ChrisW

Thanks! ...I might have to get a better camera than my phone then. It wasn't meant for such up-close pictures, but I'll try and see if I can. I had to turn the blade to a certain angle to catch the light to show the hamon as clearly as it did in the above pictures, that might have also made the proportions look off.

On a real hamon, there are dots of martensite yes? I see such tiny dots all over the hamon's edge. I imagine that's no guarantee, but they're present throughout the entire hamon edge. I really don't have much experience photographing these blades, so if there's a guide on how to do that, let me know please and thank you! If there is an expert in my area, I'd be more than happy to show them my collection and get some opinions.

I know this sword is likely to be a gunto however, the hamon on it is gorgeous and I feel it falls into the category of traditionally made. I am just a novice, so I thought I would get an opinion on it. The pictures really don't do it any sort of justice and the nakago's color is definitely darker than the pictures show. The tsuka and fittings did not come with the blade originally, it just sits really well in a spare set I have so I display it as such. The habaki was made for it though, as it fits like a glove and there are no gaps with it. Does this hamon and profile match any known smith or school? As always, any information is dearly appreciated. In any case, its a very pretty blade and it displays well! ~Chris

Hey all! Wasn't sure if this would be the proper subforum for this, but I thought I would show an acquisition I got a couple years back. This is a sodegarami if I am correct, they fall in the category of nonlethal mancatchers that was used by Japanese police. Though it certainly doesn't look very nonlethal! One would definitely get the impression by the presence of all the spikes. This is one part of a set of three tools as I understand. Unfortunately, the pole has been cut down some time in the past before I got it. It seems unlikely that a new one could be affixed judging by how it is assembled. Though a new pole could be spliced into the existing part by a good woodworker. Sadly, I do not know what kind of wood it currently has. Has a very reddish-purple tone to it. I do have a question though, does anyone know what its approximate age could be? ~Chris

We'd love to see the whole set, wakizashi and fittings too!

Ah thank you! That is very interesting. I just tried to check the name of the smith, but nothing came up. Does anyone know when this smith lived and what school they belonged to?

Businesses will often do anything to make a quick buck, always at the expensive of the buyer. Sadly, now also in this case at the expense of history too.

Sadly, I have little in the way of liquid assets. Otherwise I would consider it.

Hey all, I have a heavily tarnished/rusty wakizashi here with an unknown signature with paper that came with it. If I could get a translation and any information you could glean from the pictures about its age and style, let me know, thanks! If its worth it, I might want to have it restored if it turns out to be something special. If not, its an interesting study piece at the least. Sadly, the habaki's bottom piece is long-missing, did not come with it when I bought it. ~Chris

I'd also love to see any that you guys possess so I can see a variety of styles and themes for these! Also, what style of nihonto were they generally used in? One of my appears to be tanto sized, the other wakizashi.

If a moderator would like to, they can change the title to "Doro-Shippo Tsuba" for clarity's sake. Thanks!

So would anyone know of an expert that I could be pointed towards that might be able to pin an age or school to them? Thanks for all the great information guys, its appreciated!

Also, I apologize for the low-res pictures. I don't really have anything more than my phone to capture images with.

Ah, cloisonne, I've heard that word. Thanks for that! Also I have not heard of the term 'doro shippo' but I googled it and now I understand. Thanks! Can you all perhaps identify a school/age it belongs to?

Well, its good for newer people like me. Learning from the mistakes of others is a free education! Sorry about your situation though.

Hey all, I have a couple of tsuba I thought I would show and get opinions on. I saw these and have not too much knowledge of them, though I know they're probably Edo-period (?) as I read that ornamental fittings came more into vogue around that time. I could and (probably be) totally off base with these. Either way, I didn't pay too much for them. Let me know what you think and any information you might be able to glean from the pictures. The first tsuba is 5.45cm x 4.1cm, Thickness: 0.5cm, Inside hole is 2.4cm x 0.75cm(max width) x 0.2cm(min width) The second tsuba is 6cm x 4.7cm, thickness: 0.5cm, Inside hole is 2.4cm x 0.7cm (max width) x 0.2cm (min width) Thanks for any education guys!

That's a French Gladius-style Artillery sword, commonly called a French Model 1831 Artillery sword. I may not know as much about Japanese swords, but I know a bit about American and European. They're fairly common.

Alright, well then, can anyone possibly help me come to an understanding if this particular wakizashi would be worthy of such treatment? I am fine with it going back into a new shirasaya if it means a proper polish to reveal what it really looks like. However, due to my lack of knowledge on the maker and apparent rarity, I am unable to decide this alone. I can provide more pictures. You'll have to forgive me if I don't know all the terminologies yet. I know Japanese blades are a very niche market and people are very particular on how things are done, so I want to make sure I am respecting the blade and the smith who made it by giving it the proper treatment if it warrants it. Thanks for the information!

I have not! I shall do that. I also believe this blade might be worthy of at least a base polish to remove the light spackling of pitting on the surface and more clearly define the hamon as it is weakly visible on its own with the variation in micro-pitting defining it more clearly.

Thanks Bob! So would this be a good candidate for repolishing and mounting? I've no idea on how special/rare this particular smith's blades are considered. I'd appreciate any info on value so I could also decide how much would be intelligent to spend on restoration. This is definitely one I will keep for myself regardless! It just has a certain special feeling to it. I'll definitely post pictures of others I have when I get a chance to work with some better lighting.

I know the picture of the signature didn't exactly capture properly. Is it intentional defacement or just poor handling leading to corrosion? I gather the suggested smith was around 1650C.E. and the silver habaki suggests this as was his particular style to mount them. What other information exists on this guy? Also, thank you very much for your help! It is much appreciated. Most of my knowledge on swords lay in American style and construction, but since encountering a Japanese gunto, I've fallen in love with them as well!

Oh, I'll fix that. Thank you.

Oh, I have others too I might ask help for later if you all don't mind. A few wakizashi and a gunto. I think I might even have a very likely kyu gunto blade (profile matches).

Hey all! Just joined as I saw that you're all a very active community and as I cannot read signatures so I thought I would ask for help with this particular wakizashi. It has a kikumon on the nakago and then a smith signature. I would love to be told any sort of information you guys can glean from the signature. Age, smith, apparent rarity would all be much appreciated. I've only recently started to acquire more nihonto for my collection of blades and I am now sitting at a little little over half a dozen nihonto of varying types. It has the original silver foil habaki and a shirasaya. If something special, it would be my first nihonto to choose for restoration to display mounts. Pictures below, feel free to ask for more and I can try to get more! Thanks very much! ~Chris