Jon

Hi cheers I take it late means it excludes the 1-3 generation Teruhiro smiths ? ( all the really good ones). as far as I can find of the later generation Teruhiro smiths only the 6th generation uses the Mei Harima no Kami Fujiwara Teruhiro, so although they have not clearly spelt it out do the papers essentially mean it’s the 6th generation smith ?

Hi from the hozon papers could anyone tell me about this smith, generation, province, school, period ect. Cheers

Cheers Jean, every day is a learning day.

Just spotted this nagintata that looks like it’s been profoundly abused, by someone welding a bayonet style socket to it allowing it to be bizarrely mounted…never seen the like.

Hi Paul, that’s brilliant that you own this one..do you have any information on the school ect…I have never seen a blade like it anywhere before.

Some more pictures, it does have an interesting set of koshirae to go with that insane Sori….

Just seen this blade with the deepest sori I think I have ever seen, not sure what school etc went for such deep Sori ?

I’ve been looking around at a few blades and noticed a site in Australia selling a number of katana…but from the pictures a lot of their stock looks like they have had cleaned Nakago….now I’m not sure if this is just an artifact of photography ( not understanding one of of a camera from another) or if a lot of these blades have cleaned Nakago..answers on a postcard please…

Hi all, I’ve seen this sword by a BUSHYU YOSHIMASA, now I have a couple 2nd and 3rd generation Yoshimasa from the Tsukukushi Nobukuni school . Now I’m keen to pick up another Nobukuni Yoshimasa, but I’ve never come across a Bushyu Yoshimasa, anyone know anything about the smith, school wise, era and rating ? I’ve included the swords papers to show his Mei…And Judgement. cheers

I’m looking for a bit more information on the fifth generation Bishu Osafune Tsuneie, including fujishiro or any other ratings anyone has ? cheers Jon

just no…dry blackthorn is a travesty of nature…it’s a none traditional cider that is no longer made in Somerset…it’s made in Ireland, a nation that has deluded itself into thinking it knows how to make cider…they export the apples from the southwest of England…. In reality if cider is not made in Somerset it’s hardly worth the name ( even traditional ciders)….the sparking none traditional ciders…are the cider equivalent of knockoff Chinese “Nihonto”… If you like cider I can give the addresses of a couple of farms that will probably export.

Could I borrow your wife to consult with mine on birthdays.

I’m just wondering if there are any blades for sale or swap in the UK..must be papered with Mei Jonathan

Lovely sword and it would go nicely with the second generation I have…unfortunately I’ve only got some Tanto to trade.

I’m not sure the old ones do either 😂🤣

For a first katana I would honestly go with a blade with a Mei…of all my swords my favourites by far all have Mei…infact I’m only going to keep blades with Mei in future….it adds so much connection to the smith when you look down and see the Mei…it’s the thing that truly differentiates my Nihonto from my European swords….a true original work of art should have a signature….

These are some pictures of the blade, it looks like it’s been significantly shortened and it has some damage to the mune..( which the seller claims is battle cuts…) any thoughts ?

Cheers Ray. I’m a bit confused over all the second generation Kanemoto smiths as there seems to be more than one from the same era and province…is this the second generation kanemoto who is also a Sai-Jo Saku rated smith or is he one of the lesser rates kanemotos ? cheers

Please see papers for a sword I’m looking at, anything on the smith would be appreciated

Well if we look at the meaning of art, the key is actually intent, not the object itself: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. so essentially it comes down to why the sword was created….was it’s primary function as a side arm or as a badge of office…if either of these were a swords primary function then it is not art. If on the otherhand it’s primary function was for the expression and application of creative skill in the creation of a thing of beauty to trigger an emotion then it’s an art sword… So in reality there are almost no Japanese art swords created before 1945 ( as they all had a primary purpose as a side arm or badge of office) and many Japanese swords created after 1945 are art swords, unless they were created for martial arts purposes.

They have just stopped shipping to the UK..no other options.

I have noticed a couple of Japanese sellers I have used before are no longer accepting orders from the UK due problems will Royal Mail. Anyone else noticed this ?

Sorry to hear about your tribulations..in regards to the sword, it looks like a blade that needs to be polished ( by an expert) and papered. It looks like a very nice Nihonto and a family heirloom to keep for the ages. If you can I think you may wish to do the following: 1) take the blade to a Togishi ( sword polisher)..make sure it’s a good one, depending where you are you should be able to find advice on this site. The Togishi will be able to give you good insight into the blade and discus polishing the blade. 2) get a Shirasaya for the sword as it’s being polished..you tend not to store swords in the everyday saya ( the black lacquer one you have at present). You can then also display the sword fittings separately from the blade, while the blade is safe and secure in a Shirasaya. 3) Get the sword papered ( this is a way to have the sword formally authenticated ) this is important for blades with signatures as a large number of signatures are fake ( the Japanese have been faking signatures on swords for many many hundreds of years…so a 600 year old sword could have a 600 year old signature which is actually fake,). As have a quick read up on sword care ( it’s basic but there are some do and donts and authentic Japanese swords can suffer rust damage quickly. Also do not do any restoration yourself. really nice sword your family has. Take care.

to be honest once you get over 50 forgetting what year your in is pretty normal.

That’s a lot of active rust…this one need oil asap…..clean the blade carefully with 95% isopropyl ( watch out for the rust coming off as you clean and scrapping/damaging other parts of the blade…then oil..so this regularly until the rust turns black. watch out for any rust hanging around inside the Shirasaya. This may be a blade that needs a professional view on polishing.