ChrisW

I think I had a stroke trying to understand that ito wrap.

Thanks for the heads up Brian! Wish I could make it to the SF show to shake your hand. If you're ever in Indiana, let me know!

It may not be removed completely, just obscured by the grinding indicated. You'd have to get it into the hands of someone more knowledgeable such as a togishi (which is a trained Japanese sword polisher).

Definitely looks like someone went at this with a buffing wheel. Kissaki's geometry is destroyed beyond recognition.

Looks like a police issue saber.

The next ITK meeting will be held at our standard location on June 3rd. The topic will be: Shinsa Results, wherein we will discuss our shinsa results and experience! As always, reach out to me if you have questions on attendance or in general.

If anyone wants an early-war dark cocoa tassel, slide me a message. And y'all are very much so correct; these tend to appear in large groups as they made their rounds through large markets/dealers.

Sure, but I'll have to send you a link to the google drive with the images as they're all too large to post here on the forum!

I had two successes: A mumei 27.5' o-kissaki katana in red Higo koshirae came back ID'ed as Aizu Kanesada (11th generation), placed at 72 points. A mumei 8" yoroi-doshi tanto in plain black shirasaya came back ID'ed as Nanki Shigekuni (also probably 11th generation), but it placed at 75 points. Not bad for a couple of mumei! Weirdly both Ansei era, but it is what it is! BIG thanks to Mark Jones and Chris Bowen for putting on the show and shinsa! I really enjoyed this year.

A change for the better, thank you Brian!

Honestly, its an eventuality that they'll start papering more and more showato I think. Partly because its still a continuance of the history of nihonto and still uses many of the same techniques. Showato can display some of the finer traits of nihonto as well too. Could also be a money thing too. There's a lot of showato out there. Many of them were made with care and diligence, so they could be regarded as art within their own right. And with a ready supply of showato, it would be a no brainer to increase their value by recognizing them as legitimate. It is definitely a grey area, much like how traditionally made blades that aren't made with tamahagane are still recognized as art blades in a lot of cases.

Various soft metals are most common I think: lead, copper, rarely silver or shakudo.

I agree. First and second. Third shows promise but needs work first I would say. Looking forward to seeing you at the show!

Thank you for sharing!

Be sure to stop by the "Indiana island" part of the dealers tables! Myself, Dan, and Barret will all be present. Would definitely love to hear your shinsa results in person!

Appears to be a karasuguchi, which is regarded as fatal. Most unfortunate. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kizu.htm

You'll see me there with the rest of the Indiana guys! Will be nice to meet some more folk.

Who is doing the polishing work for you? I'm curious! Definitely share pictures of the mei if you've got it!

As far as I know, the ITK is closest to you for a group dedicated to study of nihonto. We meet in Morgan County, which is in the central part of the state about 30 minutes south of Indianapolis. Though our next meeting will be informal and held at the Chicago Sword Show at the end of this month. Believe me when I say the show is definitely worth seeing if you have any interest in learning more about nihonto! You'll be seeing both traditionally-made swords and WWII era blades.

Finding a collector's club (Token Kai) would be your best bet to hook up with fellow collectors. If you'll tell us what region of the country you're in, we can probably point you to one! If you're in the Midwest, might I humbly suggest the Indiana Token Kai? I know there's also clubs on the east and west coasts as well. The Chicago Sword Show is also coming up. This show would be ideal for you to meet a TON of collectors and see more swords than you could imagine being in one room!

Ask him to take it to Shinsa first. There's one in Chicago next month.

Big yikes.

What Stephen said is the route I would probably go. You cannot go wrong with Grey's advice either (and he will probably indicate some measure of the same or exactly the same too).

What Bruce means by "civil blade" is a sword that was made prewar and not in a large factory setting, AKA probably hand-forged by a blacksmith. Dismounting the blade from the tsuka and looking at the nakago would be the tell in this case.