Mark

the sword that was originally discussed was mine. I relisted it but started this thread to announce it http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/18921-sword-we-discussed-list-on-ebay/ as it is on eBay so thought it belonged in that category.

I listed a sword on eBay check out http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/252305714206? This sword was discussed in this thread http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/18749-did-any-member-buy-this/ prior sale did not go through, but i was not unhappy as i think it is was missed by people last time.

David Hard to read the writing but i think it says Den Echizen ... Shigetaka Kanbun period (1660) bit harder reading it sideways ha-ha

no date. no star stamp, that would have given me a lead. will try and get some pics when i am home

George, thanks! Fittings are plain wood saya, army tsuba and tsuka has plain brass f/k, seem low end or late. The blade is covered with dirt and sciffed, the temper is a small chogi gunome, looking i would say it is clearly hand made

I have a katana, at first quick glance i thought it was a fake, but looking closely it is certainly Japanese WWII era. The mei is in 2 parts, kanji above the mekugi ana and 2 below, i thought the maker is maybe Yoshi___? but not even sure about that. Any help appreciated. Thanks!

looks like Katsumitsu. not much to say, there were dozens, maybe 100's of smiths using that name, would need a close examination to make any accurate estimations. There were a lot of makers using that name in Bizen in the 1500's.

i think it is the Yoshi kanji below (from a book, different smith same kanji), it is not common but you see it at times. I do not know how to put the kanji in the text here so just posted the picture EDIT : i see Joe beat me to it

i would suggest Yoshishige. Sword looks ok, Not early so quality was lower at times

Alton, post some pictures, we may be able to add some additional observations

can Peter reply and let us know what happened and the results?

2 shaku 5 sun is close to 30".... maybe the bag is for a different sword, a 30" unsigned sword

Richard mentioned laminations, so i thought i would take a better look at the inside and i see some lines in the steel, maybe this is laminations or forging lines.... maybe something else??

thanks for the comments. I will bring it to Tampa

the owner of the screws told me he wants $100 per set...... i guess i undersold the ones i had, Chris posted and asked and i had 2 and sold them for about $40 (sorry Brian but as he started the post and asked i let him have them)..... now ends i up i need a couple, strange how that works

Richard It is about 73cm. I do not see any signs of casting. It came on a Showa sword and i first thought it was just a Showa era junk tsuba (most are cast i guess), but when i looked a bit closer i thought "maybe" it was something better. So i wanted to ask some opinions. I think i was predisposed to judge it was poor or junk because how it came to me, but i need to look at things twice as you never know what happened years ago.

I have a tsuba, please see pictures.... At first glance i thought it was a junk Showa cast tsuba, but when i looked closer i am not sure. I am not a tsuba collector or expert, but i have seen quite a few. This has a sort of "soft" metal look, a bit like Yagyu or Norisuke. I would appreciate the thoughts of more knowledgeable NMB members. Any comments, good, bad, or ugly are fine Thanks!

Hamish thanks. what do you want to see? i took an overall picture and tried to show the tsuka clearly

I have a sword, i am not sure what exact type. At first i thought an early cavalry commissioned officer (type 19), but the guard does not have openings. Also a strange thing is it appears it originally has a silver wash finish, i can see the remnants of the original silver in areas of the handle. The cavalry sword should have original brass finish. So i thought Police sword, but again the guard does not have the openings, same for early type 8 Army riding sword. Has anyone seen a mount like this? It is sort of plain and would have been finished in silver. It has an old handmade blade (Shinto i think)

If i had to come up with a "Golden age" i would say 1290-1330. I am quite sure there is a papered Yasusada with a 5 body test, i agree that seems a stretch but it exisits I have seen a number of Hankei blades, a few were very good but more were sort of mediocre, they had more ware' and flaws than i could enjoy in a Shinto blade. I realize he made some great blades but from my experience they did not have the natural feeling of the original.

I see Echizen Ju Sagami no Kami Fujiwara KuniTsugu

right for Mantetsu, not sure of the relationship to the actual Railroad, I know a few swords have the railroad logo on them, this one does not

check out http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Sword-Wakizashi-Tadatsuna-/391361089819?hash=item5b1ef0511b%3Ag%3A2zwAAOSwGotWkYdX&nma=true&si=iBMlIpEC0lZAwVdGw3qtueCYdag%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 there is a similar (or same) signature and the seller has some of the translation in the description, one side says " Hori do saku" the other side "Awataguchi Ikkanshi Tadatsuna"

As Grey noted same' can be an issue, If shirasaya so can horn parts (trim or mekugi), also note any ivory parts on shirasaya are a big problem, be careful I have had some major issues with Fish and Game recently and they wanted to confiscate a nice gendaito I had mailed

in my experience here in the U.S. if I receive an antique sword, properly described as over 100 years old, I am not charged and duty if it is sent through U.S. Mail (or comes through U.S. Mail here), if it comes UPS, FedEx, or any other shipping method I am charged a duty. In the past I call and inquire about the duty and explain the item is antique and no import tax/duty is due, I am told I can dispute the charge but the cost of disputing is more than the duty. So I usually ask sellers or others to send me items though the Post. I also have discovered that import and export or swords with same' or horn, or any fish or wildlife materials requires a special permit. It is legal (so far) to send and receive these items but they must follow U.S. laws and regulations. It seems the U.S. Government quietly started enforcing these requirements (already on the books) in 2014. So be carful! They wanted to confiscate a gunto mounted sword I mailed out of the U.S.