BjornLundin

Hi, I tried to upload better close up and linking it to imgur. From the mobil camera it looks to be some red marks (rust) in some of the date signs. In real life, it is hard for me to see if it is there or not. Could be a camera artefact. I rather think the cuts are not so deep, and maybe there is a difference between the date side and the signature side in term of confidence?... Shakingness could be my hands Will try to make a better rig to take photos. Cant get the photo to work --- tried both png and jpg on imgur and none worked here.... Post one picture of a fukure? in the bo-hi, is it possible to do something about this? or leave it be and hope for the best that a polish will not open it up? mei https://imgur.com/a/zGJeFb6 blade https://imgur.com/a/hmZ46bL

Smith only active for 3 years? Harsh life.

Hi, yes. It is possible that the signature is added afterwords or not. Blade itself looks for me to be of rather high quality. So what would the advice be?

Hi, I was wondering if I could get any advice on this "maybe" Morimitsu blade? My plan of action was to send it for polish in Europe this year and when money and time permits take it to Japan or USA for shinsa. I ponder upon different paths: 1. Morimitsu is the smith, blade is ok, and the signature is authenticated. --> Shinsa ok 2. Morimitsu is the smith, blade is ok, and the signature is added later on --> Will it paper then? 3. Morimitsu is not deemed the smith, blade is ok, and signature is gimei --> Will it paper then? Will you get any information of what smith they judge and/or advice to proceed? What would your advice be to go forward. Right now I have made my own shirasaya for the time beeing, since the WWII sheet was in really bad condition, is there any good shirasaya maker in Europe? and should I sent it for shirasaya making before or after a possible polish? Thank you for your advice! -Bjorn

Thank you Northman ???????? Actually I appreciate everone comments. I choosed this blade based on its characteristics of the shape. The slender blade and balance makes it for me a deadly weapon. The difference in opinion makes it a good study piece. Mino or bizen... Why did the appraisal give it a better origami than the usual one... Is the polish bad or good for this type etc... I will try to take it with me to study group to learn more. I hate questions unaswered so this will make me study harder Is there a scientific way to measure age? Carbontest or metal composition? Or similar?

Ah. Still learning. See for every step I am a step closer on the path of enlightment. I will try to setup a better quality photo. Or does the attachment here reduce quality? Size of photo gets markedly lower. Thank you for the link. I read parts of it and will read it in more detail tomorrow, and during the wekeend. For me, I do appreciate workmanship and art. I have collected a few old and new pieces of bizen yaki, maybe not for everyone but I like the moment when the potter lets nature (kiln) form the surface.... Anyway a bit like nihonto swords where both nature and the skill of the smith form the end product. Then it is bizen, maybe that is foolish but I do like Okayama ???? and what conection it has with me personaly. Then I like also that there is a hunt for acessory parts and what style would fit the blade the most. For now I will study my swords, take in more information ask a lot more questions and look for that special object. Anyone know what the water droplet hamon is called? Ty all -Bjorn

Hi, hope this picture helps. -Bjorn

Will, take new pictures. Corona strains and reinfections is alarming. Read it and and more clueless now about the mysteries of Nihonto .

Thank you Jussi, interesting about the kanji. Uwe that blade looked very similar. I like the what looks like a water droplet in the hamon. I include the date side also ????

Thank you. I was wondering if it has been shortened due to what it looks like under the habaki?

Additional pictures. My mobil camera is right now little better on taking photos than my canon 70D. Edit. last pictures was the sukesada, so it was added by accident,. -B

Dear everyone, I have just discussed my second nihonto, a possible sukesada. This is my third blade. This blade has characteristics that I for now enjoy very much. I have tried to take pictures but it is hard and probably I need an anti glare filter for the camera. It is better in real life (for me anyhow). It has been discussed from what I can see in these threads, the mei looks very similar. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5419-the-economics-of-sword-collecting/?hl=%2Bshuri+%2Bsuke&do=findComment&comment=50238 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5415-morimitsu/?hl=%2Bshuri+%2Bsuke&do=findComment&comment=50219 It has small irregular roundish hamon line that really glow when light is right. The hada is my eyes is very nice also For me when holding it makes me glad. If it is oei-bizen Morimitsu or not doesn´t matter but I am wondering what bizen smiths have this characteristics so that I can look for a comrade to it. I will try to take better pictures. All the best Bjorn

Thank you. I can be referred to as the classical newbien and I am happy with the blade. So I will leave it like that -B

