mdiddy

These look like fittings from Type 98 koshirae. The fittings I referred to that came late in the war were for the Type 3 koshirae. Here is a page that shows the difference: http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_003.htm. Essentially, your fittings are for the older model koshirae so that does not add any input on the showato vs. gendaito debate. My opinion is the older Type 98 koshirae fittings are nicer in general. I still suggest showato for your blade based on nioi chu-suguha hamon. But keep doing the research and maybe you will find something new. If you browse around the site above you will find a wealth of info on Guntos. Matt

I have seen a wakizashi by this smith. Nice mimigata hamon. Belongs to fellow board member Mark Green. PM him and he may have add'l info/pics.

I would suggest Showato. The hamon looks nioi chu-suguha, a Showato feature. Also, it is late war (19th year of Showa = 1944) and better blades (i.e. Gendaito) usually have a star-stamp/better fittings combination. What do the fittings (scabbard, handle, etc) look like? Of course, there are no absolutes and even star-stamped blades may not be 100% traditionally made and vice versa. Showato vs. Gendaito is a constant debate with little agreement on how to tell 100% of the time. However majority of blades produced for the war were Showato and in the late war period I would expect the ratio of Showato vs. Gendaito to be higher. Nioi chu-suguha is also a big tip-off. Matt

Mark, Very nice find! Gotta feel good to find it locally. What is the current length and any estimate on what the original length may have been? Best, Matt

I echo Mark's sentiment. Don't feel insulted at all. Take the money and RUN! Meanwhile, pics of the blade would be most welcome.

Functionally, mineral oil is fine.

Get some mineral oil from a local pharmacy or wal-mart (should be very cheap). Apply a light coat, maybe 2-3 drops, to a lent-free cloth and then rub down the length of the blade. Repeat for other side. You don't want to apply too much where its dripping but you do want to cover the entire surface area. This coat of oil will prevent further rusting from occuring. Applying this coat once every month or two will keep the blade in its current condition. Also, apply the oil to the blade only, not the nakago (tang where the signature is). Just leave it as is. Its rust is old, expected, and not materially degrading anything. Grey provided good advice and his link should run you through the process on how to handle and manage the care of the sword.

As a heads up, restoration/polish requires a pretty significant time+money investment. Depending on who is restoring your sword it can take months to years from the time you send a sword off to the time you receive it back. Prices differ but a quality restoration with the accoutrements for a katana (what you have) will run ~$3k. I'm not trying to dissuade you as I would be very excited if I was finding and learning about this sword, but more to inform you because you may get recommendations that the sword can be 'polished' by amateurs for less or worse by anyone with a grinding wheel trying to 'sharpen' the blade. When we say 'polish' we really mean 'restored', the terms are used interchangeably, and are only loosely correlated with making the sword sharp. Here's a link to a post of a sword from the same school freshly restored: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6358. This can give you some sense of the benefits of a restoration and the potential your sword has (same school will have similar attributes). My current opinion from what I see is your sword has potential but a bad 'polish' could diminish that potential fast. Also, given the time/cost you just want to make sure your sword is legit before investing. I can recommend the same polisher who handled the sword in the link and can put you in touch if you like. I sent you a PM so feel free to reach out with questions.

The tang is signed "Chikushu ju Minamoto Nobukuni Yoshikane". Yoshikane was a quality smith of the Nobukuni school working in Chikuzen province ca. 1680. The school and this smith were fairly well-regarded. If legit it would be a nice find. The hamon is suguha (straight) which is not entirely expected from this smith but was used broadly by the school. As well, the school was known for carving horimono on the blade, which yours shows, so that also supports legitimacy. More research is needed. Would you also be able to provide the length of the blade from tip to notches above the tang? I'm not as knowledgeable about fittings but they look nice to my eyes. Perhaps someone else can comment on them. I'm a fan of this school so thanks for sharing and maybe we can track down some more info for you. Matt

What you are looking at = Reproduction, probably made in China What is written = "PLEASE DON'T BUY ME! STAY AWAY!!!!" Hope that helps.

