Mark

numbers like that are usually used for swords made in a factory to keep the blade and parts from getting switched

"Nio" it is a school or group. not sure what mon is on the fuchi, there are some web sites you can search but the same mon was used by multiple families .

looks like a poor attempt at Masamune

Here is a great chance to learn hands on. Mike does a great job with his presentation, you get to benefit from his years of experience in a relaxed setting. should be a great show. I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. If any NMB members I do not know attend please introduce yourselves

I have a gendai, I can read Chikugo ju fujiwara mitsuhisa. I am having trouble with the left column of kanji (if I made any mistakes let me know) it is dated September 1943, no stamps. Unless I am missing him, I do not find a listing for this maker

it is a genuine Japanese NCO sword. looks to be in decent condition

maybe made in Japan, but not real nihonto. maybe someone else has a different opinion? I am just basing it on ones I have seen

I have seen these before. I think they are post war souvenir items, if I was selling it then it would be a kamikaze dirk, ha-ha only my opinion

I bought a set already, figure they are useful and support the author. I had no problem with the cost. But if this project goes forward I am sure I will buy an extra set or two, I try to have basic books to give as gifts to help newer collectors, or at least have them available so they can see what they are and how they can use them.

The show is fast approaching! April 26-28 is just around the corner. For anyone planning on attending the show: The hotel room block is getting filled. The Haytt is a very nice hotel and the show rate of $109 is quite reasonable for the venue. When making a reservation (847-606-1234 or 800-233-1234) ask for the "Midwest Token Kai" rate. If you have any problems booking with the hotel let me know, I may have to try and add some additional rooms to the block. The NBTHK American Branch is putting on a hands on kantei learning session Saturday afternoon. This is a great way to learn about swords and fittings hands on. I am not sure of all the particulars but Mike Yamasaki will be leading the discussion/presentation. Nothing is like actually holding and item and having someone help you to understand what to look for. There should also be a Martial arts demonstration. It is looking like it will be a great show, Many people who have not attended in recent years are coming and bring tables full of swords and fittings etc, a number of individuals do not attend other swords shows so this is the one chance to see their items and hopefully find a treasure. email me at nixe@bright.net or call 419-283-0941 if you have any questions Hope to see you there! Mark Jones

I will be bringing a lot of swords (at least 30), fittings, misc parts etc. Some gendai, some gunto, some older blades (probably at least one or two undiscovered National Treasures - just ask Barry ha-ha), all price ranges, from a couple hundred up. It should be a great show there are a number of people coming and getting tables that have not been in attendance in recent years.

1. disqualify myself 2. Rai 3. Hasabe 4. Kaneuji

I noticed the naginata. I see it was listed and sold in the past, the bidding on the past auction seem a bit unusual

I had a tsuba (for a koshirae ) that needed some care. I had Skip Holbrook restore it. I was very happy with the result. It was an iron tsuba but not as old as yours and did not have lacquer coating but Skip does nice restoration work

Bi Shu Osafune Suke____ Tensho period. The tsuba look nice

David the maker of the blade usually did not make other parts. the scabbard has a battle cover or leather cover, the scabbard may be the age of the blade or may be newer, the leather was added when it was taken to war in 1940's. The handle looks like it was made for use in WWII so was probably done in the 1930-40's The tsuba (hand guard) is a Nanban style, it does not look very old, maybe very late 1800's or even 20th century, it was not made by the maker of the blade. The menuki is a civilian style, not military, it is hard to estimate age from a picture

Peter yes it says that. It matches his age the year it was made Ken, sorry I missed your comment. I can take some pictures but there is not much to see, the blade is beat up and someone tried to clean it and managed to scratch it up badly, you can see the temper in the right light but other than shape I am not sure there is much to see mark

David good job with Meiji, you got it,

David John gave you the makers name, try this for the date http://www.jssus.org/nkp/shinto_to_modern_nengo.html mark

both looks like Chinese fakes, they do not make any sense if translated

not sure who to address this to (rules say you should sign with at least a first name) The sword is a traditionally made sword, you did well to save it. Before just giving you the info maybe you would like to try and start yourself? Is so the makers name is not hard to translate, check the kanji page link at the top and follow to sword makers kanji........ the makers name is the last two kanji (bottom of line if the point is up) in the right hand line on the side of the tang that has 2 lines of kanji........ try it if you can't find it we will help. the other side of the tang (one row of kanji) is the date, the top two kanji are the era, you might be able to figure that out without too much work using the date charts Mark

Grey Thanks! any chance the taikan mentions what period or date etc those examples came from? Great books to have for reference Mark

Patrick thanks for the reply. I had checked the Koza but those example show his more "grass script" type mei, he used a number of different styles of signature from very flowing to the more traditional kanji, I am trying to find more examples of the traditional style like on my sword. The show has not been cared for, it was in trashed gunto mounts (they were nice at one time), the nakago looks to have had older rust and it may be the vet tried cleaning it a bit (he scratched the blade trying to clean it making it hard to see the hada). Looking at the nakago from the mune there is no trace of narrowing (as I might expect if a mei was removed), I think the condition of the nakago is just poor due to the care it received (or did not receive). Thanks again for the look, I enjoy trying to research things Mark

I am trying to research the mei on a katana I have. The blade is in poor condition so seeing the work in the blade is difficult, it does have a gunome temper that could be correct for the maker. Saneo seems to have changed his mei a lot during his career. I did check and his age does seem correct for the date made (age 62 in 1865), but that would have been available to someone faking the mei. I found a number of reference oshigata but as the mei style changes it was hard to find ones that were like mine. The closest seem to be in Zuikan Tomei Soran on page 167, I included a picture of the sword next to the 2 oshigata. Does anyone have additional oshigata done in this style? I would be interested to hear any opinions on the mei (good or bad - I am not thin skinned). This maker is Kiyomaro's older brother so there is some upside if it is genuine and would be worth restoring, but being a "big name" I realize there are probably a lot of gimei. Thanks! Mark

It looks like a Chinese fake to me. sorry