John C

@Bruce Pennington Mune numbers on a RS type 44 late war. https://www.ebay.com/itm/365208008429? John C.

Is that the Chinese style of ito wrapping? John C.

Hello: Let's see if I have gotten this right - to me, this looks like a molded iron piece that has had the sprue lines filed off then gold paint applied as a decoration. The arrow points to where I think the gold paint has flowed into the file marks. This is present in many places. I do not intend to buy this! Just trying to identify reproductions. The tsuba can be viewed here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/335789558777 Thank you for all your help in identifying these issues during my learning process. John C.

Nope. As I noted earlier, I was not intending to buy just trying to figure out what would cause that particular defect. I have seen this defect on many tsuba (pseudo-tsuba?) and am trying to learn what to look for in terms of construction methods. This thread has actually been very helpful to me. John C.

Hello: I'm including 3 shots of the mei. I have seen it on other yajiri, however not translated. Any help is appreciated. Thank you, John C.

I don't want to take this topic off in a tangent. Suffice it to say that Choice Theory has limitations - it assumes people are rational and can make rational decisions despite emotional context and psychological makeup. Current research suggests there are too many social and individual factors that influence one's choices for everyone to have the same level of control. In other words, not every choice can be made rationally all of the time by all people. John C.

While it is true that we choose our emotions in any given circumstance, and hence our response to input, the law has long recognized that humans are fallible and not everyone has the skill to just "turn it off" and ignore what people are saying to them. As police officers, we were called every name in the book. You learn to just let it go, however for some folks, this isn't possible. Laws were designed - not for the people who can control themselves - but for the ones who can't. This apples to all laws, actually. John C.

"They're words, people, only words..." Needs just a little push back. Not to get too far off the original topic here, however it's important to remember that many of our laws are based solely on the use of words. The use of one word over another can turn a misdemeanor into a felony. Many phrases, made up of "only words" are illegal because of the effect they can have on folks. Communication experts used to say "words don't mean, people mean." But this proves out to be ridiculous because we communicate through words; we convey feelings and our intentions through words. Words matter - and by extension images. John C.

My two cents - While there may be a place for that subject matter, I don't think this is it. Not saying it's necessarily inappropriate - just inappropriate here. John C.

Thanks to everyone's input, we are up to 35 known examples! So far, I think it's the most complete list out there (though not speaking Japanese, I can't be certain how many other lists survive somewhere else). In addition, patterns are starting to emerge suggesting which inspectors were working at which time and when inspector stamp placement started to change. As of yet, however, I have not been able to translate the seal scripts to get a sense of inspector names. Still researching that part. Here is the updated serial number list: 325, 487, 575, 1539, 1996, 2379, 2522, 3397, 3587, 4077, 4429, 5578, 5988, 6251, 6784, 8170, 8572, 8782, 9090, 9536, 9777, 10781, 11448, 11871, 13121, 13197, 14013, 14323, 14408, 15383, 15773, 16019, 16065, 16416, Unk serial number sold on Worthpoint. (35 as of 1-31-25) Again, I appreciate all the input for this project. John C.

Thanks for the pics, Sam. I think you can see horizontal grinder striations in the "hamon" in the first pic. John C.

The menuki, screw, tsuka nanako, etc. are all the same color. Could it be aluminum painted gold-ish rather than brass? Looks like brass, however it would be crazy heavy. Too bad we can't weigh it. John C.

These are the only other pics. The seller did not take very many. John C.

Sam: Agreed. I do leather working and the pattern reminds me of a 4 dot stamp known as a "backgrounder" randomly applied from the reverse side. John C.

Seth: Just my two cents - it certainly could be an in-theater repaint or simply the paint color chosen by the arsenal. But just in general, they weren't afraid of color! As an example, the pic below shows the variation in 94/98 saya color. More importantly, it doesn't appear recent. John C.

Emil: In the pics below, I have noted the issues folks are talking about, for future reference, and to help you spot some common signs of a fake. This first pic shows the acid etched logo, the Damascus pattern steel (not common in Japanese swords), and the misaligned machi (should be straight across). The second pic shows the sharply cut and unrefined nakago jiri and the off angle of the nakago. The third pic shows the overly sharp angle of the kissaki. Japanese swords are more elegant and refined. Hope this helps, John C.

Here is a better shot of the mei. Just to be clear, I don't own this tsuba so I'm relying on seller pics. This started as a learning exercise and discussion on metal defects to help me understand what I'm looking at. - I have no intention of buying it. But I do appreciate all the opinions. John C.

Thank you guys for the input. I agree with the collective assessment. So maybe a little older than I thought and made with traditional material. John C.

Hello: I think the translation is New Art Sword: Famous sword edition. Filled with fold out oshigata. Just curious if anyone can tell me something about this book. I would like to buy it, however I need a sense of contents and value. Thank you, John C.

Hello: Still trying to train my eye on these. Both defects are on the same tsuba. What would that type of defect indicate? Thank you, John C.

Colin: I took a look inside (not an easy task) and was able to see it is completely hollowed out, following the outer shape. In addition, there seems to be a very small rib on the inside middle of the bottom piece. At first, I thought it may be a mold line, however it stops at the sides. Possibly for strength or as a gluing surface? Reminds me of cutting open a chili pepper and seeing the ribs. When I bought it, I was assuming early to mid Showa given the whole piece was only 50 dollars. John C.

Not sure, though here is another one. They are referencing Japanese bayonet markings. https://worldbayonet...Bayonet_Markings.pdf John C.

Tom: Just a guess, however "sword grade steel", according to google app and the document below has a very similar stamp listed as Nagoya. No idea if they are authentic. John C.

I took another look at the body with a stronger loupe and there are some vertical fine lines, like crazing. There are also very fine uniform circular horizontal lines from when it was turned and/or sanded. None of these are visible without a loupe. I suspect bone is a possibility. And your guess of Victorian-era lathe work is probably spot on. John C.

Thank you for the information, Piers. To answer your question, the entire hyotan seems to be one piece, save for the bottom - which I agree seems to have been glued on. As far as dating, the inro is a worn brocade box so not too old. Not sure about bone. It just doesn't have the plastic "feel" to me, so I gravitated toward Bakelite or some similar material. I can say the screw top is uneven enough to be hand carved, as opposed to lathe turning, however the body was probably turned. Here are pics of the top and the inro. Thanks again, John C.