Mark

i have seen similar before. it seems to occur on blades made and mounted in late 1800's and early 1900s (in my experience)

April do you have any paperwork or information from when the y were sent to Japan? Who handled that for you? They may be a resource for information. The best person for a professional insurance appraisal might be Bob Benson. As you are in CA there is an annual sword show in SF and if you took it there you might get what you need and not worry and shipping it around mark

Thanks! That is it, when i saw it i knew i had seen it. the Hiromasa instead of Kunimori threw me off appreciate it

i must be getting forgetful. I can see Hiromasa but should know the first 3 but it escapes me........ thanks in advance mark

Herman I am a bit confused the signature you circled is Kanehiro but it is NOT dated and i don't see a date in the text. The Showa stamp is generally found on earlier blades late 30's and very early 40's after that the Seki stamp is more common. i probably missed something

thanks for the correction

Zuikan Tomei Soran https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/sword-books/b164-zuikan-tomei-soran/ handy book

Welcome Jord? nice sword. did you send it to him directly or through an agent? In the past i have used an agent and as they are actually handling the sword, and being fluent in Japanese and English they usually supply a translation as part pf their service. Also i have had Markus Sesko help with translation on swords i purchased that already have sayagaki

Franco I was stuck dealing with the show and could only look in occasionally. All three were standing room only. Brian went first and demonstrated and gave a presentation on habaki making. Woody followed with the same about sword polishing. Then Mike did a presentation on proper kantei. All also answered questions. I believe they were taped but i have not seen the recordings

i am home from the show. It went quite well. We had about 50 tables in the "sword section". I was pleasantly surprised with the traffic, there was than i expected. There were a lot people walking around in the sword section especially Friday morning. Saturday went well. The presentations were very well received, standing room only. Mike Yamasaki did a superb job organizing all that, it was a big hit!! People brought stuff in to learn about and and a number of items were walking around for sale or trade. Some of the dealers said sales went very well, a couple said the sold out. Also a few didn't do as well with sales but almost everyone said they enjoyed the venue and experience. I think for this show lower end items sold well and high end items were slower. There were normal sword buyers you see and the swords shows but also a lot of people from the gun side bought swords. I met and sold items to people i did not know so nice to have some new customers. So all in all i was pleased. I hope to do it again, the show promoters are excited to have us and want us back and offered more room for expansion. A lot of guys took time to walk the gun show in the other room, i hear there was a daisho and nice kabuto for sale. A number of guys bought swords over there. This is the first time i set up, i have attended and always bought swords in the past. This year i didn't get a chance to give the back room a good look. I am going to follow up and as soon as things are set for 2024 i will add a post. Thanks for all the support from NMB members

Dan -- yes Larry enjoyed dealing with Roger Robertshaw

yes it says Echizen Kuni Ju Kane ......... rest cut off.

Sorry, guess you needed to ask Grey or I. Bob Benson is always there and set up with 3 tables, i think he figures people know he is a polisher, maybe he needs a sign. There are a few others who are there on and off. Maybe this year i can try a restoration area. when we were downstairs area was limited. This year we are upstairs in the ballroom with plenty of space. In Vegas we are having restoration demos, maybe i can do something similar in Chicago. I know Brian T will be there, i think Woody may be coming, and others mark

do you live in Chicago? If so bring it to the show in April. There will be multiple restoration craftsmen in attendance and other experts . You can show it to them, get estimates, figure out who you prefer then when you are ready you will have a plan. http://www.chicagoswordshow.com/ mark

the show is just a week or so away. if you are on the fence give it a second thought. Should be interesting, lots of educational events on saturday (see previous post). I have been getting a lot of inquires and a lot of first time show attendees are coming and bringing there stuff to get looked at. Thanks Mark Jones nixe@bright.net

https://bid.sofedesignauctions.com/lots/view/4-8EBE5L/rare-ww-ii-Japanese-mantetsu-sword-for-army-officer-triple-signed-dated-tang-by-koa-isshin-mantetsu-including-mune-markings

Ray i remember that story, Detroit is just up the road from me. I know the guy who bought it, see him a few times a year.

you could come to the Las Vegas Sword show in a couple of weeks plenty of swords there

where are you located? i go to some small military shows that are not well advertised and there are usually swords there

years ago i had a customer who bought damaged blades from me. i asked what he wanted them for, he said he was buying them for a Japanese friend, they used the steel when they needed old metal to repair swords and they used them to make new swords as they wanted the old steel

Grey and i have a gendai tachi, we can make out the mei and date but could someone please help with the custom order kanji we would appreciate it thanks Grey and Mark

Matt is a dealer here on NMB https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/?forumId=88%2C127 Best buy from him directly not through eBay. I have known him for 10-20 years, he is totally reliable

i don't like to make recommendations but you could ask https://shiningmoon13.com/about-wally/

we are trying a new concept, having a show as part of or with another event. This show is HUGE and one of the very best antique arms shows. It has been in Vegas for a long time. There are stories of the "old days" when Elvis would walk through with his entourage and point at guns he wanted. Tom Selleck has been know to wander through and you see other celebrities. It is sort of the "big money" show where if you want it you can find it, as Brian mentioned you see stuff you don't other places. Doing a sword show as part of this it seems 1. you get a LOT of people through the door, something that is a challenge at a regular sword show. 2. You get a chance to shop 1000+ tables, i have attended in the past and always found swords on tables, just like a big gun or antique arms show. 3. There are people walking around with deep pockets. What we need to do is try and induce people who come for the guns to pay attention to our swords, it is an opportunity to introduce potential collectors to a new collectable Samurai swords. We need new collectors. That is why Mike Yamasaki has arranged the educational presentations/demonstrations and celebrity appearance. We want to get people to check out our stuff........... We have a number of regular sword dealers and attendees coming like San Fransisco, Orlando, and Chicago (like a small regular show) but we combine that with thousands of people who love antique arms who will be there for the other stuff. At least these are people who love antique arms and come to spend money

this is a section of the atrium/hallway between the shows