Dana1

I'm sorry Brian, but too many generations have passed and most of the details have been lost. We're assuming that they were all collected between approximately 1900 and 1930 during our great-grandfather's travels to the Far East, but even this is not certain. Dana P

You mention oiling the blade. I know that the blades on these weapons are very sophisticated and that I need to have each one polished by a professional who is able to determine the most appropriate treatment for each particular blade, but in the meantime is there a recommended oil I can use that won't cause any harm? I want to stop (or at least slow down) any further corrosion until I can get these swords taken care of.

For those who are interested, I have posted photos of the other five bladed weapons at this site: http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=17655&sid=8157d19e73074f1c4d7d57d288efafda Thanks again, Dana P

Thanks very much for the highly informative responses thus far. I have to admit that I was kind of baffled by Sword P5. Some parts definitely look good, but the blade appears to be cheap and unsophisticated even to my untrained eye. Old tourist junk? Sounds like a reasonable explanation. I'll be focusing my efforts on the other swords, specifically the first one I posted (call it P1), P3 and P4, and I'll be posting photos of each tang as soon as I can get the tsuka off. I'll also be taking proper measurements. I'll also try to take some better photos, as my current batch didn't turn out very well. Not enough light! Not properly focused! (I had to edit them to make them viewable, but they would have been much better if I had shot them properly in the first place). So, along with everything else I'm also learning about sword photography. I'm not even going to think about what the restoration might cost. Yikes! Dana P

Here is "P5". Thanks again.

Here is the next sword, "P4".

I'm back. Sorry about the delay, I had to work on other projects. I'm posting three more sets of sword photos, but I'm sorry to say that I was unable to remove the tsuka from any of them, so I don't have any nakago (tang) photos at all. The mekugi were easy to remove, and I have the correct tools for that, but in every case the tang was firmly stuck. I guess I'll have to take them to an expert who has the correct tsuka removal tools and techniques. After I get the tsuka removed then I'll be able to post the appropriate photos. These swords are currently being stored in a rural area, so I'll have to take them to an expert to be examined. Thus, I'll be both transporting and storing them, and this causes me some security concerns. Here's a question that I would like to see answered if at all possible: Is it possible to tell, from the photos and descriptions that I have provided thus far, whether any of these swords might be "at risk" of being particularly valuable? If so then I really wouldn't want to store those particular swords at my house or transport them around town alone, so I'll have to come up with a more secure way of dealing with them. I realize, of course, that you would need to see the nakago before drawing any firm conclusions, but is it possible to make an educated guess? I'll be happy to hear any comments about any of this. Thanks! Dana P (4 attachments to this post, more to follow) PS: In the near future I'm going to be posting the photos of the other swords (currently unidentified, but I'm pretty sure they don't belong on this forum) on the myArmoury.com site as suggested by Gabriel Lebec. As soon as I get them up I will provide a link here for those who are interested.

OK, I will go back and give it a better look, plus I'll take some accurate measurements. The pins and other ornaments are quite beautiful and they are in particularly good condition, so I don't want to cause them any damage whatsoever. If it doesn't come apart easily then I will take it to an expert. However, the collection is quite far from here, so this could take awhile. I think there is some writing on the knife blade, by the way. See the photo. And yes, unfortunately some of the other swords are in much worse condition. There are three longer swords that are definitely Japanese, plus some other swords and daggers that I have been unable to identify. Some definitely look European (and quite old) and there are several very weird wavy-bladed swords that might be Malaysian or something, or maybe they're just old stage props. I understand that this forum is just for Nihonto, so I will try to stick to that topic. Anyway, I'll get some more photos up soon. Thanks very much for all of the responses so far.

Wow, that was a quick reply! I didn't want to disturb the ornaments on the hilt of the first sword, but perhaps the mekugi is underneath the upper ornament? By the way, would you mind telling me how I can size my images so they will be embedded in the post rather than linked? I thought I was following the instructions but only one image came through as intended. I will have a lot more images to post and I would like to get it right.

The second sword is shorter and is more like a long knife. It's saya includes a wari-bashi (chopstick) holder and a set of chopsticks. I didn't find any removable mekugi on these swords, and thus I was unable to view the nakago. (Please let me know if I've made any errors in terminology.)

Hello everybody, this is my first post on this forum. Our family has owned a collection of Japanese swords for several generations. We believe that most of them were collected in the early 1900's by our great-grandfather. I have been tasked with learning more about these swords so we can decide what to do with them. In preparation I've looked through several books, including "The Japanese Sword" by Kanzan Sato and "The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords" by Kokan Nagayama. I'm very impressed by the dedication and attention to detail that is practiced by the followers of this art. I'm also somewhat taken aback by its great complexity. I feel that I could never learn enough to be considered much more than a rank beginner. I have, however, developed a newfound respect for the swords and their makers, and I have at least learned enough to handle these swords with respect. I'd like to learn a lot more about these swords and I'm hoping that some of our forum members will be able to provide some insights. I took a number of photos, but I'm still working on them, so until I can get caught up I can only post a few. I'm sorry to say that the swords have been neglected for quite awhile and some of them are in desperate need of expert care. I apologize for their condition. Hopefully we'll be able to do something about that soon. That said, here are some photos of the first two swords. I haven't taken their measurements yet, but I believe that the first sword is a little under two shaku in length and thus it would be classified as a Wakizashi. You will note that this sword's saya has a pocket for a kozuka (utility knife). I understand that there are only 5 attachments allowed per post, so I'll attach the second set of photos to the next post. I'd appreciate any comments that anyone here may have to offer. Thank you.