Tokugawa Gord

Congratulations Steve on your 2 body test cut katana - looks awesome.

Hello Geraint, that is a wonderful idea - yes this kogatana will come back from polish even thinner, so will note this as well. What was your experience with the width? Were you able to get it to within a mm, or was mm or two making a big difference? Thanks again!

Thank you Brian for sharing your knowledge with me - yes I am noticing the same thing. Luckily, time is on my side and I have about 6 months to wait until the kogatana is polished. So the important measurements are the width of the actual saya portion where the kozuka will fit, and perhaps the length as well. If it is a mm or two off, then use pine pitch - got it.

Bumping topic in hopes of a translation - this kogatana is now in the process of being polished.

Hello All, I am in the midst of a restoration project, and require to mount a kogatana into a kozuka. I am wondering what are all of the measurements to keep in mind when looking for such a fitting? Would it make more sense to take the measurements after the kogatana has returned from polishing? Thank you in advance for your input, it will greatly help with my restoration project technical and stylistic requirements. Thank you, Gordan

Absolutely, thank you for clarifying Brian - wholeheartedly agreed there. It is interesting that multiple people have different views, one of them being a Japanese speaker and excellent reader of kanji. I understand that many times kogatana were tributary, but never know what you will get with our hobby

Some individuals are reading _ _ mori saku, others are reading Tachi Masamune Saku (which would indicate Masamune, or Masamune-like) Would love to hear other opinions on this. Thank you again in advance, bumping this. To give context, it was attached to a Sue Bizen blade, and had han-dachi koshirae where I found the kogatana. Thank you once again.

Hello Everyone, I recently acquired a saya which came with a kogatana attached, and would greatly appreciate help on translating it. Please find the photo attached here. I would appreciate any and all feedback, thank you for your time and attention.

Hi Rokujuro, what I am not understanding is how is this blade, attributed to the same tosho and in Shirasaya is going for 6500$, find link below: https://www.artswords.com/aizukanesada.htm The only difference is that the blade in the link has the papers, and is in a slightly better polish and geometry. So do papers then really make that much difference in the value of the sword? Or am I missing something here?

Hello Ken! It came in Shirasaya, I would have placed it in the same range - 700 is what I paid for it.

Hello, could you please advise market value so I can compare it to what I paid for it? Thank you in advance.

Absolutely agreed here, the polisher is not classically trained but did a good job in my opinion. The picture has been fit to screen for the forum, so the detail is grainy, but in person it looks much better. In your opinion - what would be the market value here without papers? I was under the impression that without papers the value does not appreciate as much.

Brian, thank you very much for your valued opinion and taking the time to view my Nihonto. I was under the impression that Shinsa is the only way to get the true story about this waki. I was also under he impression that the value of the sword would increase with these papers. If this is not the case, I will simply keep it in my collection as a prized piece and happily enjoy the hamon and geometry for years to come! It is the Nihonto of my dreams, and as the temporary owner of this blade, I vow to take care of it so that others may appreciate it for centuries to come.

Thank you very much for your input here! I am also of the belief that it is the first Aizu Kanesada as the original owner had a similar hunch.

Thank you Geraint. The Boshi extends out and appears to follow the hamon on one side, the other side not as visible as polisher tried to keep the geometry of the blade. You can see details of the temper process in the tip under specific light conditions.