bleaches

Got a well made replica set of armor the other day and although I have a pretty good understanding of how to wear all the components I am baffled by this style of Kote with two cords in each set. From what I know usually Kote's come with one cord front and back to tie under the armput of the opposing arm. Can someone give me some pointers if there is a "correct" way to tie this thing? Thanks in advance.

Also, Is it normal for wakizashi blades not to be named or maker marked? I found that odd when I looked at the tang and could not find any markings. Interesting thing is after I took off the canvas wrap I discovered this beautiful dragon fuchi underneath.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will definitely look into that for cleaning the sword up next time I fly back. As for the identification of the smith I have emailed NBTHK (Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) in Europe for them to put me in touch with their counterpart in Tokyo. The Tokyo office does not have a public email so hopefully I can find more information once they forward me to them. The PDF I sent of the exhibition is hosted by the NBTHK in the Sanshū region. This is going to be a long road to hunt down the origins of this sword. Thanks Grey. I tried a punch last time for a good 20 mins with no luck. It just seemed to compress and swell the broken pin even more. May I ask how you would approach this with a nail as you have mentioned?

Thanks for the welcome. I am glad I discovered this community. of the name inscribed onto the tang. How would I break it up to find out where its from vs the blade smith. 三川国岡崎住神風真菅 I assume 三川国岡崎住 is the place 三川国Sanshuko, 岡崎 Okazaki (city?) and followed by blade smith name 神風真菅 Kamikaze (devine wind) Masuga. Is this assumption correct? I am assuming this is a series of swords since the PDF I sent seem to have a sword of the same "makers mark" on display at the exhibit. How would one try to restore the blade without damaging it. Over the last couple of generations due to the high humidity of Taiwan and improper storage there is a lot of surface rust. I want to remove the rust next time I fly back but want to do so without damaging the blade. The imperial era fittings I could care less since it was mass produced for gov/military/police officials to wear as "uniform" if you will. I want to preserve the blade in a better form than it is now. As for the katana that I could not remove the dowel from. I was thinking of taking a slightly smaller sized drill bit and pierce it through and get rid of the loose pieces so I can see what is beneath the tsuka. Does anyone have a better suggestion. Please keep in mind the dowel pin wood is old, broken and slightly rotten.

Hoping someone could help me to see if these katana are of any value. These have been in my family since the beginning of the Japanese occupation of Taiwan and was apparently gifted to my ancestors. There are three. One is a wakizashi that has no name or mark on the tang. One is most likely from the Sengoku era ~1600s based on the thickness of the spine. And the last one which I thought was imperial Japan era (due to its fittings) turns out is from late Edo era 1760~1850. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​The older one seems to have a ray skin covered Saya which is pretty interesting. I was not able to knock out the pin to look at the tang. The wooden dowel is so deformed and wrecked from who knows who that tried to knock it out decades ago. The other one which I thought was imperial Japan era I was able to check the tang revealing its name to me as 三川国岡崎住神風真菅 (Mikawa Okazaki Sumikin Kan San). Which is late Edo era as per this PDF I found. https://okazaki-kanko.jp/image/resou...document2/2964 I am hoping someone is able to tell me if these are worth any historical value or just a regular old family heirloom. Thanks in advance.