Vermithrax16

Would love to see that sword Robert!

I don't have a guess, but love the spiders!

Choshu?

Couple thoughts: - Mei characters don't match any I can find for any gen Kunikane, maybe there are other references I don't have as always. The ana hole is also not in correct position, unless there is/are filled in ana I can't see in picture. Left justified mei as if to preserve the bo-hi is out of character as well for the maker. - Rough masame hada more characteristic of late gen Kunikane (shinshinto), as 1-3rd gen often kantei to Hosho or Norikatsu in terms of grain and execution.

Just about any smith there has ever been has counterfeit mei out there regardless of rating or reknown, bizarre, but true.

Morning, I will aim for more pictures after I get from under 14 inches of snow today..... Yes Ray. The fuchi is solid gold. I was reminded last night in another discussion re the different materials; this set was perhaps meant to signify day (gold) contrasted with night (shakudo). An interesting motif along those lines.

Hello Peter! I saw the sword to which you refer today. Unable to get a mei comp for that gen, but several around it. As you mention, workmanship is ok for the school. As always a shinsa submission is an option but without a paper passing a sword like this along during resale can always be a bit more difficult.

Well that was one reason I sent for shinsa, my thought as well. But when you think of them as mounted, makes a bit more sense.

This was the first time I had a hand in sending anything to an NBTHK shinsa. You would be shocked to learn I was fond of a rabbit fuchi/kashira set (shocking!), and wanted an NBTHK opinion on them as non-tsuba fittings are really not a strong area of knowledge for me. Tokubetsu Hozon judgement for Owari was the result. As always, in hand they are better looking and richer in details, but I did the best I could with some pictures. This was the July shinsa, so physical papers should come some time next year.

Hello, No I did not go missing, just been online less past few months and not much new to share. Here's hoping for a better 2021! A fuchi/kashira match was finally located for a rabbit set of fittings found over years of looking. Doubt I would mount them, but this has been a goal for a while.

Super nice gift! Thanks for sharing.

It's WELL worth the wait:

Ray always helps and goes out of his way to ensure a resolution. One of my most favorite pieces was acquired through him. Sorry your wait was long, but so glad it worked out.

1. Yamato Hosho 2. Mito Norikatsu 3. Sadakazu (masame hada style work) 4. Shodai Tameyasu I am about half way there.

Ok, I did some more pictures when it got dark tonight, I think I am out of practice. Maybe a DSLR camera time? Best I could do:

Is that good or bad?

Most that know me know my favorite work style is masame hada. It's to the point of obsession. As such, they are not a common sword type to be found and combined with the pandemic issues limiting dealings with Japan based sellers, it's been a long empty period for my collecting as far as additions go. But the NMB For Sale of Trade section can always offer something worth your time. Raymond Singer posted a tanto for sale, and it had all my wants. My favorite smith is Suifu Ju Katsumura Norikatsu. How about a tanto from his best student. Masakatsu? Well yes indeed, I had to jump on it. Thanks Ray! Masakatsu studied under Norikatsu since the age of 12. He later married Norikatsu's second eldest daughter and was adopted into the family, hence his name. It's been a while since I have taken sword pictures, and it was wildly sunny all day today which made my preferred way to take pictures difficult. Maybe some on a night this weekend will be better. This is a kata kiri ha style of tanto, so yes the different treatments of the two sides is meant by the maker. I am usually not a fan of bo-hi, but they look pleasing in hand for this work. It's a BIG tanto, at 27.9cm nagasa. The masame is excellent. Flows well throughout the blade. The nie deposits are abundant, and run in strings in many places. The kissaki (which my pictures stink today) is spectacular. Speckled with nie, reminds me of my Norikatsu sword very much. A great deal here on NMB and fast close (made buy Sunday, sword was here yesterday but signature required, so got it today). Very happy with this blade. NBTHK Hozon token.

Darcy wrote the great post on papers some time ago: https://blog.yuhindo.com/green-papers-no-papers/ That said a low level school attribution is less scary to me with green papers than a master smith. Love the shape of this sword.

Sold!

I love your out look and background. Study and time will reward in nihonto. Stick with it. This is the masame hada of Suifu Ju Katsumura Norikatsu, who you mentioned maybe taught the pupil mentioned:

The polish is very poor, and the pictures don't help. Hard to add any comment.

Oh! This is promising!! I see some great masame and nie. I think NBTHK shinsa will not work, as shipping restrictions right now with Japan are bad. This sword will need a polish, so that's on the few here in the US. You need to decide what you want to do with the sword and how long to see it through. Worth it IMO from what I have seen.

I have a lot but what would help us more is if you can get a good picture of your swords hada and style. Take a glancing photo in a dark room, flash enabled. Here is the dated side picture of my Norikatsu. Like member Ken said, only a shinsa team can say for sure, but I don't think they are a match: Full reading of signature and date: Suifu-jū Katsumura Norikatsu kore o saku (⽔府住勝村徳勝作之) ‒ “Made by Katsumura Norikatsu, resident of Suifu (the government seat of Mito)” Keiō sannen hachigatsu hi (慶応三年⼋⽉⽇) ‒ “On a day of the eighth month, Keiō three (1867) Norikatsu masame hada:

Hello Terran, Nice looking sword! Norikatsu is my favorite smith. His signatures varied between standard block style and grass script ones. Like another poster wrote, a good hada picture is the best way to tell, his nie laden masame hada is quite distinct. Your mei seems just a touch thick for his works that I have seen, but he is a somewhat rare smith to see examples of. I have put your mei side by side with one I have that is verified:

Ford has opened his Patreon channel to open view if you want some new content to see while we are all stuck in this mess. Some older videos I like (I am biased): Restoration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nRMl8sKZHg&fbclid=IwAR36sx8OgkAWB2BO7CxQdXlpmsvcTTWJWnXE43S-zYHgdeuljkvL3laaX8U New custom work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6GVf6oDGfU If you value Ford's work, please consider a subscribe to his channel. Even $5 a month allows viewing this content going forward.