DTM72

The tsuka also seems to be wrapped in some kind of lizard or faux snake skin. One would "normally" expect to find same' skin. (stingray)

Messaged you.

@RanDogan. I am in the Charleston area. I would be happy to meet with you and help you with information on your sword and where to send for polish stateside, and in Japan. I could help identify any fatal flaws that would render it not worthy of restoration. Dan

I was just in Indy this weekend for my brothers wedding. His wedding was Saturday, so I could not have attended but hope it wen't well for you and the other attendees. Dan

Probably not going to make anything happen this year. Shooting big for next year though.

Matthew, This is a Chinese replica of a katana. Japanese swords (Nihonto) would never have had a blade surface that looked like your pictures. In my opinion, this was an attempt to make the hamon (hardened edge) appear to have splashing waves and appear artful. To some people, this may look appealing and cute and may work as a cheap tourist piece. To sum up, the only similarity to an actual nihonto is the overall shape of the blade....from a far distance. From 10 feet away, most of us would recognise that it is NOT a Japanese sword. Best Wishes, Dan

I tried to go back and edit, but it had been too long. Fingers were going faster than my slow brain.

As Grey mentioned, it should read 濃 = No 州 = Shu (Noshu is a province) 関 = Seki (Town) 住 = Ju (living in) 二 = Ni (2) 十 = Ju (10) (10 times the 2 above makes 20) 三 = San (3) (20 above plus the 3 = 23) 代 = Dai (Generation) 藤 = Fuji (Fujiwara is a sirname or title) 原 = Wara 兼 = Kane (Kanefusa is the smiths name) 房 = Fusa 作 = Saku (Make) 之 = Kore (This) https://yakiba.com/kanefusa-23rd-generation/ <-- a very nice example for comparison.

It looks alot like the Murata sword from Meiji but those were signed Kunimasa or Tsunatoshi. This does not seem to be legit. @Bruce Pennington

藤 = Fugi 原 = Wara 吉 = Yoshi 國 = Kuni 作 = Saku

I appreciate you wanting to attend. In the past, I would have said you can attend, in spirit. Now I would say to you, we will get pics and vids so you can attend virtually. Seeing how many posts appeared for the pics and vids taken during the San Francisco show, I think it would be great (with permission of course) to video each vendors set-up and announce who they are, and an email or phone number. That way, if someone sees that particular do-dad they have been looking for since you was knee high to a grasshopper, they will know who to contact. If that vendor is getting sales after the show from a simple video, that would be an added benefit to being a vendor. Good for the vendor, good for the customer. Thanks Again Stephen.

I added the last two characters as that is usually what follows Bishu Osa 備 = Bi 州 = Shu 長 = Osa 船 = fune 住 - Ju Vege mite Sand wich

Just had a great weekend of networking with others at our regional gun show. I now have multiple antique gun dealers, a couple American Revolutionary war and Civil War dealers, a few WWI & WWII dealers, and last but not least, 3 local Japanese sword collectors who would like to have a table for the first time ever. We have one last gun & knife show to attend at Myrtle Beach, SC in October. I will continue to recruit exhibitors there for the show. Now it is down to nailing down a spring show or fall show. I do NOT want to set a date too close to the very well established and awesome Chicago show, which by the way is April 22-24, 2022. http://www.chicagoswordshow.com/ Middle of March 2022 is a possibility, and November is a possibility too. Please chime in! Dan

Looks like 肥 = HI 後 = GO 守 = KAMI 國 = KUNI ? It looks like someone cut the end of the blade off, as well as the second part of the smiths name. Higo is a province, Kami is a title, Kuni is part of the smiths name, like Kunimasa, Kunitomo, Kuniyoshi, etc.

Would you believe this is Chinese?

This video just happened to pop up as a suggestion to watch. I felt compelled to see a "rare 1 million dollar katana". At first glance of the cover picture, I was already thinking that the fittings looked like junk, but was hoping to be surprised when watching the video. It took me to the 14 second mark to know this sword was junk. Gotta give props to Mike Yamasaki for being kind to the gentlemen. lol

I received my hardcover copy yesterday. I have not had a chance to look at it closely yet. I appreciate all of your efforts!

This may be your guy. https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/NOR173

Well, I guess I ran my mouth too much and was honest with him about what he has. He started researching at what other perfect examples have sold for at auction. Now he wants $3000 for it. Guess he is going to keep it for that price.

Next show is Feb 23-27th. I plan on coming from Charleston, SC just for this show. If you plan on coming, let me know. Would like to meet a fellow collector.

If he is willing to sell it, I think he is, what would this be worth? it is mounted in WWII gunto mounts, and they appear to be a decent quality version with pierced tsuba. I don't want to short change him, but I don't want to blow a hole into my bank account. lol

Could the signature possibly be 包定 (Kanesada) but just a very stylized version?

As far as I know, there are no other numbers, Arabic or otherwise, stamped on the nakago.

The photos I posted are the only ones i have from the owner. He lives about 2 hours away from me so we are communicating via text and email. I will ask for a better pic of the seals.

Great question! 1888 is when General Murata was experimenting with this type of blade and consulting with may smiths about the forging of blades. Maybe a collaboration? IDK Below is a table from Kiipu back in November 2020 about Murata blades. Could this one be a stand-out?