Jump to content

John C

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,210

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    15

Everything posted by John C

  1. John C
    @GoldenDrachen Just for additional information, the pic is from Fuller and Gregory "Military Swords of Japan" page 66, and shows the police badge. Note the extra small rays in-between the larger ones. May help for future identification. Regards, John C.
  2. John C
    Actually, Chris, I think your first instincts of the OP type 95 being fake were right on the money! But the dimple pattern does give us another detail to separate real from fake on these, since the fakes are getting better. John C.
  3. John C
    Chris: I have attached a pic of a real type 95 tsuba. Note the pattern of dimples match the shape of opening in nice rows. The OP pic seems to be much more random. What do you think? John C.
  4. John C
    Craig: The skinny one in the middle of the original picture looks like the kind used by The Mason's. Many are from the 20's and 30's; many have the owners initials. John C.
  5. John C
    Bruce: Are these both art names or could one be a family name? John C.
  6. John C
    Colin: I think you are right. These look more like blobs than a well defined node I have seen on samples posted here. A tumor perhaps? Probably celluloid made to look like nodes. John C.
  7. John C
    Chris: I know ara-nie is sometimes done intentionally, however could this also mean the blade was too hot when quenched? John C.
  8. John C
    A: You could contact the seller directly and ask him if he thinks the signature is legitimate. Here is the reference auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/165902378189?hash=item26a08d64cd%3Ag%3ApxcAAOSw5AZjzy74&LH_Auction=1 John C.
  9. John C
    Maybe @Bruce Pennington can shed some more light on the kokuin. His stamp document lists a hot stamp for Sadakatsu which is a close match but not Sadakazu. Did Sadakazu have a kokuin? And if this kokuin is not legit, I suspect the tang would have to be reheated to press it in. Would that leave some sort of tell-tale sign? Just spit-balling, John C.
  10. John C
    Dan: Thank you for the tip. When I get it cleaned up I'll take another look. Right now, it has been lacquered and is covered in mud. John C.
  11. John C
    Paul: Without seeing the sword in hand, this is just conjecture. But the signature does not look like the Showa smith Kanehide. The pic below is his actual signature. There should be a star stamp and either a two seki or two nagoya stamps on the blade as well. Now, he also made non-traditional blades as well so the star stamp may be missing. But in general, I would say this is not a traditional (gendaito) kanehide sword. John C.
  12. John C
    From my experience, albeit a minority opinion, I would ask the buyer what they prefer in case their delivery options are sketchy. For example, I live in an area where the US mail is completely unreliable. It took me 11 days to get a sword shipped from the midwest; they have lost several of my packages; and the mail boxes were broken into and the postal service refuses to replace them. Conversely, fedex is completely reliable and timely, which is why I always ask shippers for this option. Just MHO John C.
  13. John C
    Thank you all. Based on what I am seeing here, I think probably celluloid samegawa. Would make sense as it is a late war (1944) model. Regards, John C.
  14. John C
    John: Is there any way to tell? It looks correct up close but is extremely dirty. John C.
  15. John C
    The good news is the stamps are so bad they are easy to tell. The bad news is the auction houses make them seem legit to unsuspecting customers. John C.
  16. John C
    Thanks Bruce. They are hidden somewhat by the ito but seem to be chunky growths. Not the "button" shape we see most often, so I wasn't sure. John C.
  17. John C
    Hello: Would the larger nodes on the end of the tsuka be considered Emperor's Nodes or am I seeing something different? Thank you, John C.
  18. John C
    Just my two cents, however I am in the island sword camp. My reasoning is that fake parts are generally cast and at least made to resemble the real thing. I just don't see a faker sitting around hand carving all of the pieces that are obviously NOT the real thing. John C.
  19. John C
    Pic? John C.
  20. John C
    Vitaly: Just a note on "matching." The style of fittings is often thematic. This means the fuchi, menuki, tsuba, etc. may have the same figures on them or they may follow a separate theme. For example different flowers or different religious symbolism on each piece. So as Colin noted, the fittings will usually match, however that match may be a theme rather than the exact same picture or figure. There are separate threads about this topic on the forum. John C.
  21. John C
    Dave: That is interesting. I am sure one of the guys here will know more about its use, however I wonder if it wasn't added later on. It seems like a simple shoe buckle as opposed to the type you would find on a military item. And from a practical standpoint, you couldn't draw the sword in a hurry if you needed to. Maybe a cover for a parade type sword? John C.
  22. John C
    I could be wrong, though I think with the Na stamp the numbers should face that direction. They match the saya so you should be okay. John C.
  23. John C
    STEFd: Just as a point of interest, Japanese blades are generally quenched in water straight. It's the differential cooling from the applied clay that causes the curvature. Now, if the blade were caught in a fire (which was fairly common) it could lose its temper and become softer. The blade then needs to be re-hardened, which changes the shape. Hope that helps explain it a little. John C.
  24. John C
    For those of us who cannot make it to the show, will there be any video of some of the speakers? John C.
  25. John C
    Paul: I'm chiming in just to say do not be too discouraged. MOST of us have made dodgy purchases at one time or another in this hobby. If you want to continue with it, just use this as a teaching moment and try to educate yourself on the real stuff. Like all hobbies, we pay for swords or we pay for a lesson. It's never a loss! Regards, John C.
×
×
  • Create New...