John C

Thank you both very much! Now for some more research... John C.

Hello: On the back of a tabako-ire kanagu, there are 4 tiny stamps. I think these pertain to the treasures brought by the 7 lucky Gods. I think I have identified the inexhaustible purse and the cloak of fairy feathers (hat of invisibility?) on the left side, but what are the ones on the right? They seem similar to the ones I have marked on Kokusai's chart (just as a reference), however I do not know what they represent. Any ideas? Thank you, John C.

@Bruce Pennington I think you saw it here: John C.

Reworked - that's interesting. Could explain the variation in how the roman numbers were written. John C.

I was just throwing out the idea of it being for a lady but as you note, that's probably wrong. What about something simple like the smith didn't have enough steel to make a thicker blade? Could be any number of reasons. John C.

I just realized I do have two Japanese kitchen knives - they are Kyocera Black Kyotop Ceramic (more expensive than regular because they are fired twice or at a higher temperature and are harder). You can send them back to Kyocera at any time to be re-sharpened but after 15 years I haven't had to!! John C.

I don't think the length is an issue. Not very wide but could have been made for a lady??? John C.

Steve: Agree with Chandler that the description is too much salesmanship. "the secret of the sword"????? In addition, it appears in the last picture that the nakago has been cleaned but could be lighting. If so, that's another red flag. Also, they mention an inscription on the tsuba? Did they show it?? John C.

Thank you for the confirmation, Steve. The bun character was written differently enough from my other example that I wasn't sure. Much appreciated as always. John C.

Tried to narrow this down, however it doesn't look like my examples of Ryuun-do or Ryubun-do but more similar to Ryunbun-do. Thank you, John C.

The tsuba is a little concerning. The middle should be flat and not peaked like that; corners seem too sharp as well. But maybe it's a variation I haven't seen before. John C.

All of my kitchen knives are German, however I like baking so I bought this Gude (7431/32) 13 inch bread knife with olive wood handle. It's a beast but doesn't flex at all when going through the toughest crust. John C.

Remember too that wood is organic - it changes with time and humidity. If the tsuka were to swell or shrink, that may affect the position of the hole slightly as well. John C.

Sorry if you have mentioned this already, however have you measured the exact distance between the holes on the tsuka vs the holes on the nakago? If they are not the same, the problem may not be with the habaki. John C.

Thank you! I really appreciate your time and effort. I was hoping for a sense of who may have used this and you provided just what I was looking for. Thank you again, John C.

@Bugyotsuji Piers: On the seven arrows spoke wheel mon I posted above, do you know if there is a list of family names associated with it? Would Ya be the first syllable. Thank you, John C.

I've seen similar ones that were the names of battleships, if that helps. John C.

Shiny, maroon colored leather. A bit thinner than normal with cross hatch design on the collar. The whole thing seems custom made. John C.

@Bruce Pennington Another one: a Hidetoshi with numbered nakago here: https://www.ebay.com...9:g:eewAAOSwoHtl49OT John C.

@Bruce Pennington Another Toyokawa (??) with the Ka stamp. But is it hand signed? https://www.ebay.com/itm/404825057339?itmmeta=01HR15ZSRKDP5J56180VBR857Q&hash=item5e4174283b:g:924AAOSwGOpj-~0G&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwGu%2Bij8VgDtUtnUS8UCvQgi32Igboplh3YvIUeVSEfARZbPU0rjciWZ4CXz7iFsurOa2FeLAIFfI78SDZJusHddpZFHF%2FLIWyfr4BDDyzaT0uwrjOd7KwioJQGt%2F67Z3Ajr3IkASZPlmJxwQtWVTGtCox9wnN9g3pW97Ne6VqrmS9fYD7I1HyoWCwM7dBVRy6%2BNBRspcWyVYSGJTCT6XMSFjgcEhS2R5qwsP8Lt8IphwKW4%2BkZYsVB50jUgf7wp9BQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7Kc_6XAYw John C.

Is that Masamune? It looks very manga to me. John C.

I can see part of a nagoya stamp, so most likely machine made (is there a star stamp?). You can match the mei (signature) to known examples, however there would be no need to fake a signature on this type of blade, so most likely genuine. John C.

Hello: Trying to figure this out I was coming up with names like yoshi, moto, or maybe nobu. Couldn't figure it out, then thought maybe it's not a name but a word. It sits next to Daikoku's mallet. Thank you, John C.

I was hoping someone could help with this one (sorry, not on a sword but a yatate). A seven spoke arrow wheel in the family group "Ya". I've included a pic of the page from my mon book, however it doesn't give a family name. Thank you, John C.

The stamps and sword are legit (type 95 Iijima Tokyo 1st), however the blade is in terrible shape and last I saw it was at 751 dollars, which is way too much for the condition it was in. There were no pictures of the serial numbers so not sure if they match the scabbard; black tape is not original as well. I had sent a message to Goodwill with this information, however they didn't post it. Regards, John C. p.s. Please see Bruce Pennington's excellent stamp document in downloads for more info.