John C

Well...he does sell real swords but with a huge caveat. Everything will have some sort of flaw, defect, or other issue (such as gimei). He leaves it up to the buyer to figure it out and bid accordingly. So basically think used car salesman presenting a BMW. Is it a BMW? Yes - but ask why it's being sold in the used car lot and not the new car lot. I think the rust is on top of the gold in this case. John C.

I was trying to look for signs of it being inlaid or written on the surface. I found a couple of spots where I can see a shadow (indicating inlay) and the rust is covering some characters but I'm still learning what to look for. Does it seem "too" nice for 1670?? John C. p.s. not interested in buying just learning.

Dejaun: Probably buddhist sanskrit but well worn. John C.

Not sure because it's torn off. Google app can't read it either. Here's the whole thing. I think the name on the front is probably the shrine name, however I haven't looked it up yet. John C

Thank you, Steve. I got the shi character, however the scratchy style cutting is difficult for me to even look up. I appreciate it. John C.

Just curious what you all think about the legitimacy of this cut test. Trying to learn more about them. The tester is not listed in Guido Shiller's "List of popular sword testers in saidan-mei". https://www.ebay.com/itm/166679064949 John C.

Hello: I picked this up to practice translating and failed miserably. Pic one I think is SADAMORI on the left and 1939 on the right but the middle has me stumped. Pic 2 has me completely baffled. Any help would be appreciated. John C.

Ian: You might also consider that the sword is simply gimei. The date and style of signature may not have an actual reference for you to find. I think at this point you will need to start kantei and focus on the features of the blade. John C.

I was thinking NU at first, but you are probably right with NE. John C.

Hunter: It looks like the painted assembly numbers are 819. Is this number stamped on any of the parts? John C.

I agree. Probably a mistake. And at least they corrected it. John C.

Update: They got my message and added a note to their description that it is not Japanese. They canceled the bids. Good for them (and their bidders). John C

Already sent a message on this, however I don't think they intend to change it. Zoom in on the tsuba and clearly read the word CHINA. https://shopgoodwill.com/item/195154953 John C.

Could it be year of the dragon, 8th month? John C.

Should be flush to keep out dust. Give the wood some time to climatize, it may become easier once it shrinks a little, depending on humidity levels. John C.

Ah. Thanks, Chris. I have the exact same set up on my type 3 gendaito and was wondering what the same' was made out of. John C.

The origami mentions the smith as Kunimune; Muromachi period, Uda (probably the school name). It's most likely legit. John C.

Here is a follow-up. Majority of rust removed (spots do not look that dark in person). These spots were on opposite sides of the blade in the same place and I was concerned they may have eaten a hole through the blade. Please notice there are no visible scratches and the hamon has not been affected, as it would have been with a chemical rust remover. Now that I know the edge is in tact, I can send it to a polisher if I choose to. John C.

And there's the rub (no pun intended). Having a rust spot or micro-sized scratches - it's one or the other at this point. In my case, the blade was already scratched, so I went with removing the rust. Also, moving through the 1800 to 12,000 grit is actually finer than a polishing stone and keeping it ONLY on the rust spots does no more damage than the rust is doing. But I probably wouldn't do it if I felt the rust was surface only and the integrity of the blade was not in question. Stabilize then get a polish at that point. John C.

Doug: My opinion on this is different than most so I'll chime in a bit with my rationale. I guess it boils down to preservation vs. restoration. I prefer to preserve rather than restore if I don't think a polish is worth it- this means I prefer to do the least amount necessary to make the sword presentable. For example, in the pics below, I bought a star-stamped gendaito that had quite a few rust spots, including on both sides of the edge in the same place. My concern was whether or not the rust went through the blade at that spot. I could send it to a polisher, however if the rust went through I would have a polished blade with a hole in the edge. If I left the rust, I would be inviting further damage and if I stabilized the rust the blade was not really presentable. So in this particular case, I took some micro-sanding pads (ranging from 1800-12,000 grit) and, using only water as a lubricant, sanded down just the top layer of rust on the spots, working through the progression of grits. I finished with a slurry made of water and diatomaceous earth. NOTE: I did not polish the blade!!!! I only sanded the rust spots!! In addition, I only sanded down to the level of the blade. Any further, and it would have left a divot. This removed most of the rust while preserving the hamon and the original polish. Now that I can see the rust did not extend through the blade, I could send it to a polisher if I choose or leave it as is, which is pretty presentable. Again, just my take on it - but it really depends on the extent of the damage and the cost of the polish. John C.

Again, agree with Ray. The habaki will come off unless epoxied. Place the edge of a piece of wood or a chopstick on the habaki at the places indicated and tap downward, alternating between sides. In addition, the rust can be mitigated. Search the forum and several methods will pop up. John C.

What Ray said...ditto. John C.

William: First impressions are that it is legit. Mismatched numbers does affect the value, however that is offset by the presence of the tassel (assuming it is legit as well). Currently similar swords with tassel are selling in the 1100-1400 dollar range on ebay (if you can find one with tassel). John C.

Thomas: There should be a metal collar here called a fuchi. Did the tsuka come with one? John C.

Interesting. Thought that was just mine. I have a papered Nobuyoshi where the exact wording of the mei is not listed in any reference, so I kind of questioned it. It also makes it difficult to determine generation, which is not indicated on this particular origami. But as you say, they must have a more comprehensive list of mei than what is available to the general public. John C.