John C

Wow! That's great. Too bad it's Chinese - it was sold to me as Japanese. The part about the orchid and grass makes sense given what's on the top (see pic). This gives me a lot of information to start researching. Thank you very much! John C.

Hello: I know this is a big ask, however I am really just trying to find out if the characters are Chinese or Japanese. But even a few words translated would get me started on researching. Thank you very much for taking a look, John C.

Luke: I haven't seen anything like a latch or mechanism that secures the nakago on dirks. But I will defer to the dirk experts for that. These tend to get rusty so IMHO, this may be a section of rust that has broken away? Not sure. Possibly just a piece of metal to keep it from being loose? John C.

Thanks, Colin. I had to look up wabi sabi. I had the same thought but didn't know the term. John C.

Just picked this up and I'm hoping it's Japanese. Google says Chinese, however I defer to the experts. What do you all think? Lots of poems (?) and a signature. I actually picked it up for the Nakashima-like bowtie crack inlay (bone I think). John C.

Bruce: In the article I referenced, the authors were examining very early tsuka (they believe from 1934ish) and thought this was an early form of construction. John C.

Your contribution is amazing! This should help a lot. Yes, the research is not only specialized but also difficult without access to records in Japan (I know some folks use JACAR, however I don't speak Japanese). I have a working theory about some smiths and their location so I'm working backwards, if you will, by trying to find the location of forges -> then trying to find lists of smiths for those forges -> then looking for specific smiths on those lists. I assume it really won't be possible to do that but it keeps me off the streets, as we say. Thank you again for your time and contribution, Hiro. John C.

Wow, Hiro! Thank you very kindly for the thorough explanation. And yes, this is in reference to the Inaba Shrine. I am researching whether or not there was a WW2 forge associated with Inaba shrine or possibly on Inabagawa. The 1939 date peaked my interest, hence the attempt at a Google translation. John C.

Thank you for the translation and info, Steve. That makes a lot more sense. John C.

Hello: Sometimes the translation doesn't come quickly or at all if the characters are unreadable. I spent about 30 minutes trying to look up some of it and came up with nothing. It's a free service provided by some of the members out of the kindness of their hearts and sometimes those folks don't have the time. We just need to be patient. John C.

Hello: The topic is: 升格為國幣小社。This is in reference to the Inaba shrine being re-purposed in 1939. Google translates this as ""currency/coin small shrine". Is there a better translation for this or is this correct? If so, what does it mean to be a "currency small shrine"? Thank you for taking a look, John C.

As a metal detectorist, that's exactly what I think about when I read about black sand! John C.

On the plus side of NTHK is that they provide much more information about the item being papered. In that sense, there is more to compare than just an oshigata. John C.

Marcin: The OP asked for a source citation for wrapping the tsuka with material because he's doing post-grad research. I gave him one. Do have any sources to provide? John C.

Colin: Do you still have this sword? John C.

I think 1944 is correct. Looks like a squished 9. John C.

Luke: I just happened across an article written in JSSUS Newsletter vol. 30, number 1 (1998) that is talking about early (1934-1935) gunto mounts being "constructed of wood, and wrapped in a linen canvas before lacquer" (pg. 2). So maybe the same with yours?? John C.

Nah. Just a combination of poor old polish and carpet. The kissaki and what I believe to be ara-nie behind the spider rust. John C.

Two Geiger counters? Also, did any of the tsuba develop super powers? All kidding aside, could be from natural uranium found in many types of rocks and minerals, even those used to make tsuba. Or, the tsuba could have been exposed to high levels of radon gas for a period of time. John C.

Thank you, Thomas. Yes. I have it recorded as 16416 with copies of the stamps that were also in the Banzai newsletter. John C.

Resurrecting this necro-post as this is my first kai-gunto. Kanenami blade (water quenched, I think, due to the presence of ara-nie martensite), standard polished black lacquer wood saya, no chuso, gold washed fittings, and dark blue or black ito. The interesting thing about this one is that all of the pieces have matching numbers - just like it came from the factory, I imagine. No tassel, though. John C.

To my knowledge, this never happened with the Meiji 25. Instead, they added those features to the new Type 32 as a replacement. I have a snippet of an article that describes the release button still being at the top of the backstrap as late as serial number "16xxx." John C.

Quite the scam. They purchase your book from the distributor (for which you get your measly royalty), send it to a book binder (rare biblio, in this case), then mark up the snot out of it. The silver lining? They at least market the heck out of it: "This title holds the distinction of being a Bestseller, highly praised by readers across the GLOBE. We are thrilled to present this literary gem exclusively to our elite readers, meticulously encased in our one-of-a-kind Premium Leather Binding." John C.

Thank you, Hamish. Actually, I think it may be some type of lacquer or poly. It doesn't come off with isopropyl alcohol so bone tools are next. John C.

Marcin: I was focusing on the distinct chisel marks and the very sharp points on the strokes. More likely a chisel made these marks. John C.