Mark

the 1970's sword linked by Steve M is dated...... it is my understanding that ALL shinsakuto blades must be dated. the example here is NOT dated. maybe i missed the provenance but without knowing i would be skeptical

i have seen this sword in hand. I am not a "sword expert" but been willing to spent a couple of hours helping the family. some information may have been miscommunicated somehow, i had said if they wanted to get the best paper the sword "Might" get (Juyo) would cost 5k (or more with polish) and up to 2 years. I had explained the papering process reasonably clearly, maybe i could have done better It is a nice sword. i have some serious reservations on being Bizen Kanemitsu. If i were given the sword to kantei without seeing sayagaki or the nakago i would have said Munetsugu (Bizen no suke) or Ishido. I checked the Bizen Taikan, Osafune book, and other references and the temper and hada are atypical for Kanemistu (in my opinion) The attribution was done reasonably well but with no signature of who did it i was not willing to say, based on the workmanship, that i was sure it was a correct call

Thanks!!! appreciate it the gun is in poor condition, missing parts, damaged stock but here are pictures...... the barrel alone weighs about 18lbs.

i think Hiromichi

Piers, thanks! I tried a little oil hope it helps. i appreciate the try

i have a matchlock with a signed barrel. It is rusted so hard to read. can anyone help? Maybe someone familiar with these may "know" what it says even if hard to read all help appreciated thanks mark

Brian thanks! I looked on their website, on the new, GB, and could not find one anywhere. strange, maybe a short run or something. I was hoping to find one that sold so i could see what they bring. glad to hear they make good quality, i have no idea as this is waaay out of my area mark

hope this is ok, if not please remove. this is modern. I know nothing about it. I got it in a group of stuff and hope to find it a new home. But i have NO idea what this is worth, i see other types of muskets made by Pedersoli for sale. I checked their website. But can't find one of these. I thought maybe some of our members use matchlocks and may have some experience. Any help appreciated, i just want to put a fair price on it so i don't embarrass myself. I plan to sell it locally as i am not sure about shipping and i don't want any issues with it. Thanks in advance!! mark

just lowered the price, not sure if you noticed

Grey has a nice sword in your range https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/swords/q561-mumei-katana-koshirae he has others close to 3k. check them out Grey is reliable (caveat - i partner with Grey)

kiku ichimonji. you see that on some showa dirks and swords, think that signature is in reference books

munechika

Jan-Wouter Thijssen ---- a manji symbol and a swastika are different, they are reversed. But i understand if someone has strong feeling they look similar at a glance i don't like short (under 15") shinogizukuri wakizashi, at shorter lengths i like hirazukuri. not sure it is a deal breaker but not something i like. Same for shinogizukuri tanto

looks like Masayuki showa 18th year 9th month september 1943

News of the Las Vegas show was well received in San Fransisco. There was a lot of interest and a number of tables were booked. Now that it is the next show on the calendar i will be working to promote it. If anyone has questions please email/message me.

Thanks Steve and all who assisted. i appreciate it

since you mentioned Sa i will try Sairen

Tom It is b gunto mounts couple of inches suriage

ok, with further clues i now guess Kongobei

i would have to look him up but just from the picture i would say Showa era circa 1940

i have a katana. it is suriage. on one side i see Tempo 9 th year 8th month then "Michi" or something, i don't understand what that may mean after the date, maybe more that was cut off? the other side is a challenge for me i can make out a few kanji but can't understand the meaning, again maybe some is missing any help appreciated mark

i will guess tametsugu

did you ask the polisher for recommendations? Usually the polisher has a relationship with habaki makers and shirasayashi. The polisher deals with a lot of blades that need shirasaya so it seems reasonable he has options, who has he been sending his swords too?

Steve thanks. that is helpful. It is hard for me to figure the purpose and motivation for doing the inscription. If someone in this country did it recently i would think they would copy a simple known example. If the 無持之所拷胴落 was done then the date added later why would someone add the date where they did, they would start with 享保 so why put it on the polished part, they could have written it next to the other inscription. Its not like they started then ran out of room for the end, i guess they could do it backward and end up on the blade but seems strange. And why add a date, the inscription could stand alone and i don't see any benefit to having that date added. Anyway a conundrum. I always think of the motivation, if someone is trying to "tart up" a blade to increase value there are plenty of references to copy. Anyway maybe eventually i will come to some conclusion. I do appreciate your patience helping mark

Steve is it possible to get the romanji for the kanji, it is challenging to try and get anywhere with the questionable kanji. Probably never figure out what it is intended to mean but i will work on it.