Bryce

Righto then, I guess Gassan Sadakatsu added his kao at a later date for some reason as he was only 1 year old when this blade was forged? I have seen several Gassan Sadakazu blades where later Gassan smiths (usually Sadaichi) have added horimono and mei. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Yeah someone got a good deal, but this blade has me scratching my head a little bit. It appears to be a blade signed by Sadakazu in Meiji year 3, but finished with Sadakatsu's kao, not Sadakazu? The sayagaki was written by Sadakatsu in Showa 11. Is the date on the blade actually Meiji year 30? If so then that makes sense. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Colin, Sorry mate, I am a little late to this party. Do you still have this tanto? I think it is a pretty good looking thing. I don't have any expertise to bring to the table about dating, but I can offer an opinion on the quality of the horimono. I think they look very good. Having tried to capture good images of horimono myself, I know they are tremendously difficult to photograph. It is very difficult to capture the 3D effects that can be seen with the naked eye. As a comparison, here is your Fudo, beside one done by Gassan Sadakazu. Mine is on a katana, not a tanto, but is contained entirely in the hi. From toes to top of head, it is probably about 3-4cm, which I think is similar to yours. Although yours doesn't have the same level of surrounding detail, the face is done very well. I have seen a lot worse. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Thomas, The photos aren't great, but almost certainly gimei. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Just as a follow up, I recently obtained a copy of "Nippon Toh". This sword is specifically mentioned in the book as being made entirely by Gassan Sadakatsu and not his father Sadakazu. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, OK, so it is still a Chinese knock-off of a Japanese gunto, but it may have been made around the time of the war (or not). Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, That does not look legit to me. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, The mei looks pretty good. There are a couple of unusual things, but it is close enough that I can't immediately call it gimei without further study and better photos. During this period, there is quite a bit of variation in Gassan Sadakazu mei. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Sam, As Con mentioned earlier the second haikan was protected by leather to prevent rubbing, so the absence of wear in this area is not definitive. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Lance, It is a nice type 94 koshirae with the rare pinned kabutogane. If you search the site you will find a thread on "pinned kabutogane". Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Everything already mentioned above suggests this is a type 98. I don't think there are any individual "cast iron" rules, but the combination of all these factors together says type 98. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Sam, It looks like a type 94 to me, especially if the gloss paint is original. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Mark, Thanks for posting. To help you here is a comparison shot of your dragon with a more detailed example by Gassan Sadakatsu dated 1920. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Jake, I have a set with very similar theme to yours. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Eric, The bonji on your blade represents the entity Fudo myo-o. I have a Gassan Sadakatsu blade with similar horimono. Your blade is not Gassan work though. Cheers, Bryce