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Thank you Koichi much appeciared ,it seems to be a very complex sayagaki Anthony

hi thanks Reinhard most helpful

a few more pics.

very interesting Sayagaki on both sides of saya. there is a date 1923 and a name Yamaguchi Toku, . This sword is from Bizen province,from what i can maake out. The original owner's name was Tokisaburou Simizu (1394-1428). Tang is signed on both sides. this information was obtained from the previous owner could any body fill in the gaps .. i have been checking some of the kanji on the very useful meiboku site. have more pics many thanks Anthony

hi Mark, thanks for the link and tesco rice pudding ,i knew Tescos must be good for something Thanks Anthony

hi i have just obtained a blade with a shirasaya that has come apart ,there are some interesting kanji and possibly clues to who owned the sword and at what date ,i do not have acess to the correct rice glues , are there any modern types of glue that could be used ,also inside of shirasaya needs cleaning ,is this some thing a layman can do or is the whole process best left to experts. Thanks Anthony

:D yes great article and a fantastic photo . Anthony

i to would like to thank Moriyama-san.for his help without it i would not have realised i had a Keith Austin tanto also thanks to all the other board members for there help . Anthony :D

i have no information about the story behind the tsuba ,but what a fantastic tsuba

yes i think a round of drinks would be in order ,i am very pleased with the shinsa result ,and indeed thanks all round to the board members especially Stephen who has done all the hard work getting the blade to shinsa and organising it being photographed,i hope as many people as possible get to see it in the states before it is returned to me in England. thanks all .Anthony :D :D :D

hI, I am indeed fortunate to own the blade ,the book you refer to is to be published and there are plans being made( Stephen one of the board members in U.S.A) is organising plans to get the blade photographed and then if the blade is definatley Keith Austin published in the book. I feel very lucky and privaledged to have this blade I am not an American i am from England but i can imagine how proud you must feel about Keith Austin, i will treasure the blade and keep it safe for future generations to enjoy. regards Anthony

Hi Koichi, Thank you for all the exellent information,i have been reasearching Keith Austin and i believe he was licenced to make swords in 1968 ,as the date on the blade is 1963 does this mean he made this before he was licenced, although some of the dates i have come across seem to make much sense ,he went Japan i1961 and worked with Sadatsuga for 2 years ,would this be enough time to learn to make such a good blade . Anthony :?

i would like to thank al the members for their input i could never have imagined t would have turned out so interesting.i paid $1500 for the tanto ,it was on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1 it was in fact a post by Peter in which he highligted 3or 4 tantos that maybe of interest so i have him to thank ,i have posted afew more photos.Thanks again Anthony

Hi i have avery nice gendai tanto signed ENJYU TAROH NOBUSHIGE. i have some scetchy information about him ,i beleve he made a sword for the emporer in 1949 and was expert in making JYUMONJI-YARI other that that i know very little,if any one can add to this i would be grateful thanks Anthony

Hi Ford, Thanks for the information it would be nice if it was made by one of the NARA SAN SAKU, the carving and metalwork are outstanding ,the photo does not do it justice thanks again. Anthony :lol:

Hi Justin , Yes the kozuka does have areas of recessed carving and high relif the picture does not show it to well ,the iron is a very nice chocolate colour .Thanks for the infomation Anthony

Hi , I have avery good quality iron and mixed metal gold /siver kozuka (provenance) Edward Drummod Libbey collection Toledo museam of art 3.7/8 inch long it is very well carved and i believe it is Shoki and a little devil ,could anybody throw any light as to possible school or smith.thanks Anthony

I would Just like to thank everybody for there input on this subject it has proved to be very interesting as soon as i have the yari polished(a few months yet iam sure ) i will post some pictures. Thanks again Anthony

Hi thanks for the input Steve, yes iam the buyer ,hopefully should polish up nicely Anthony

does anybody have any information about asmith UJISADA actual sicniture on yari tang Hi shu ju Ujisada" posibly 18 century ,not sure what the hi shu ju means .i understand there were smiths from OWARI and MINO that used that name the blade is unpolished but i understand that it is sugaba. Any information would be appeciated thanks Anthony http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... &rd=1&rd=1

Hi , could anyone give me information on this tsuba,it is iron brass inlay and furkurin and has an interesting kanji at the base.i read somewhere that these tsuba were favored by warrior monks because of the serenity of the design. early edo thanks Anthony

here are a few pictures of my owari seki[/img] i hope! Anthony

just to thanks Stever for the list of tantos on e bay i did bid on a couple and won one the 1963' SAMURAI Japanese sword GENDAITO"ENJU"TANTO KATANA. which is made by ENJU TARO NOBUSHIGE quite a well known smith idont know very much about him apart from the fact he was one of the few smiths to be allowed to make swords at a time when they we out of favour and that he made a sword for the Imperial Household Agency, any further iforation on him would be interesting. Anthony

Hi , I to have an owari seki blade (mumei)NBTHK hozen it is a fantastic blade ,full of interest , i to will upload some pictures . Anthony

Hi Andreas, thank you for the inormation .Anthony