Mark

the Dawson book does not seem to have as good coverage of Dirks, and there are a lot of different models/styles. I spoke to Jim a while back and if the economy imporves he plans to do a book on Dirks

I had a Kunimori in Navy mounts i sold at the last Chicago show, if anyone was at that show they may have seen it on my table

i think the making of swords was banned after the war (1945) and not allowed until later - maybe early 1950's

not quite sure where to go with this. seems unfair to the seller to make overly negative comments after the auction ended, especially when we clearly expressed our opinions before hand (i commented on the katana mei as did others). To continue this could end up causing potential problem, like interfering with the transaction....... am i way off base?

i would look up the references, but from what i have seen i would expect a Bizen smith from the early 1300's to sign tachi-mei, i think katana mei from that period would be a-typical, like Aoe

Did not look the maker up but it looks shinshinto from blade shape, it may be someone has treated the blade with acid or chemicals to make it look that way

with new final value fees (no store regular auction like Grey has always sold things) if yoi sell an item for $555 (maybe the value of a low end sword) the old fees were $20.40 new fees $49.95 a 141% increase, for sales higher and lower the percenatge changes a bit but still a stiff increase.

one kanji is ichi and one is the kanji for year but it does not look Japanese to me. no idea if the blade is genuine but the inscription is suspect at best

some years back i has a terrible experiance with this dealer, almost made me give up collecting swords. So i do not look at his auctions. Only a personal experiance but i still remember it years later.

The sword is probably ShinShinto, at least the fittings are. If you post a pictures of the tang we can tell you more.

I enjoyed the show. The hotel was in a good location, it was comfortable and not too expensive. The tables were occupied, hard to judge the size as the layout was different from last year but maybe a but smaller but similar. There were the "regulars" and a few local, maybe some additional advertising or spreding the word will help. The display of Horikawa swords, by NBTHK AM Br, was very nice. There seemed to be some activity, i sold some blades and fittings and picked up a few items. I would encourage any who can to plan to come next year, it is a great chance to see a lot of great items and network with fellow collectors.

the tsuba looks familiar. i have (or had) a matching tsuba. What size is your tsuba? If they would make a daisho i would sell you mine or buy yours, it would be nice to have them together

check eBay item # 250615429268

Masachika or maybe masanobu (saku)

Nagamitsu from Seki (not Ichihara Nagamitsu)

one positive thing about lacquer is it comes off. So submit it as is, if/when it does not pass maybe the shinsa team will tell you what they think it is - then you can decide, remove the attribution and get a paper or keep it as is. As a note if you think it has any chance of being mid 1300's Soshu submit it to more than one group for shina before deciding to remove the lacquer

as the attribution just says Sadamune (and not other idenifiers) then he is says THE Sadamune - the big guy. Blade looks Shinshinto to me, most attributions will have the person doing the attributions name and Kao on the reverse side

i have seen good blades with umegane to repair open blisters. I think it would have to be a good blade to make it worth the trouble but i think i very good polisher could repair it

if youwant prices i would think as follows: #1 $20-50 #2, 3, 4 $400-700 each without seeing them in hand iy seems $1500 might be a fair price for both parties

Chris Not a problem. It might be kind to let us know what the information will be used for when you post the question. Most of us are happy to help but we like to know in advance what the purpose is, that way we can decide about answering. If it is a simple question it does not take much to reply, but to spend valuble personal time to help a new person interested in swords (we all want to fan the flame of someone who is interested in learning about and collecting swords) is a bit more fulfilling than helping someone make a few extra dollars

ok.... i am probably wrong about being cast, maybe it is just the pictures... I think Ed is right, looks like i can make out Echizen and Kinai is certainly another posibbility

Certainly hard to read. I maybe wrong but it looks like a later cast copy of a ChoShu tsuba, i guess BuShu would be the other option.

maker is Kanemasa from Seki in Mino province

Awataguchi Omi (no) Kami Tadatsuna name from late 1600's. 2 generations both signed this way but generally these kanji were used by first generation hope that helps

Peter I do not think i am a heavy hitter, maybe a light to medium hitter, but here goes. There are gimei swords that are worth restoring. I have a sword that is not mumei that was gimei. The mei was removed, it was polished and passed Juyo. That being said - the blade is everything, if it is good workmanship the mei can be removed. Many swords made in early Showa had "big" names, so if it is a Showa oil tempered blade then not worth it. Best to leave it as is and research the blade, try and show it to a few collectors and listen to what they say then decide