John C

Jeff: Here is a link to a good article on nie and nioi with examples: https://www.mandarinmansion.com/glossary/nie John C.

Kanehide admitted that this was one of his foci after learning the Tosa-Ryu sword making technique. John C.

Maybe it's kismet. Just today I had a sword go missing - sort of. Got a delivery notice from USPS that the sword was delivered to the porch. Nope wasn't there. I immediately got on the phone to the post office for my area and had them track it. Postman probably wasn't more than a block away. Within 5 minutes he shows up with the sword. "Sorry. I was thinking it was the other street." Moral of the story is taking the quickest action possible got the 1,000 dollar sword back. And while it's not always possible to be that quick, constant tracking and plenty of phone calls can in some cases yield results. John C.

Thank you, Tobias. I appreciate you all taking the time to look at it. John C.

John: I'm curious how this notion came about. Not doubting it, as many of these small knives were probably made by blacksmiths rather than swordsmiths, however it must also be true that many swordsmtiths made kogatana and signed them. The Kanehide below is just one example. Examples from other smiths can surely be found in books etc. John C.

Dispalys are very nice, Piers. But I really love the setting. The building is gorgeous and sets the mood. John C.

Thanks, Mauro. Being new to the world of tsuba and having read the various posts and kantei points about forging layers, I figured it was a failrly important point. And compared to the photos on some of the posts, I could not see anything like that on this tsuba. So I wasn't sure if the lack of visible layers was big deal or not. John C.

Gerry: Just my two cents, however I agree with the comments about becoming a nuisance to them. Most of my career was spent arresting, interviewing, and prosecuting dishonest employees. And in my experience, assuming it was indeed stolen, if enough pressure is applied, the sword may just "show up" at some point because the crime becomes too risky. If it is just lost, the added pressure will prompt action because ultimately these folks don't want to lose their jobs. So keep up the phone calls, emails, and bugging them up the chain of command. John C.

Hello: I've been researching this akasaka tsuba, reading the multitude of posts. It seems to check all of the kantei boxes with one exception - layers. Shape of seppa-dai is good, thickness is good (if later), subject matter is good (Musahino), kogai ana is smaller than kozuka ana, carvings show kittate, etc. I don't, however, see any distinct layers. But it doesn't show signs of being cast either. Does an akasaka tsuba necessarily have to show fold layers? Is this an absolute kantei point? Thickness at seppa-dai 5.5mm; 4mm at the mimi I believe puts it later. Thank you for taking a look, John C.

What do you guys think this is? Just scratches or something else? John C.

I think John is correct. It's just a number 8. That said, if one were superstitious and could pick a number to stamp into their sword, then why not pick the number 8. But that's probably all there is to it. John C.

Kenny: My guess would be the last one - Masanaga. John C.

My stepdad used to do that when attaching the ends of his fishing pole together. John C.

Thanks. Guess I'll leave it for now and just lightly oil the small areas of rust. John C.

Dale: I just acquired an Akasaka tsuba that seems awfully shiny. I assumed it was coated in lacquer or shellac to preserve it. So shiny could be from cleaning? If it were lacquer or shellac, would you recommend its removal? I have the materials and knowledge to do it, just not sure if I should. Rust is starting to appear in the places they missed. John C.

I'm thinking the only folks who use the term gendai in the context of military swords are the WW2 collector community. So why do we not use the more accurate term dentoteki to mean traditionally made military sword? John C.

Jerald posted those pics here on April 16th - slighly larger versions, that is. John C.

Mike: Very nice Kai gunto (sword in naval mounts) with a nicely cut signature. Polish looks nice as well. Nothing else to do with it other than take care of it! John C.

I'm sure there is some contextual nuance I'm missing as a non-Japanese speaker, however I was wondering why we use the term gendai-to to describe a traditionally made blade? From AI: Gendai Definition: Composed of gen (Fl, current/now) and dai (1t, age/period). Dentöteki na : Literally "traditional," used for food, crafts, or methods. If gendai means current or modern age, It seems to me that dentoteki na would be a more accurate way of describing a sword made in the traditional manner. Just curious how the term gendai came to be used ubiquitiously in reference to traditionally made swords. John C.

Looks like a cobble together piece, to me. The guard and seppa look like whoever made them was inspired by a naval dirk. Not sure about the blade. Could be modern. John C.

Dustin: In answer to this part of your question, showato were partially hand forged. The difference between these and gendaito are 1) the type of steel used (tamahagane vs. other types), 2) the forging method used (air hammers and presses vs. hand forging, and 3) the quenching medium (oil vs.water). Additionally, showato, like gendaito, were also made for officers. Since they purchased their swords, the type of sword depended on how much they were willing to spend. John C.

...and yet, a dozen folks on Ebay, icluding some of our own unfortunately, call ANY dagger a kamikaze suicide dagger. In my opinion, it really gives the hobby a black eye, particularly when perpetuated by folks who know better but just want to make a buck. John C.

On a related topic, note the statement that the officers committed suicide by shooting themselves and not with the often labeled "suicide dagger." John C.

I like it as well, however the head of the wolf would impede the kozuka. Seems like a design flaw. John C.