I think it is 'Noshu Seki ju Hattori Masahiro Saku'. Here is a near exact example from Rich S's site: http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/masahir4.jpg.

Here's a link to the post on another forum with more pics: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/ ... p?t=402176 Tang is signed 'Suinshinshi Masahide' but sure its gimei. Mei is pretty far off, filemarks are wrong, etc. Not another gen. either. On the bright side it's definitely Japanese not Chinese. The fittings could be nice. I'm not yet very knowledgeable on fittings so will let someone else comment but looks like a nice tsuba and waribashi.

Thanks for all the replies. As a follow-up, the sword was released to the recipient but they were required to pay a 16% import tax and a 1.7% "weapons tariff". From my research the 16% sounds high as if they ignored the harmonized tariff and did not net out the VAT. The sword was not papered but for proof of age I included pictures, prints from Fujishiro and other references, and translations. The 1.7% "weapons tariff" was out of the blue. Just a heads up for those shipping to Spain.

Has anyone shipped a sword to Spain and dealt with Spanish customs? Did they, or do they, routinely flag Nihonto as 'weapons'? I recently shipped a Shinto katana to Spain. I labeled according to Darcy's recommdnations on usage of a harmonized tariff. The customs form was very detailed with the tariff # and an estimate of age. It has been stopped for being a 'weapon' and must be checked by police. I'm wondering if the additional details may have attracted some attention or if this is routine for interaction with Spanish customs. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Matt

Thanks for the great comments!

Yes, the habaki is new. The old habaki was done. The new one was made by Samuel Rediske and has nice cat scratches on it.

Ironically, the sword the soldier is holding is a machine made NCO Gunto. If you look close, you can see the locking mechanism on the metal tsuka. Most of the pile he is sitting on is machine-made. In the lower left corner of the picture is the good stuff peeking out.

Woops, sorry for the wake-up call. :D You can go back to bed now!

Before/After and Nakago

I thought I would share pictures of a blade I just received back from polishing by Jon Bowhay. The sword was in rough shape with heavy live rust eating at it from the machi up 4-5 inches on the blade and in several spots along the ha and ji. Mr. Bowhay did an outstanding job removing the live rust and shaping and restoring the sword (check out the Before/After pic). The sword is 26.5in (67cm) Kambun Shinto. The jitetsu is mokume and masame in the shinogiji. The hamon is notare with box-like gunome mixed in, abundant ko-nie along a thick habuchi, and subtle sunagashi close to the ha. The boshi is suguba with kaeri. The nakago is signed 'Chikuzen ju Minamoto Nobukuni Yoshimasa', is suriage, and yasuri are kiri. Feedback and thoughts are welcome. Matt

Decisions, decisions... http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_ ... 21207cfe1e OR http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_ ... 21207cfe1e Someone's going to have a nice leisurely stroll through the park to decide once they finish up at the Met... Wish it were me!

Doug, Looks to me like you have a civilian-mounted Showa period (WWII-era) Japanese sword. The signature is Seki ju KaneMasa Saku (KaneMasa of Seki made this) and dated Showa Jugo Nen Ku Gatsu (September 1940). The stamp above the mekugi-ana (peghole) is a showa stamp indicating WWII timeframe as well as some insight into manufacture materials/technique. Hope that helps. Matt

I see KaneToshi. Maybe Noshu Seki ju KaneToshi saku?

I can't get your pic to load, but I did find this on Danny M's site (http://www.nihontocraft.com/Mishina.html): "YY1.5) Yoshinobu 吉信, 1673, Kozuke Zenhashi Minamoto Yoshinobu 上州前橋源吉信, student of shodai Yamato (no) Kami Yoshimichi. Early name Yoshishige 吉重. Gunome midare with sugu-yakidashi, nie and deep nioi." It may be a lead...or may just result in more hand-wringing/head-shaking.

Over-sized tsuka, what looks to me to be a moved up mekugi-ana on the tsuka, and mumei according to Karen could indicate an older blade. Tough to tell if it has the hard spots at the gunome peaks in what looks like a Mino hamon. A suriage nakago would help in making the call. Looking forward to seeing more pics!