Bryce

G'day John, The tsuka of my 1938 Gassan Sadakatsu has the same kanji. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Brian, I will try to put it into a PDF when I get time. G'day Dirk, Below are some photos of Sadakazu mei where I have highlighted the things he consistently did different to Sadakatsu. I made these a while ago for my own notes and they were never meant for outside consumption. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, I have spent the last few years studying swords by Gassan Sadakatsu. I thought I might post about a few of the things I have discovered so far. The earliest blade I have seen signed by Sadakatsu for his father Sadakazu was dated 1897 (Meiji 30). The earliest blade I have seen signed by Sadakatsu for his father, but includes his own name was dated 1906 (Meiji 39). The earliest blade I have seen where Sadakatsu signed for himself was dated 1915 (Taisho 4). Below are photos of these mei, and also blades dated 1921, 1938 and 1943 to demonstrate the subtle changes in the way Sadakatsu signed throughout his working life. Most of the photos are from AOIJapan, but the 1915 blade was sold by Henk at Bushidoshop.nl. All of the blades have NBTHK papers. Gassan Sadakatsu was very consistent in the way he signed, but you can see that the way he signed did change over time. I am confident that all of these mei were by him and not by any of his students. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Paul, Thank you for the better photos of the kissaki. In your new photos it doesn't look as bad as it did in the old. The geometry of it is off, but this may just be because it is very worn or perhaps it was damaged and reshaped. Cheers, Bryce

G'day John, Interesting mon on those swords. What are they? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Paul, Can you please post a close-up photo of the kissaki of your sword. From your original photos it doesn't look very good. Cheers, Bryce

G'day John, I keep an eye out on buyee for Gassan swords and the number and range of gimei examples that are always available blows me away. Cheers, Bryce

Gassan Sadakatsu was a smith who always signed this way. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Bruce, Is that date actually Showa 50? Cheers, Bryce

G'day John, Nothing about it is "right", not the mei, not the kao, not the date, not the details. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Thanks for the help. Good to know about the dodgy copies. Yes it is for a katana. Here are some of the other fittings. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, I have a set of koshirae which has fittings that feature a dragon in clouds. The only problem is that the tsuba doesn't match. I think the tsuba may have been swapped out some time in the past. None of the fittings are signed. A Google search produced this image of a tsuba that appears to be a very close match to the rest of the fittings. Can anyone tell me anything about it, or even better where I might find one like this? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Thomas, I can see what you are getting at with the example you posted. I am not sure this applies to all of the examples listed. Perhaps the masame is so fine that you can only differentiate the layers when you look really closely? Here is a photo of two examples by Gassan Sadakatsu. From a distance they both appear to be koitame. When you zoom in you can see the masame. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Thomas, You have lost me. Can you please explain this a bit more? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Alexi, I am no expert, but my favourite smith is Gassan Sadakatsu who produced many works in masame. I think consistency, plenty of jinie and no kitae ware are what I like. The hada can be very tight with little differentiation between layers or more vivid. Both types of hada can showcase the smith's talent. Below is a link to a thread where I show some examples of this. I must admit to still being baffled sometimes by what makes a blade extraordinary compared to just excellent. Perhaps some of the more experienced members may be able to add more insight. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, A British sword maker by the name of Henry Osborn tried to revive the "falchion style" point in his cavalry swords of the late 1700's early 1800's, but his idea never really caught on. Here are some examples of his work. Cheers, Bryce

Here is a link to another tanto like yours. Tanto : Gassan Sadakatsu – 日本刀販売の葵美術 (sword-auction.com) Cheers, Bryce

G'day Kyle, Further to what Ray has already told you, your tanto was made by Gassan Sadakatsu, in 1929, to commemorate the birth of the crown princess (Taka Kazuko). Gassan Sadakatsu was one of the best Japanese swordsmiths of his time and made many commemorative pieces like this. Tanto like this, were not made for military use, but have more of a spiritual significance. Potentially your tanto is quite valuable, but unfortunately it looks like it has had a very hard life and this may effect the value. First thing to do though is give it a very light oiling to prevent any further oxidation. Don't try to remove any rust yourself as this will damage the blade. Gassan Sadakatsu is my favourite smith and I agree with Ray that your tanto is genuine. If you do a search on this forum you will find plenty of information about him. It looks like you may have lost the wooden handle of the shirasaya and also the habaki (metal collar) that would have gone on the junction of the blade and nakago (tang). Here is a picture of mine to show you what I mean. Cheers, Bryce

We have seen this blade before. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Andrew, Your blade looks very promising. Are you able to post a shot of the boshi like this? Unfortunately older NBTHK papers like yours are no longer viewed as being reliable. That doesn't automatically mean the attribution is wrong though. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Peter, I am interested in the evolution of the "Gassan habaki". The earliest ones I have seen to date appear to have been made by Sadakatsu. Do you know when yours was made? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Gassan Sadakatsu is also famous for his take on Yamato Hosho. Here is an example made in 1940. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Matt, Gassan Sadakazu and Gassan Sadakatsu also made some of these. Here is one by Sadakazu. Cheers, Bryce

RIP Roger. We shared many interests and had some great conversations. Bryce

G'day John, Heck of a sori on that thing!! Cheers, Bryce