KungFooey

Hi! My thoughts: the blade suffered a significant chip in battle which took the ha up too far to be polished out. So, the machi were moved up instead and the chip is now the dip you see on the bottom of the nakago under the habaki. Nice old sword that's been through the wars - literally! Dee

Anyone can see that mekugi is waaay too small. But why does the wobble bother you so much? It's not like your gonna swing it around Steve (I hope 😳) Dee

Thanks Brian!!! (Cellphone, as charged😳)

Hey Brian! I'm being real dumb but where is the downloads section? Thanks! Dee

Jeez Jacques, France sure could have used a few more guys like you in the 1940 Battle of France - you never give up the offensive, do you?

Who's an 'official source'?

Jacques, sweetheart - why do you have to be so snarky all the time? Whenever you post a quiz, there's no camaraderie involved - it always feels like a trap being laid. Not cool, dude.

That's a fine sword @ChrisW!!! What is the patriotic slogan - declaration of war, invasion of Singapore or other? Thank you! Dee

Thank you again Mal! My sword is longer than usual for a Guntō at 69cm (it is in shirasaya but still has a typical gilded gunto habaki) and is signed tachimei Kōteki Bukotsu Minamoto Moritaka 皇敵無骨源盛高. On the reverse is the inscription Made on the auspicious day of the declaration of war against America and Britain 対米英宣戦之吉辰作 which suggests a forging date of December 7 or 8, 1941. Regards, Dee

Hi Mal! I just read the download and it's amazing how much information is there! I can see lots of combinations of stamps but not my 'ho-ho' so I'm still real confused exactly what that means? Many thanks! Dee PS: I was exhausted when I read your document the first time - now, however, I can see two Moritaka blades with Ho Ho stamps on pages 125 and 127 described as "pre-star" and an explanation on page 32 that these two stamps were used for Kumamoto Tosho between 1941 and early 1942 (which makes sense considering my sword commemorates Japan's declaration of war on the US and UK in December 1941). However, I'm still not sure what, if any, differences there are between Moritaka's 'patriotic slogan' blades, special orders and RJT basic info signatures. Thanks again!!! Dee

Thanks Bruce!

Hi Stephen! Yes, I've actually got three swords and that tanto now hopefully coming home with him next time he's on leave. He's promised me he can sort it all out; apparently, he'll get them deregistered using an 'export audit certificate'. I'm in no rush as I know these things take a long time but I'll gladly post photos whenever I get them in hand. 😊 Dee

Wow! So made on December 7th, 1941? 😳 Thank you yet again, Steve!!! Dee

Just to keep the flag here flying, my new (to me) Minamoto Moritaka - who apparently only made gendaito - has the "Ho Ho"🎅🏼stamps below on the nakago mune.

PS: just checked Bruce's wonderful document on stamps and apparently this stamp means 'Ho'. As there's two of them it says 'Ho Ho' - so maybe this is a late Christmas present from Santa?

Interesting development for @Bruce Pennington. At my request, my brother was camellia oiling the nakago of the Moritaka to deactivate the red rust and found these two stamps on the mune. 😳

Hi all, I just finished a very early morning FaceTime chat with my brother In Japan. He received the sword today and showed it to me online. It is SO beautiful! Amazing mokume hada and suguha hamon with lots of activity. Broad, with a 69 cm nagasa and 1.9cm sori, it has absolutely no rust, chips or any other kizu. It's still in the original wartime polish so there are a few minor scratches but it even has the original ubuha while the rest of it is almost shaving sharp! The seller deals almost exclusively in household junk and knickknacks along with electronic items - this was the only sword. They must have recently cleared out some deceased old guy's house and not realized what they had. They obviously just wanted to make a quick buck so, for such a respected Gendai smith, it was an absolute bargain at ¥150,000. Dee PS: I took a screenshot of the torokusho - the translation is exactly as @SteveM said - thank you Steve!!!!

Beautiful! What is the nagasa? Dee

Hi Frank, You've got a nice little piece there! The two circular menuki should unscrew - just be very careful with them. Good luck! Dee

Good expression Jacques. To paraphrase it, if I may, 'it's in the brushstrokes that you see the painter'. To continue the painting metaphor a little further, those brushstrokes can be 'small and irregular' or 'large and irregular' - they are both adjectives and can be used entirely independently of one another. In the same way, we can describe the artist as using 'reddish brown' - or a combination of red and brown. In the former description, to then claim that red is not a true color, in and of itself, would be patently ludicrous. Dee

(Aladdin's Evil Uncle) "OH YES I CAN!" (Audience, all together) "OH NO YOU CAN'T!"

HE'S BEHIND YOU!

Are these questions intended to test, to instruct or to belittle? I'm always confused as to the actual motive.

That's an impressive level and takes real dedication. Thank you for replying in such detail and good luck with the tsuba collecting. They have just as much historical and artistic appeal as the swords. Sincerely, Dee