Scogg

Just a wild, and likely wrong guess: Perhaps a preliminary mark for the placement of the mekugi-ana; or for a new mekugi-ana that never came to be. But if that were the case, I imagine we’d have seen it before -Sam

It would be a little interesting to take an old blade covered in finger marks, and see how many prints the world database recognizes. Although, unrecognized prints could simply be modern and undocumented, or pre 1970s. Id also think that finger print rust, if not removed by polish, would slowly spread/bleed over time obscuring the individual lines. Maybe someone with a better understanding of rust can prove this right or wrong. Fun to think about though! I’m pretty sure my inherited katana is covered in my grandfathers fingerprints. Thanks for sharing your Tanto, All the best, -Sam

I would love to see some photos! I once met a guy at a show who had a recently broken off Nakago on his table. I asked if he had a story behind it; and he told me that he used the sword for iaido practice, and at one point during a swing it snapped clean at the Nakago. He said there was no visible flaw until it had snapped, where he could see an internal crack within the break. Luckily nobody was hurt. (This story relying on my memory, so if that person is on this forum, and this sounds familiar, i'd love to hear it again! ) I can't tell you if your specific flaw is fatal - but it's in an area where a lot of stress is focused. All the best, -Sam

I interacted with him a bit on Reddit messenger I’m under the impression that it’s an heirloom, and other people are more reluctant than he is about accepting it as gimei. I think he’s got us in one ear, and someone else in the other. I hope he comes back too, and takes y’alls advice about sending it to Andrew. Gimei or not, It looks like a decent? sword from what little can be seen all the best, -Sam

Fittings from my type 98. Pretty sure it’s a “piece together”, as the saya might not match, and the unique home-made looking seppa shown in the photos. The other 6 seppa appear original, and two of them are pretty thick. Open to opinions. Has anyone seen a tsuba like mine? With the notches hammered in around the nakago ana? Was this done to fit the tsuba to the blade? Sharing to contribute to the thread, but also for the tsuba question. All the best! Happy St Patrick’s day, -Sam

I’d like to see the ana for the nakago too. interesting!

No offense taken at all! I'm here for exactly this kind of advice, and ya'll continually help steer me in the right direction After some years of collecting other antiques and collectables, I've learned to keep my rose-colored glasses on the shelf All the best, and thanks again! Cheers, -Sam

Thank you Colin, That is all very helpful, and great advice! Looking forward to getting the piece in-hand, and trying the methods you describe. It will certainly look better than my home-made kake! Much appreciated, -Sam

Thank again ya'll, those are some great ideas! I'm going to wait until it arrives, and then decide how much I like the color and motif, and try to tell if it's old. Thanks @NewB, he does seem to be a great seller, with some really nice stuff. He also seems knowledgeable (more than me), and dates this Kake ~150 years old in his description. If it appears to be that old, i'll likely leave it the way it is. If it appears to be newer, it will become a fun project.. I'm thinking black, with a nice gold 3/5/3 kiri-mon (my favorite mon) Thanks again Cheers, -Sam

At least the seller has nice photos

Thank you both! I’ll be sure to check if it’s plywood or veneer when if arrives. That’s good to know Great ideas Colin! Sounds right up my alley. I’ll be happy to own it. I’ve wanted something like it for some time. Cheers, -Sam

I threw a bid out on this Kake last week, fully expecting to be outbid. Well, I ended up winning! You live and you learn Got it for about $160, which I don’t think is too bad. To me, it looks vintage but not necessarily antique. Maybe Meiji or Showa? Would love to hear your thoughts on age. Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing it in person. -Sam

The fact that there are unpapered shoshin swords out there is obvious.. The point is, when a sword is being sold from Japan, in polish, without papers, it's a big red flag. Why wouldn't the seller simply get it papered and command a higher price? Are there exceptions? Of course. But we shouldn't be encouraging that kind of eBay treasure hunting to new collectors. Especially when said collector has a history of flirting with gimei swords, and has been burned before. All the best, -Sam

Well I made another one for my Type98 This one was tough, and ended up a bit more crude than my first. I used a harder wood. The shinogi-zukuri shape was considerably more challenging… and I would say I failed at establishing it That being said, it fits great, and holds the koshirae together nicely! Here’s some photos I took along the way. I followed the same method described in my comment above (while being constricted to the tools that I have at hand. Better/more tools would have made it much easier)

With all due respect, Jacques, You used absolutes like “this sword is not from nambokucho” and “it was made to look like an old one”. The underlined qualifiers imply that you’re certain. A certainty that you simultaneously imply is impossible to gleam from mere photos. Which is a source of confusion. Are you saying that you can definitively determine or eliminate an age/era from photos, but not the school or smith? Sincerely, -Sam Attached is a screenshot of the comment in question:

I share your desire for a nice Kyu Gunto Brian, and often browse what’s out there too. Poor condition and photos aside… I like the leather cover and don’t see that all the time on these. The two pins are intriguing, and makes me really wanna see that nakago! Some bigger emperor nodes on that samegawa I see. It also looks like it has some nice length and Sori (but thats harder to tell) All the best, and thanks for sharing, -Sam

Thank you Bruce and @The Blacksmith . That’s interesting and helps. I’ll dig around the forum some more too thanks again! cheers, -Sam

It looks older than WW2 to me, but you should wait for more informed opinions before drawing any conclusions. Here’s your photo oriented upright for those who can translate the Kanji on the nakago best of luck! -Sam

The wooden interior is something I've wondered about myself! Thank you @Bruce Pennington for that diagram and photos. I've been messing around with wood projects, so this interests me. A few questions if you remember from dismantling your Mantetsu: - Any idea on the type of wood used? - Are the inserts glued together at any point? - Or are they simply held together with tension by the exterior metal saya? - Is that a small wooden peg/notch on the kissaki end? Thanks again, Cheers, -Sam

According to the seller info, it does have a hamon - it just “isn’t highly visible”. Hoso seguha is a very narrow and straight hamon pattern. Although I cannot see it in the photos. From what I can see, that is not a particularly rare ww2 tsuba like the seller suggests. The blade appears to be in standard type 98 fittings. With an engraved habaki which is a little fancy if it’s nice... But I can’t see it clearly. Lots of red flags in the overly romantic description, and really poor photos, and probably poor polish. I’d stay away from this one personally -Sam

I document my collection and keep notes. Although, I keep a healthy understanding that I am NO EXPERT, so I do it in pencil (incase I need to edit things as I learn more) I keep notes about its size, features, and activity. I also note when and where I acquired them item. I do something similar for most my collections. Below is an example of a Wakizashi I shared on here recently, that I made the Tsunagi for. All the best, -Sam

The internet is a minefield; best to not let it distract from the blade in question Luckily, we’ve got a top-tier mod in Brian! Do you have more photos of this sword? Or was this from an internet post or listing? I’d love to see more All the best, -Sam

@Georgecar Sounds like a pretty specific topic that has little to do with this thread. I see you've posted a near identical paragraph on other threads. Right now, this is giving big "internet bot" vibes - no offense... If this is something you wish to discuss, I'd recommend starting your own forum topic and maybe naming who exactly you are referring to? Cheers, Sincerely, -Sam

For posterity, and those who can't use imagur* I am enjoying seeing your swords, @chgruener Best of luck, Cheers, -Sam

For posterity, and those who can't open imagur* Looks like a nice Type 98 Gunto with a pierced(?) tsuba