DGARBUTT

A billiant lesson from Ford.

Here is the number I have for Brian: 4257716339. Haven't called him in a long time, hope it is till good

Everything looks right to me; I see some nice activity in the hamon and a boshi. It may well be a real sukesada although that signature was copied a lot by mino smiths; Hard work to determine if it is one the more important Sukesada's. At 51cm I would call this a wakizashi.

These mounts are typically from the late 1800's up to the 1940's. The mounts are copies of very high end mounts which were made starting in the 1500's. The blade is real, pre 1900, probably not real a sukesada, but that doesn't matter much for this sword in these mounts.

Some classic iron.

My correct e-mail dgarbutt@outlook.com. Our group has had only one meeting this year. Hopefully we will get at least one more scheduled.

This is most likely a post war souvenir piece made for sale to GI's and tourists. These are common and appear at gun shows frequently. The daggers reported, but never confirmed, to be used by kamikaze pilots supposedly had a cord to hang around the neck so it could be used in the last seconds before impact - a very dubious proposition. Can't help with translation of the kanji.

For those inter3sted in seeing other depictions of "Africans" in Nanban/Japanese art see the following link: http://ryfigueroa.blogspot.com/2013/04/ ... nters.html

Attached is an interesting tsuba that seems to depict a servant/slave in Portuguese costume. To me the servant/slave appears to be an African based on the facial features. The tsuba was apparently made for presentation and not use. What do you think?

Very ostentatious; will not appeal to everyone. The blade is Tokubetsu Juyo Ko Motoshige circa 1320

I am from Baltimore and many. Years ago I had the opportunity to handle the Sadamune. None of the swords or fittings at the Walters have been submitted to shins a Dale

Can anyone assist with the inscriptions? Dale

Franco, Unfortunately the tsuba is not mine and not in my possession. I am assisting another collector in cataloging his collection and we are trying to get a translation of the rest of the kanji on this piece. The shakudo is deep black and the nanako is excellent. Thanks for your input. The Ishigoro masatsune signature looks right when compared to the other examples. Dale

Attached are pictures of a fine shakudo tsuba owned by a friend. It is signed by two makers; Ishigoro Masatsune (III) and Nara Terumasa. There are additional inscriptions that I cannot read. Your help would be appreciated. I can find no example of the signature or Kao of Terumasa but he is recorded as doing nanako work for the Ishigoro. Comments on the validity of the signatures welcomed. Dale

Hi, I am the contact for the Maryland Token Kai. Please send an e-mail to my private address and I will forward it to Steve Friedman who hosts and organizes the meetings. dgarbutt@outlook.com welcome to the club, Dale

Here are some single menuki.

Here are some more single fuchis. The last photo is a matching kurigata. koi guchi and ko Jiri which I would like to match with a fuchi kashira. And yes, two of the mon fuchis are a matching daisho set.

Ichimonji Dewa (no) Kami Yukihiro. Hizen smith. Dale

Dear all, Yes I would be willing to sell these, although I haven't priced them. If anyone is interested why don't you PM me so that we don't violate any board policy. Dale

Here are some:

The tsuba is from a matching koshirae. Pictures below.

I am having difficulty with the signature on this tsuba. I would also appreciate comments on the authenticity of the signature. Thanks, dale

I am having trouble translating the signature on this tsuba. I would also appreciate comments on the authenticity of the signature. Thanks

I went to the preview at Bonham's yesterday so I can comment on several of the issues in this thread. Note that these statements represent my opinions; the opinions of others may differ. Both daishos have modern made mounts with original fittings, this accounts for the difference in the dates on the papers and, as has been pointed out, it is certainly possible to submit blades from a daisho at different times. The dai in the Nagamitsu daisho is spectacular; a 32 inch nagasa and shortened probably 6 inches. The daisho mounts on both sets are very nice. The sho in the shinkai daisho is also a great sword. The Naoe shizu hamon is very narrow, right on the ha in the kissaki and actually goes off the blade in the middle of the cutting edge at the lowest point in the valley of one of the gunome. The Masazane is also a great sword, so rare to see an ubu sword of this age. Although not mentioned in the thread there is a lot of 5 "guntos" one of which is as Chinese fake!! There is also as "tanto" lot which consists of a group of the postwar souvenir blades made for the tourist trade.

According to the realized price list at the auction site this tanto sold for over $21,000.00. Was anyone on the board at the auction who might shed some light on why?