Mark

I know the owner, a few other members may know him as well. I think he is located near Dayton Ohio maybe 100 miles south of me, I see him occasionally at some local shows.

then i do not think the 2 you posted are the maker of this sword. You need to search for some later smiths. I would think Tsuruta-san would have provided some info on the smith/period etc on his "appraisal", does that give you what you need?

there are many smiths who signed Hisatsugu. Do you think yours is a kamakura Ko-Aoe blade (maker on the right)? If you think it to be muramachi then you need to look at other makers. Can you post some pictures showing the oevrall shape of the blade and the mei?

keep trying, it is the only way to learn. Grey Doffin sells a great set of Kanji flashcards i used to help me translate and learn the kanji. you might ask him about them.

looks like Gassan

looks like Sagami Province retired preist Masamune

do not see a picture?

could be a type of hitatsura that is sort of "stiff" (like a lot of later ones are) and the hadori work in the kesho polish may make the temper line appear more "normal"

i agree Kinmichi or Kanemichi it is January 1944

Sorry to hear the bad news about the hagire showing after polish. I appreciate that you mention the damage in the description and show it in the pictures. Many sellers on eBay hide problems. I hope the next sword you have polished comes out great!

Jim (James) Miller used to be a regular at US sword shows, but i have not seen him in several years. As far as i know he is not a member of this group.

Brandon if it is signed and dated as being made in 1945 i am sure it was (if made before and the inscription done in 1945 it would say it was modified etc then). maybe the handle had moisture in it that settled to the bottom? if you post a clear picture of each side we can judge better. How did you get an idea that it was made at the Yasukuni Shrine? I do not know of a smith by that name working there in 1945

it is hard to be specific from pictures. Where are you located? I am in Ohio. There is a sword show in S.F. in a month where there will be an oportunity to ask opinions. Let us know, maybe you are located near someoen who could assist

the fittings are not WWII Japanese Navy fiitings. They look modern and are not the right color, stlye, etc

the traslation looks accurate. But some of the notes may not be totally accurate, It is understood that Yasutsugu at one time in his past signed Echizen Shimosaka. But there was a group of makers who also signed Echizen Shimosaka. So you need to research which of these groups/persons made your sword. If the person writing the notes is saying he looked up the mei and it WAS signed by Yasustugu he shoud provide reference oshigata...... sounds like a fun adventure trying to narrow it down,

$300-600

seeing the pictures of the tang i think it will not be hard to get a clear answer. In my "opinion" there is no way this sword was made circa 1300 by Yukimitsu. The hole in the tang appears to have been drilled, and not that long ago, the mei is too crisp (signed katana-mei) and the shape, length etc are wrong. My guess would be it was made circa 1930. sorry, hope i am wrong

it looks like the sword is not signed. The way the tang is finished gives the impression that the sword is not hand made but is a factory made blade. It is a representative item from WWII. I hope you care for it, keep a light coat of oil on the blade

if i understand your question, you are asking if you should submit the sword to the SF shinsa... Yukimitsu is clearly a "big" name so going carefully is wise. As the blade is signed you could submit it. I have not seen it to judge condition, but the shinsa team should be able to give an opinion on the mei. If they think it is genuine, but can not see enough of the work, they will tell you that. If they say it is gimei you may be able to ask they why if you are at the shinsa (or they may note the reason). Then you can go from there, i am not saying one NO means it is bad, if you feel it is genuine you can go further. But having the shinsa team here is an advantage and with so much upside (if you really think it is good) there is no reason not to submit it.

maybe a type of hitatsura

best to judge it based on waht it is, not what it "might be". If the owner thought it would make Juyo and was going to sell it i wonder why it was not submitted last year, or sold after the shinsa this year. There are plenty of blades that are TH and "might make Juyo".

got 2 more but my spam filter got them.. different links

i recived an email with no subject and when i opened it there was just a link to a website. i did not click on the link, then i saw your post so i deleted the email

i sold a nice one in decent old polish and complete mounts for $2500 a while back, i was offered one in trade at Chicago a few weeks ago for around $2k but passed

Chuck an option, if you are looking for "real" antique tsuba is check out what grey has for sale. They are all nice, reasonably priced. If you check the threads you will see past buyers were more than satisfied. He has plenty under $500 viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7474