrible terrible fakes. 

Absolutely horrible. 

You’re unlikely to find a papered tanto in decent shape at that budget. 
 

https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/swords/q565-mumei-tanto-in-aikuchi-koshirae/

No one is forcing anyone to submit blades for Juyo or any other shinsa. If you want a paper for any reason the options are clear and everyone is entitled to make the choice appropriate for them based on their goals and (especially) expertise.

Well done!

Yes, Thomas’s answer is spot on. Assuming your ryuha does not call for a particularly long (eg Shin Shin Ryu) or shorter (eg Ryushin Shouchi Ryu) sword, the best way in my opinion is to hold the sword in your right hand while standing with good posture. You want the kissaki to be just above the floor. 
 

The link you shared is an excerpt from Nakamura Sensei’s book The Spirit of the Sword. Every serious student should own a copy. 

If it’s on Y! Auctions it’s never a Muramasa. Simple as that! 

Morita-san you always come through! Thank you so much. 

I am beyond useless with cursive calligraphy…

Thank you so much. 

This is the kind of package that is most realistic for your budget: 

Keep an eye on the dealer section here. You may find a wakizashi more realistic in terms of budget given what you’re looking for. 
 

Save a bit of money for a book or two (do a search). Welcome aboard!

Gonna need the moto- and saki kasane…

I believe it should be “kusa no tsuyu”, no? 
 

草の露

Note the printed hiragana in the image: くさのつゆ

A photo or two of the nakago would be helpful. 

Geraint is spot on. I would emphasize that the kissaki has definitely been reshaped, and not particularly well in my opinion. 
 

And Marcus your eyes were sharp enough to see that the finishing job on the nakago is poor (or it was damaged at some point).
 

I like your sentiment about unique snapshots of history. I own and regularly handle elite blades and would tell you to ignore the elitists. Your sword may not win any awards but it is a piece of history decently preserved and for that we should be thankful. 
 

Welcome!

Thanks so much. 

A friend recently visited the Cleveland Museum of Art where they apparently have over 200 tsuba in their collection but essentially zero information about any of them. It's a bit of a shame, really. Blades are more my area so I'm little help with some of these kanji/kao...

I offered to try and enlist some help to translate a few signatures. Thanks in advance!

I have to ask Didier... why blur the oshigata? 

So no legitimate DIY options then?

@Toryu2020

Thomas, do you have a link for Jonathan?

As I mentioned in another thread, I just had a nice Tanto delivered from Aoi Art and as usual it came with an oshigata and a scroll for mounting. What’s the best way to mount the oshigata itself to the scroll without damaging the delicate tracing paper?
 

Thanks in advance for your tips!

I just had an antique tanto and koshirae delivered to the USA from Aoi Art and everything went very smoothly so I thought I’d share what I did. 
 

They put in for export on July 15. The tanto shipped via EMS on August 5, and was delivered to me by USPS today. No duty was required. 

I asked Aoi to include the following in the paperwork:

Tariff code: 9706.10.00.60

Handle is wrapped in stingray skin (shagreen).

Genus: Dasyatis

Species: Dasyatis akajei 

Source: U; this item is an antique 

Country of origin: Japan

I used a similar schema for the handle wrapping with my last import from another shop. Dasyatis akajei is a common stingray native to the waters near Japan. It is currently listed as “near threatened.” This worked well last time so I figured I would use it again. 
 

Anyway, hopefully this is helpful to someone in the future!