mike yeon

The hamon looks mino. Can you get an idea of the jihada and boshi? mike

I agree with everyone else. It's 100% a chinese fake. Not worth the gas you'd spend on seeing it in person. There's a good link on this site that gives you the basics on detecting a fake. My advice is to look at as many real blades as possible (in books on the net or in person) and that will give you a better eye at detecting fakes. Learn as much as you can before you buy. You'll be thanking yourself later. Best of luck. mike

Ed, Thank you for the great pictures. Nice to see familiar faces. Couldn't make it out this year, looks like I missed a good show. mike

Hey Brian, Yes, just a theory. If the figure was carrying a halbred then I'd say it's more than just a theory. The rest of the story goes that Guan Yu's spirit while looking for his head meets a buddhist monk. Guan Yu asks the monk for his head and the monk replies by asking him "who can all the warriors Guan Yu had slain, ask for the return of their heads?" The spirit then becomes enlightened and disapears in peace. I think a story with themes samurai would appreciate. Good luck with your mystery. mike

Although it could be his head just came off...

Could it be a depiction of Guan Yu, the Shu general from the Three Kingdoms period? The story goes that he was beheaded by Sun Quan the lord of Wu. His head was sent to Cao Cao and his headless body was said to be seen roaming the land looking for his head. Guan Yu was also famous for riding a great horse named Red Hare and is shown with the horse in works of art. Just my thoughts as I've seen a fair share of tsougu that depict events during the Three Kingdoms period. I have a set that shows another shu general Zhao Yun rescuing the shu emperor's infant during the battle of Changban. mike

Bill, I'm in NYC and we have a great sword club (http://www.ny-tokenkai.org) that meets roughly once a month. If you're close to the city, you can bring the sword to a meeting and get some good opinions and direction. Next one is Sept 23rd. The nearest togishi I know of, Moses Beccera, is a member of the club and a Japanese trained polisher based on long island. You can try contacting him through his site (http://www.nihontoantiques.com) mike

Hank, From your pictures, it does not look like a mass produced gunto. The nakago makes me believe it's older. Also, it looks like it was modified to perhaps fit into gunto mounts. And lastly, because it has a non-military tsuba, I'd say it was an older blade sent to war. Close up picts of the blade itself may provide better answers. As suggested by members per your tanto picts, I'd arrange for them to be sent for papers. good luck. mike

Hi Peter, Was the blade it was attached to a genuine sukihiro? :D Sometimes with these things a genuine blade is damaged beyond use/value. The nakago with the sho-shin mei is removed and put on a lesser sword. mike

I know at least on the NTHK rejection (pink) worksheet, re-tanged is listed as a fatal flaw and a reason why the blade got pinked. I've seen a handful of re-tanged blades and all were attempts at creating a forgery. As Darcy mentioned, there's no good honest reason to do this to a blade. There are blades that are hundreds of years old with whithered nakago that are structurally sound. If the reason was to indicate a mumei blade was made by a particular smith, a kinzogan mei would have been an easier route. To be honest, I'd think twice about spending $1500 - $2000 on a polish. Unless you're in love with the blade, I feel it might be money better spent on a new blade without issues. Best of luck KM! mike

Certainly looks like the same sword. That's prob not suspect. If the prior owner was a practitioner, he may have had the hi/futatsugi hi carved to lighten the blade for use or to suit his tastes? The horimono look well carved from the picts. I mean throughout history the Japanese have been carving horimono/reshaping/cutting down blades so they're no longer the same as they were when made. We may look at nihonto as being art objects that shouldn't be altered but not everyone feels that way. Sometimes, a sword is a weapon first. That being said, I wouldn't have done it, but I'm not going to criticize someone who apparently had it done in a proper manner. Or maybe, just maybe the owner has a closet full of nambochuko era blades made by jo saku smiths and money to burn... mike

Very nice blade. I agree with Darcy that it's not saburo kunimune. Don't think it's the hoki kunimune either. The sugata doesn't look early Kamakura. You'd find a deeper koshi-zori if it was that kunimune I think. There were many kunimune during koto times, all pretty highly rated smiths. Yamashiro smiths, rai school, etc. Lastly, by god, you are one lucky fellow! Submit the blade and I'll gladly eat my words if it turns out to be the hoki kunimune. mike

It's also about 10 finger widths away from the hamachi. As a general rule the placement should be 3 fingers or 4 for a tachi. mike

Its a fake. Even real nihonto in poor condition look better than this. With this blade, the lines are very sloppy which is a good indicator. I wouldn't say don't bid on ebay. There are plenty of legitimate sellers and real items. Just get smarter about detecting fakes (by getting smarter about real blades) and ebay can be a good place to find a decent blade. Good luck! mike

That's not a bad looking blade. I rather like the sugata, very koto. I know nothing about this smith but since it's a gendai, I wouldn't fret so much about repatinating the nakago. In any case, a togi can advise you on such a thing and I believe it's worth a visit for a complete restoration. Good luck! mike

And here's the original kissaki (as it was when I sent it to Andreas.) As you can see it's a little longer. Andreas, I'd recommend you work it out with Charles like we worked it out originally.

