Mark

clue, first picture left side is the date, on the right do you see Saku? if so the 2 kanji before are a name

I have a matchlock. the barrel is not signed but there is a kanji, sanscript , or mon on the top of the barrel. I can not read it, can anyone help? maybe it is a name or something. The barrel has a butterfly, dragonfly and cherry blossoms inlayed. Thanks

i maybe wrong but i do not think it is Chinese. The blade looks correct, the numbers and groove and the shape look genuine. The tsuba seppa and fuchi look real. It looks to me like someone cleaned and buffed the blade, habaki, fuchi, tsuba and seppa. The Chinese blades usually do not have the numbers stamped like your example and the groove usually end further from the tip on the Chinese copy

there are a lot of smiths named Nagamitsu. it is signed katana mei.

i am glad you are interested in collecting Japanese swords. Maybe this sword has special meaning to you, or possibly it is very inexpensive. If other than those reasons it may be wise to read, study, and compare a number or swords before settling on this tanto.

the pictures of the hamon give the impression that it runs off the ha, maybe it is just the pictures but check that closely. I agree with John

Hans I would submit it for shinsa (it looks to be in good enough condition that the shinsa team could give a clear attribution). After shinsa results i would decide about a polish. One factor is are you looking at it from an expense/value point of view or do you just want to have a polished and papered blade.

paper just says Kanesada no generation, group, or date.

I do not mean to speak for him, but when Chris says the Shigetsugu is daisaku he may mean it was made by the student but signed by Shigetsugu. That was my thought. the mei would match and be his but if Okimasa made or another lesser smith it is hard to tell from a picture

difficult to say without seeing each sword. I have seen several Nobufusa blades with weak areas of hada and ware', but he obviously he made some great swords. Shigetsugu has the advantage of an interesting background and history but he did not actually forge most of his swords, i have seen several and there was a wide range or quality, guess depeding who forged them. From what i see in the pictures i would pick the shigetsugu, but pictures can be deceiving.

i have this set. bought them some time back and have not used them yet. if they are what you want i would be willing to part with them.

John a lot of books help understand how the shape of a sword changed through time. If Kamakura you would expect it to be smaller/shorter and uchizori or no sori, big wide blades, sort of like this were made in nambukcho but they would be thinner and have little sori, so by process of elimination you can say it is Muromachi as there were a blades of this shape made then

the bare blade is genuine WWII Showato. the NCO looks genuine but the CHinese fakes are getting much better so from the one picture it is be hard to be 100% sure but it looks ok from what i see

i vote for 5, 6, 9, 10.

Seki Mifuka Masayuki saku. made by Masayuki, Fuller & Gregory have the personal name as Mifuka but i am not sure if this is the correct translation.

KaShu Ju Fujiwara Iyetada Kaga province

thank you very much. that will help me research it

David thanks, i had the same concerns. I wanted to verify they did not belong together before i broke up a set that actually went together and had a theme someone recognized.

I am having trouble with the mei, i am thinking the maker is Joei but maybe it is read differently, also the kanji before are not making sense. Any help appreciated thanks

I bought a sword and the kashira was hanging off the tsuka and then broke off (fortunately not before i bought it). The fuchi is signed Naotoshi, looks like H 06807.0 from Haynes index, Hamano circa 1775...... The fuchi and kashira came together but i do not know if they are a set or have been put together in the past, the carving is in 3d on the fuchi but flat on the kashira. I do not know Japanese subjects that well so i do not know if this is telling a story and belongs together or not. Any input would be appreciated Thanks!

Chip Gimei means the signature is false or a forgery. You can have a signature properly removed, then the blade has the value of an unsigned blade

average factory work. not hand made but made as a weapon nothing of note. It would be a militaria collectible but not of value as an example of a traditional Japanese sword

Martin good point. shinshinto blades do resemble Koto swords at times. I had not thought of the kanji being hard to read as intentional, i am probably just naive. I appreciate the message, i will research it as being shinshinto. It is still a decent sword, and i enjoy trying to learn from each sword

George Thanks. here are some pictures Noshu Ju Kanemoto. blade is 27" appears ubu, the sori and shape do not seem Shinshinto, but i guess it could be. The sanbansugi is not the "regular" type seen in latter generations, but it clearly is not the the Important Kanemoto. The Moto kanji is unusual, i have been looking for a maker who wrote it that way but have not found a similar mei yet. I hoped if i could narrow down the era it would help narrow the search. I appreciate the help

i can read Bun____ 5th year 8 th month hard to make out the second kanji of the date, i was thinking maybe Bunroku?