mgraffam

Agreed. I would instruct the polisher to examine the sword first, and let me know whether they think a touch-up polish would be appropriate. The hamon is sudare-ba, and I can tell there is a lot of activity in it -- but it is rather dull and difficult to catch in the light just right. I believe the blade would benefit from polishing, but I'd leave it to someone more experienced to make the final call.

Because the existing polish is a bit dull, and a new polish will bring out much more activity in the hamon. There are also a few small scars that could be removed.

It is a hozon papered wakizashi. Signature is Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi, with a kiku-mon in the mei.

Completely agreed. I did search, and found older posts - which is why I asked because people retire, new talent emerges, etc. My main reason for buying nihonto is to act as a steward. Preservation is paramount to me. Since I was a youngster, I was enamored with the Japanese sword, and the engineering behind it. It is an honor to be responsible for genuine historical artifacts.

Thanks guys! I found David Hofhine online and was kind of wondering about him. The pictures of his work are impressive. I've reached out to him; if I don't hear back in a week or three, I'll try reaching out to some of these other gents.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The dragon menuki are definitely out of place; both in theme, and literal placement. The fuchi-kashira just seems to be random scroll-work. Perhaps fortuitously, I found very similar, though not exact, ones on a site; I'm considering picking them up to use as a matched set if/when I pick up another blade. On the other hand, I'm not crazy about them and may pick up a nicer set; along with a tsuba that appeals to me more. Still thinking on that. I did find a very nice piece of tiger samegawa to use if I decide to re-wrap. Although, in regards to dirt/dust -- there was plenty when I got it; but I went over it with Q-tips and a toothbrush lightly to clean it all up.

Are there any folks in the US that can properly polish nihonto?

Here you go!

While I certainly understand where you're coming from, and have no urge to attempt to polish this blade for example, I am not new to tsukamaki. I am confident that I can get samegawa on there and re-wrap it properly, and tighter than it is. I've done it many times before, with replica modern-made swords. The question is, could the cloth be original? If so, I won't rewrap, loose Ito or not. I'll just have new koshirae made for display and call it a day. That was my plan if I purchased something in shirasaya anyhow.

Yes, both seppa have signatures. I'm fairly certain the habaki and seppa are period correct; just not sure about the gold finish; and certainly not sure about the cloth on the tsuka.

My thinking runs the same way. Failing good argumentation to the contrary, I think I'll re-wrap the tsuka with samegawa panels & silk ito. I think I can chemically strip the gold from the fittings, and would then patina the copper.

Here is a picture of the habaki and seppa.

Hello everyone; I recently purchased my first nihonto wakizashi. The blade was made in 1751 - 1764. It has old and new NBTHK papers (latest from 2019). The seller pointed out some things which he saw as potential "problems" with the koshirae, and pointed out that they are probably not original to the blade. Nonetheless, the blade was in excellent condition and exactly the sort of thing I wanted, so I bought it. My budget for this was such that I was prepared to buy a blade in shirasaya and have newly produced koshirae made anyhow, so I didn't mind. But I thought I'd join up here to learn more and ask around about this. There is a deerskin wrap on the handle, but rather than samegawa underneath there is a patterned cloth glued down. The cloth has gold threads running through it. I don't know if this could have been produced in the late 1700s or early 1800s. Maybe it could. I know certain brocade cloths from the period can be very elaborate. Also, the seppa and hHabaki appear to have been gold plated. It is very thin, and appears to be gold washed. The exposed copper has a dark patina, leading me to believe this was not electroplated recently and is gold wash. There is a copper washed band around the saya as well with some of the underlying metal exposed. Was gold and copper washing common in the mid 1700s to 1800s? The saya and tsuka fit well, so there is that. Pictures big enough to capture the small details are too big to upload altogether, so I'm just posting a pic of the cloth on the tsuka. Basically, I guess it comes down to .. if the koshirae COULD have been original, I'll leave things alone and have new koshirae made. If the cloth or gold washing are giveaways, then I'll save a few bucks and work them over myself. Thoughts?