Vermithrax16

The picture order of presentation can give that idea Ken but neither tsuba is signed on both sides. Please not this side by side and one has 2 ana holes, the other only 1:

If you have a spare hour or 5 , taking a look at these tsuba would be well worth the time (the fuchi/kashira amazing too). Darcy with another find that I think is rare to see in US markets: https://yuhindo.com/ishiguro-masachika-daisho-soroikanagu/

Well I was just gonna leave this one be but I happen to have nothing else to do tonight, so I'll give it a go. First order of discussion: Masatsugu did not sign as Sadahide. Masatsugu is NOT Sadahide. This is documented in all meikan works (Sesko Shinshinto Meikan, Fujishiro, etc) as well as Markus Sesko's Japanese Swordsmiths A-Z. Darcy covers this as well in the very Yuhindo sword that was linked: "Masahide before he died changed his name to Amahide, but after he died his son Sadahide chose to take up the name Masahide as the second generation head master of the school. Though he did not achieve the levels of skill of his father, he was an excellent swordsmith and ranked Jo-saku. Sadahide did not enjoy a long period of work under the name Masahide as he died within a year of his father's death, leaving his young son Kawabe Hokushi to inherit the school. Possibly because of the tragic early death of his father after changing his name to Masahide, the third generation Suishinshi master never took on the Masahide name but instead made swords as Masatsugu." Family tree for clarity on the lineage: Masahide 1st ~~~~~ Sadahide, changed name to Masahide 2nd after death of 1st ~~~~~~~~ Masatsugu Are there other references that ascribe Masatsugu as the same smith as Sadahide? Here is a mei comp drawn from the Yuhindo link, the Aoi confusing joint work link, and two examples from Sesko Shinshinto Meikan. Other references agree with the Sesko examples, but I am not snapping pics of books and all that tonight: There is nothing similar for the NMB mei in question to the examples shown. I was not taught to count strokes etc, just to look and get a feel for the mei. I can see nothing remotely the same. There are other clues, but I am not going to give it all away right here. But as always, submit to shinsa and report back. In this study no one has every answer, always glad to be proven that I have overlooked something. Happens about every week.

Every single maker has a gimei possibility approaching 100%. If there is one thing I want people to understand, it is that fact. Obscure? One off guy from a school? Unimportant era, no matter. I have seen them for everything. Agree with Ed, did some comps and it's not a mei match. Suriage shinshinto sword is also a negative. Sword may well be nice, but I cannot tell from the limited pics.

Showing up fine for me right now Tony, but sometimes different browsers etc can be an issue?

This article by Darcy Brockbank will be a good read Tony Y: https://blog.yuhindo.com/ichijo-and-precision/

Hosho are rare birds and Hosho Sadamune are ghosts. From the pictures I can tell nothing about the blade.

Additional color on this era can be found in volume 5+6 of "Art and the Sword". Turbulent times in Japan.

Ok, let me re-word. Here on NMB and looking at auctions, listings etc all the time, I see hundreds of gimei swords out there. Some are good blades, most are not. But of say 300 fakes in a year, 200 seem to be Sukesada or Kanesada for some reason. So I just skip them.

Stephen, I would look at the very 1st two pictures in this thread, about as big as can be posted without losing sharpness. Phone camera pictures of landscapes and such are great all blown up, but for smaller items, larger pics posted online show as fuzzy and pixelated.

Before it's lost to the memory hole...... Left are the flower inlays from the late Edo period rabbit tsuba, on right are the new flower inlays done this past summer:

Denatured alcohol is just ethanol that has methanol added to it, to make is poisonous and discourage the drinking of it. Any alcohol that is not anhydrous has some water content.

I think Raymond and Michael covered this question very well. Best advice/practice is to study and figure out what makes you passionate. For some it's ultra rare early blades with provenance. Others, test cut recording is what moves them. Others, some school or a single maker. What is a sword worth to each of the collectors described? Whatever they can afford to attain it. In the end, you will have what you laid your money out for, whatever the cost. Are you happy? Are you excited to take them out and clean and oil them? That's what matters.

Antler works best in my experience but solid advice here. What I wonder is what happened to that side of the mune? Besides the openings there seem to be severe scratches on the blade. How is this sword stored, shirasaya or koshirae saya? Seems something at some point was causing pressure and friction.

Even today; the example I posted I could show to people and they will argue to the death its: 1. Mei variation of smith 2. Smiths used all kinds of chisels, changed things over time 3. This sword is the one that's different It never ends, hence we will never stop seeing fake mei on swords. And Tsuba, any fitting, it never ends. You have to do the work.

Raymond, you have eyes like a hawk, amazing.

Darcy has another unique set with a great story, well worth a look: https://yuhindo.com/omori-eiman-daisho-tsuba/

Having 2 works by him and looking at the few examples that can be found online, I think nothing he does is by accident, omission, or carelessness. He meant to impart that tilt, and it aligns with the pine plant on the obverse, like a beachfront angle view IMO.

George M, I tried to get a visual of what I mean put together tonight. Like so much in nihonto, in hand it's a "Now I see" sort of thing, but pictures don't quite have that boom. In any case , attached are 2 pictures that I made comments on. Hope that helps. Thanks for our discussions, very enjoyable. Glad to meet you. EDIT: In 1st picture I clearly had the sides in comments written wrong, sorry.

Most of my tsuba won't fit in a CD case (thickness wise) so this thread that has dominated discussion here seems weird.

Ken you are the true Iron Man, so amazing what you have seen and fought through. It's a tough thread to talk in, and yes, I do hope I have time (all we have is time, yes?) to see things coming and make arrangements. Alas, not likely to be so.

My loose plan is when (I hope to God I get a general feeling as to "when") the time is coming, I can find suitable caretakers for the works I have. I myself have worked hard to become a caretaker, and I think I will be able to place my collection when the time comes. HATE thinking about it.

The waves:

Here is one Markus Sesko did for me a while ago to show a sword had a fake signature. I have since used the example to inform my own studies:

Greg, how much time do you have?