Matting2

Almost forgot the most important one

The black stuff near the tip is something on the blade not rust. You guys told me not to clean it. I hope these help with the Shigimasa mystery and thank you again for all of the incredible help. I will post pics of the other sword tomorrow

Is the Shinsa done in Japan or is there any place in the US that it is done. Again, sorry for the ignorance but I am only a week into this.

Thank you all for the warm welcome

I will try to take a lot of blade pics tonight and post tomorrow. My wife thinks that I am a little obscessed with this thing. I think she is right.

There are nine Shigemasa smiths listed in Markus Sesko's bood Swordsmiths of Japan. Some are in Bizen, others are in Seki, Bingo, Sagami.... is there a way to determine which one it was? The only thing on the Tang is the name. I have checked both sides. I feel like a kid with 5 bucks in a candy store. This is so exciting. I really do appreciate all of the help and information.

Thank you. It is all dark black rust. Nothing that looks active

Thank you all for the advice. No worries about me doing any of the work. It will all be professionally done. My father told me years ago, 45 or so, to never touch the blade. I listened. It is in fairly good shape but I would like to have it polished and restored to the level that it deserves. I will lightly oil the blade with mineral oil tonight. Should this be applied to the tang as well or just the blade. I am ignorant to the world of Nihonto but respectful of what I have been blessed to receive it and will that treat it as it should be treated. Unfortunately my father never knew what he was in possession of.

I am a 54 year old surgeon in Michigan. I have been thrust into the world of Nihonto from the death of my parents from Covid. When I was a young child, a family friend list his business and was down on his luck. My parents let him stay in out house until he was able to get back on his feet. As a thank you, he gave then 2 Nihonto that he brought back from WW2. I was fascinated by these as a young child and would want to play with them all of the time. Luckily my father warned me about never touching the blade. They have spent the last 45 years sitting in a closet in the guest bed room. When my parents passed last October, they were the first things that I told my sister that I would like to keep. Now I have become obsessed with getting as much information about the older one of the 2. I am ignorant about Nihonto but eager to learn. I would like to find out as much information as I can about the sword and the smith that made it. I have much to learn but look forward to the journey.

I have recently received a couple swords from my parents estate. One appears to be old. Both were brought back after WW2. The older sword has a Mei with only a name Shigimasa. Is there a way to tell to approximate date it was created? I would also like to find out any information about the sword smith. I have become obsessed with finding out the history of this sword. But I guess that is a common occurrence here.

I received this sword from my parents estate. They were given 2 swords from a friend that was a WW2 army vet. around 45 years ago when I was a small child. they were kept in the closet all of those years and I am trying to get some information on the older one. The second sword is a mass production sword from WW2. the older sword is obviously more than that and I would like to get some information on the sword or its sword smith for my new family heirloom. It appears to be made from Shigimasa but there are no other markings on the tang