I'd normally keep my beak out of this as it's a matter between Andreas and Charles. But since my name has come up, I'll drop my 2 cents. The blade was originally mine and I sold it to Andreas a few months back. Prior to that the owner was the neighbor of a vet in Tennesee who had kept the blade in his attic since he brought it back from the war (cliche but true story I assure you). The blade was not damaged before I sent it to Andreas (it recieved a 73 point evaluation and kanteisho papers at the NTHK NY shinsa back in Fall of 06.) Unfortunately, when I sent it to Andreas, it was damaged in transit. The damage can be seen in Andreas' pictures. He also has pictures of the box where the hole can be seen. Naturally we were both upset but we worked out an amicable solution. Andreas can attest that I offered him every courtesy in the matter and I can attest that Andreas was patient, understanding and civil. What I can say is that the kissaki in Andreas' repaired photo is NOT in the condition of the original kissaki and it does look repaired. As for the saya, there was indeed a couple of centimeters of clearance (about 4 - 5 CM longer than the blade.) The mouth and bottom were cut to fit a kojiri and kurikata (which were missing). So in its original state it shouldn't look like either end was "sawed off". Again this is condition I sent it in (I have pictures to prove it.) I'm not taking sides or validating anyone's argument. But what I do recommend Charles is to work it out with Andreas. From my dealings with him, he's a fair and understanding guy. As Brian mentioned, emotions are high but I have no doubt things can be worked out. Lastly, in my opinion this is a blade that deserves a polish. Hopefully someone can provide that for it. I had originally offered the new owner my spot with David Hofhine (the spot opens up in Sept 07). I have been holding that spot for almost a year but I'll give it up to you Charles if you're interested. It's my opinion the blade has enough boshi to survive the restoration. Good luck to all. mike

If it is signed and dated, I'd wonder why someone would patinate the nakago to give it an older appearance? Food for thought. mike

Gabriel, you might be right about the noise, just noticed how the background might produce that effect. The jihada sure looks "wet" in the pict that shows the hamachi. Looking forward to seeing the

First off nice blade. I like the sugata. Very koto in appearance. As for the nakago, I've seen many shin-shinto/non-koto blades with nakago that are so deeply rusted that they give the appearance of being older. You have to consider the history of the blade and the care that it was given up to the point of restoration. Many blades were left uncared for to deteriorate in rust conducive conditions (buried, kept in a damp basement or garage, etc). I have a sue koto sadatsugu daito with a nakago that looks at first glance like it was a kamakura piece. It was brought back by a GI who lived in seattle (the rain capitol of the U.S.) and was kept in his garage. The togi who polished the blade had to clean away some of the rust so that it could fit into a shirasaya. Anyway, just a tiny correction, the hada looks nishiji (pear skin) not muji (clear mirror like hada). Nice feature you find on older yamashiro/yamato blades. Hope you enjoy it! mike

I agree with Jean (as usual). Hamon is sanbonsugi and if mino, then later as the peaks look pretty uniform. Sorry for the delay Peter (crazy week at the office), just emailed you the oshigata. mike

He's a sue-bizen smith. Pretty well regarded, rated jo-saku in fujishiro's. Worked during the late muromachi (ei-roku) period. Kantei points will be: Suguha hamon with a mix of nie and nioi that grows/gets "smokey" up by the monouchi. Mokume hada. Longer sugata, chu-kissaki, koshi-zori and sometimes a faint bo-utsuri. Is your blade signed and dated? most sue-bizen pieces will be (especially if made by a representitive smith (like maguemon). Pictures would be nice. mike

Hi Peter, I have 2 oshigata of this nobuyoshi that use the kiku mon. Both have 16 petals. The mei doesn't look quite right either. The way the petals are carved also look much different. I can email scans to you if you'd like. mike

I like using a microfiber cloth (the ones they sell for camera lenses or computer cleaning). Seems to get all the oil off with a few passes. I've stopped using uchiko almost entirely. I use the choji oil that's sold in the Japanese cleaning kits. I've used mineral oil in a pinch but I find the consistency of the mineral oil to be a little too thick. The choji seems a bit more viscous and applies more evenly and doesn't pool up. One thing to remember is that you can get the desired protection with very little oil. No need to soak the blade. I live in NYC where we get all 4 seasons. During the winter/fall, it's dry enough that I don't need to oil my blades at all. Every month for cleaning/oiling is not necessary unless the blade has a fresh polish (and in this case, uchiko must not be used). I maintain every 2-3 months. Also remember blades shouldn't be kept in koshirae. Good luck! mike

A number of older habaki I own seem to have this issue. Some have slight hairline openings at the seam, others have come apart up to a 1/3rd of the way. I wouldn't worry so much about it unless it's completely open. The habaki is a very important part of the sword but if you're not using it for iaido, then I wouldn't worry. But, if it bothers you on an aesthetic level, you can look into getting it repaired. Brian Tschernaga (sp?) is a well reputed habaki maker that may help repair or make a new habaki for you. mike