Franco

Definitely a fern I would say. Exactly which kind you'll have to figure out.

Thank you, Curran. I was told by Brian Tschernega that the shirasaya pictured below is an "early" Edo period saya, and that the habaki was a later Edo period piece.

Truthfully, I'm not exactly sure what to classify this activity as, maybe an utsuri??? Almost certainly it will have a name, be categorized. Shirake utsuri, hmm. Shirake utsuri when seen is white, not like this. Muneyaki, no. Muneyaki first of all runs along and or borders the mune, not below the shinogi. There are two forms of muneyaki seen. One is more like a tobiyaki (considered inferior). The other is more like a yubashiri (superior). https://markussesko.com/2015/05/14/kantei-2-jigane-jihada-3/ https://markussesko.com/2015/05/29/kantei-3-hamon-boshi-1/

Citation required.

No worries. The point here of recommending a professional like Brian is that these pieces show significant age and quality. As such, repairs and restoration work as well should be undetectable. Some work (such as cleaning) can be accomplished at home, especially by someone with knowledge and experience.

Beginners luck! For cleaning and any restoration work I would suggest contacting/consulting Brian Tschernega 425.771.6339 . Both pieces are worn for good reason.

Who's talking about "for profit" ? "Don't buy junk!"

Another thing to keep in mind is that during this period of time at the end of Nambokucho and beginning of Muromachi, there were schools that were copying characteristics of other traditions. So, it isn't surprising to see an Echizen Rai sword with Yamato "like" characteristics. If that appeals to someone, fine. However, as a collector, when buying a Rai sword it might be preferable that it had strong Rai traits.

"Don't mistake temptation for opportunity"

Polisher's mark, hmm.

Things to consider that jump out at me; 1) likely to be early Muromachi 2) Hamon is somewhat lacking for Rai, imo, especially compared to earlier first generation work. 3) Koshirae does not impress.

Dear Nazar, Love the kitty! Not to be evasive. Well, maybe just a little. My focus has been on old swords for so long that I've forgotten most of what I once knew about military swords. Asking and receiving thoughts from the military sword collectors would be more of value and accurate I should think. Please don't be discouraged. Take what you learn from this experience and use it to move forward. The best advice for any Japanese sword collector is to follow what the Japanese advise. Which is take the time to study and look at the very best swords possible. Train your eyes. Best,

Dear Nazar, Sorry to disappoint but I'm not seeing nioi. Only some form of treatment to make it appear so to untrained eyes.

How is this tsuba being restored, methods?

Looks like sunagashi. One problem here is that things could look substantially different in new polish. This polish does this sword no favor.