ChrisW

I love the attention to detail in the water, there's so much depth to it. A masterwork in my eyes for that alone!

Suriage means shortened, but some of the original nakago is present. O-suriage means greatly shortened, none of the original nakago is present. Machi-okuri is where the mune and ha-machine have been moved up on the blade, reducing the nagasa. I suppose what Mr. Benson is meaning to say is that any kind of suriage is intentionally done. Strange that he referred to the nakago as accidentally broken off. Being that the nakago isn't typically hardened, I wonder how that could have happened?

The tsuba is definitely not a standard WWII tsuba. It looks like it was originally an Edo period tsuba that has been cleaned and modified by its former Filipino owner. So that leads me to believe the blade is older than WWII but I'd wait to hear what someone more knowledgeable on sugata has to say. Also, NEVER ever apply anything abrasive to a (possibly) Japanese sword! Leave any restoration work to the professionals. Some goo-gone or warm water and mild soap should be fine to clean it up, then gently oil with choji (preferred) or machine oil.

You should absolutely remove the blade from the tsuka when oiling so as to minimize the amount of oil inadvertantly getting into the tsuka. Be sure to remove excess oil, you don't want any beads of oil.

Its a bit more simplistic, but you can also get the same tools from the Usagiya sisters for 2200 yen + shipping here at this link: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/catalogue.html

You'll find that over time, as you unsheathe the blade for re-oiling, the fit will adjust and hopefully become less tight and more of a gentle grip. If it becomes even tighter, then you might have an excess moisture problem. Wood tends to swell when there's too much moisture about; but be wary of it being too dry! You don't want to crack that new shirasaya along the seam and let outside moisture on the blade!

What I generally do with a tight shirasaya is to put one hand on either side of where the two parts meet, each hand firmly against each other, but not tightly clenching the shirasaya and then I clench both hands at the same time and the action of my fingers clenching forces the shirasaya open. Pretty much as Brian described.

Yikes! Good thing its in your hands now!

Bruce, seeing your reaction and joy in these various examples being shown is a joy in and of itself to watch. I would love to see you put together some infographics and charts on your findings sometime!

It looks like someone has taken a buffing wheel to this blade and utterly destroyed its geometry. They even went to the added step of destroying the tsuba by removing all the patina. This is very unfortunate. I am not a good judge of mei, but if there's enough 'meat' on the blade left, it MIGHT be salvageable by a good togishi? But that would be a judgement call of the togishi. This blade looks to have significant age due to the patination of the nakago and how deeply the habaki/tsuba has bit into the nakago over time - signs of an older blade usually. As well as the mekugi-ana having an irregular shape, which points to it being drifted instead of drilled. This also points to it being an older blade. My guess is that this is a Kanei or Kanbun era blade, possibly a little earlier. The condition is poor, but there's enough left that it could be theoretically saved. That's just my opinion based on pictures though. Only a togishi could properly make that judgement.

Honestly, it looks like if this were to receive a solid strike, as a tsuba could conceivably receive, then it may have very well shattered. Those are remarkably noticeable forging flaws.

I think it is the fact that essentially everything on nihonto is replaceable and interchangeable (with modification) which greatly extends the life of a Japanese blade. I think this is their secret to longevity (that and a culture that reveres and cares for said blades).

The pictures are rather foggy, so it is hard to tell but the blade appears to be signed and likely to be older based on the darkness of the patination of the nakago. We'd need more pictures to be able to say more. I'll let those with more experience speak of the mounts.

It appears to be traditionally made, but very much abused. Looks like a buffing wheel has been taken to it.

I would talk to dealers who have strong contacts in Japan, like Darcy for example.

I wish you the best of luck in your search, but you are going to really struggle with the first and fourth characteristic, especially the fourth one. Finding original koshirae on a tachi is almost impossible.

The next ITK meeting is scheduled to be on Saturday, the 26th of February. We will be meeting at 10 A.M. at the Carnegie Public Library in Martinsville, IN. The meeting is open to the public but we respectfully ask that masks be worn per the library's visitor recommendations. (And its better for the swords!) This meeting's topic is hada. Please contact me ahead of time if you wish to bring a blade to the meeting.

A very poorly made Chinese fake, sorry to break it to you.

Most definitely a gendaito.

Ah I see! Just be sure to clean the blades gently with some high-purity isopropyl or mild soap and water (and then dry thoroughly with a soft cloth), then apply either choji or mineral oil to protect them from rust! Avoid anything abrasive or staining.

When you unsheathe the blades, please make sure to lay them on a clean soft cloth of some kind. Never lay them on anything hard like concrete. And give the folks here a few minutes, and I am sure you'll get some translations for your sayagaki.

Feel free to post pictures of it in a separate post and people will advise you on its care and how to see more information on it!

Not hitatsura. This is hitatsura: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/hitatsura3.jpg

Times change, so do prices. As well, you might not look so pretty after 80 some years of wear and neglect! Is it worth the $900 he's asking? Absolutely not, but as Bruce points out, he's a pawnbroker so he should be willing to negotiate. The guy is probably just watching eBay and seeing what far better condition ones are going for and thinks he can get that price with the right customer too.

I'll also check my other blades/spare parts for habaki that are out of the ordinary.