Utopianarian

Looks like Gendaito mei hard to read. Appreciate assistance

I feel fortunate in the respect that I happen to live in the US to hunt down these type of blades. It is however becoming harder and harder to find them. I wish when I was young when all the WW2 guys including my grandfather was around at the VFW with his buddies drinking lol… could have had a lot more exposure to the things they brought back. I was probably in my young teens then and was more into playing with plastic toy soldiers in the dirt than Guntos lol

Yes that was the other sword. I gave that one to my brother as a gift. I think I posted that one a ways back. I asked him to take a pic of them side by side. I assumed they are both war blades from Muromachi. I agree your assessment of these blades is spot on!! Thank you John

The Chuso unfortunately was broken so it didn’t lock in place. I sent my brother a Chuso I had got years ago from an old guy on Craigslist from Nevada and took a chance by mailing him a check for $25 which eventually he mailed it to me. I knew the Chuso would have a use one day. Hope it fits when my brother gets it

Hey John, Yes definitely have pics. Love the color of the saya on this one. I just can’t get enough of the older blades dressed in Gunto. Looks like the saya was also marked or signed which is unusual. Maybe the owner thought he would get it returned one day before surrendering the sword. My brother on the east coast came across this one. I think it was one of those true unmolested Gunto finds that wasn’t messed with or swapped for parts etc.. I think the tassell was original to the fittings as well..,

What era would you guess each of these blades just based on these pics would you guess? They do both have loose grain and openings throughout the blade and have the kazu uchi mono indicators in my opinion but also could be masa ware due to the grain structure in the hada.

Here are a few pics. In the last pic note the reflective quality of the nie in the boshi. It’s hard to capture in the pic but it puts out a reflective prism of colors when you see it in person. Nice surprise of what I thought might have been an antique letter opener from a tourist shop.

Very nice Brian!!

I’ve read the smith liked to call himself the 17th Gen Enjyu Kunimura. He mainly resided in Higo providence (todays Kumamoto prefecture) and also forged in Osaka city.

You are absolutely right Brian. It definitely is a beautiful piece. Much better than the initial pictures I posted by the seller. I don’t think the seller even knew how to check or knew it was signed. The nakago was really stuck in the shirasaya and I used a modified piece of wood I made for safely removing with a tap not damaging the shirasaya or blade. I think it was the first time anybody set eyes on the mei in a long time. Beautiful chiseling on the mei by the smith and filing and finish on the nakago. The boshi is beautifully done with heavier frosted nie than the rest of the hamon like the old time smiths. It definitely looks like a traditional smith did it especially with the lineage of this smith. Very well done hand forged blade. I will post better pics when I have time in a few days. I saw other blades made by him as well online. Here is a pic of one.

Thank you Steve

Looks like taisho era mori kunitoshi saku. I can’t read all of it. Please assist. Thank you

Looks like *** MoriKunitoshi saku. Having trouble with some of it

Looks like Taisho era oh well

Definitely yoroi-doshi and it’s signed. Here are the pics of mei and nakago

Ken, Excellent assessment. The kasane does appear extra thick in the pictures. I would guess maybe 1cm thick. You are probably right.

The tanto is on the smaller side. uchizori, estimate 19.5cm nagasa motohaba 1.91cm by looking at the pics from the seller. Looking at the jigane appears like well forged very clear wet or oily looking in some pics in areas where there is no corrosion on the blade. There appears to be wet looking spots or islands just above or just on the hamon. The color of the steel looks promising and the appearance and composition of the hamon. It also appears like faded or worn down Bo hi or suken was once on the blade.The shirasaya looked like somebody painted it black at one time. The habaki also looks wooden. I got this blade very good price. It was advertised as antique Asian sword and not too much other info was provided including removing the blade from the shirasaya to examine the nakago. So I bought it. It was worth the gamble from what I could see. I will find out when it’s in the mail. In the pictures looks like heavy nie reflection in some pics. My gut said go for it. If it turns out to be a old letter opener from a tourist shop then so be it. What kind of clues do you guys on the board look for when looking for a promising treasure online relying on pics

Shinto blades. Usually 99.9% of the time when that word is mentioned when one purchases a sword means it will be passed off to another buyer like a counterfeit bill that nobody really wants. Swords that are plentiful and manufactured in a time of relative peace are of no interest to me. Usually when the word Shinto is mentioned on this board is synonymous with bad news to a new buyer. Ornaments with a very select few of significance

It appears like Yubashiri above the temperline(light spots or clusters of nie) They are found in Soshu work. You did a good job capturing that in the moving image. I posted a blade on this board that has the same and has a lot of Soshu features. It is hard to show in pics. It’s one of those things that having blade in hand is best. Your blade also definitely looks like Nanbokucho in shape.

Try to light up the noi guchi line in a dark room and note the reflective quality of nie. Is it wide or narrow? Saka-Ashi? Any utsuri?

If we are looking into the hada and seeing Masamune’s missing Honjo might be sort of like a Rorschach test. We will all see something a little different. The hada is interesting. My limited experience take on it sees Sumi Hada from the limited pics. Kind of reminds me of Chu Aoe in the jigane composition

Kirill, Agree that is the way to go. Since I missed the Sanfran shinsa. The Japan NTHK NPO seems like the best option. Also for some reason they command more authority and hence higher prices it may seem with their papered blades. NBTHK however gives more info on the blade in many cases which is hard to understand why the other would not do the same or have some kind of standard of conformity in judgment. I understand it all depends on the blade for attribution so that may vary. Btw I keep looking at that Ayanokoji Sueyuki you have listed. My wife will kill me but it sure is tempting. I am surprised it isn’t gone yet!! I will let you know if I can charm her. Right now she isn’t talking to me. Why are some (NOT ALL) Asian women so cold. I mean not to offend.

Kirill, You are absolutely correct regarding boshi. It also did not seem right to me and didn’t match the rest of the blade and what you would expect. I have my doubts with the polisher when I asked if the original boshi was still there. I believe the boshi was added and looks cosmetic to me. Look at the first 3 pics attached which were original before polish and the last 2 pics after polish. The first pics before polish look more appropriate for the rest of blade and making a better guess.

Thank you all for the excellent advice and take on this one. Tough to pin down as it appears drastically different in alternative lighting sources affecting color of jigane and appearance of hamon. Yes I have learned traditional togishi is the only way to go. I was too ignorant and thought I knew what I was doing. I have leaned many of you through your collective experience and wisdom have seen every scenario and outcome thru many years dealing with this kind of stuff. Here is another pic and of course it looks drastically different than others