Hi, Martin at Nihonto Europe did not want to comment on these boards, due to bad blood earlier. He assures that there is nothing wrong with the kissake. He states that it is good blade that has been in a few battles, been polished a few times and nothing wrong with the current polish. He thinks the price was very fair ~2800 USD. He says that for him the smith is Toshiro Yokoyama. JoSaku and O-wazamono. Somehow I get the feeling that something is not right here from his description and what this board says. I believe people here give there honest opinion and that standards may be high, which is understandable. Still it would have been appreciated, if I would have got a ("honest") description, I say honest since I think stuff were left out, when I asked about it and told that I was a total newbie. It may of course be difficult how to describe things and maybe it should be expected to have knowledge to a certain level, beforehand making a purchase. I will make another thread for advice on what smith and era would be best to focus on based on what Im looking for. Again, thank you everyone for your opinions, that is how I learn about this new area of art. There is something very "magical" how these swords combine both art, the pride, and legacy of the smith that is then used as an object. -Bjorn

Thank you Jussi. Will try to contact the Swedish bransch. Thank you for to be not to negative. When buying this blade I explicit asked if there were any flaws and asked if it needed a new polish. The answer was no. As I am new I cannot but trust the seller. Probably as experienced seller he would know what this blade is and what flaws (kissake) it has. It would have been nice to have been told this from the beginning. Maybe the price of the blade that I paid was would be expected for this kind of blade, but now I question it. If the seller (board member here) would want to comment on it, it is his choiche. For me, I want to have a set or two as a memory of my time in Okayama and maybe leave something special to my sons. Now I will study more, and hopefully find the perfect match. Thank you all for helping me ????

Great thank you , from the seller he stated that it was the 3rd Sukesada (Toshiro Yokoyama) Tensho (1573-1592) that made the blade. So that is a third date. I want to thank everyone from both threads, I will enquire a polisher for advice of what can be done. I hate to leave something in a non to optimal state, that would really itch my skin everytime I will look at it. Dont know when I can afford it but let see. I guess this is what happens when you jump in the river and then have to learn to swim to get out of it. Hopefully enjoyable. If there is a nihonto study group in scandinavia, please let me know.

Ohhh... Man now I am getting interested what it says. Why didnt I learn to read Japanese when I lived there... What I understood, the origami is not from one of the prominent organisations. I believe it is from JHTKK. What that is or who I dont know. -Bjorn

I posted a better picture of the tang here. Did not want to double post. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/31283-translation-of-a-sayagaki/

Wow thank you. Would this connect with the tang and what the origami says? Most wondering what the origami says in the left section. Thank you for all the help.

Hi, I was posting on the nihonto section of a katana that I have. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/31280-sukesada-katana-hamon-question/?do=findComment&comment=320435 I was refered here for assistans for translation of tang and sayagaki. I was told that it was made by sukesada. Thank you for help! -Bjorn

Sayagaki, is this correct.

Sorry, did not clarify my question. I would not polish a nihonto. How difficult would it be for a prof. polisher to correct this. I have had contact with Martin Hornak to polish another blade. Wondering if it would be worth fixing this. I like it, but I wonder why did the polisher do it like this the first time. To hide a tired blade? Picture of the tang included. Thank you for answering!

Thank you, so it would be mildare gunome. How easy or difficult would it be to bring forward the natural hamon? I post additional pictures of the whole blade. Im wondering if the blade was intended to be slender or this is an effect of numerus polishes. Could not really see any hamon om the tip (kissaki). Is that common? Please if someone could translate the shirasaya. It would be helpfull. Sorry for my pictures, tricky to photo.

Hi, first Im new to nihonto, so please excuse my ignorance. I have 3 blades right now and been trying to study them. For this katana, it has a straight hamon? With regulat whitish waves under it. Does any one know the right term for it?, And how did the smith produce such an effect that is opposite to the straight hada? Thank you -Bjorn

Hi, sorry to be late to introduce me. I have been going through the discussion boards for a few weeks now. Anyhow, my name is Bjorn, lives in Gothenburg Sweden. I have been working and living in Okayama city in Japan and been during that time been looking at nihonto´s there but did not dare to buy anything. Now back in Europe for a few years, I stumbled over an auction site and saw a bizen wakizashi, that in my eyes looked nice and I thought it would be a nice remember from my time in that area. I am a total newbie so it is possible I have made all the mistakes a person can do. So after I got home the blade, I read more closely that this was actually a short blade and it should be together with a longer blade (katana). I contacted the seller (Nihonto Europe), and I looked through was he had and found a bizen katana for my liking. Again probably did all the mistakes one can do. I got the katana home, a slender, elegant blade, maybe a little tired? on one side. But it did not fit together with the earlier shorter blade. Again, I contacted Nihonto Europe and found a possible Morimitsu blade. Again total newbie, so I did not know who the smith was and I only went for the look and feel of the blade from the online videos, and again probably made all the mistakes a person can do. The Morimitsu blade looked promising, but maybe was not total right to be a pair with the katana. So now I am stuck in wanting the perfect nihonto. But for now I am looking to get additional pieces to put the blades in proper sets. Made a shirasaya for the morimitsu blade for now, until I can find someone to make a proper one for me. Thank you for letting me onboard. Best Bjorn