really need help

[dilligaf12]

Hi everyone,i went through my dads sword collection and came across some old samari swords,thanks to the www i learnt to take the handle off to see if they had signatures on them and some did,but with the very basic knowledge that i have i am asking for any help in reading these writings.

hope the pics work

[mywei]

雲_(?州) 藩藤原長信

 

Unshu? han fujiwara naganobu saku

[dilligaf12]

Thanks for the reply,not sure how you read it but would it have a date it was made or anything about who made it?

[k morita]

Hi,

Mr.Matt is correct answer of the mei.

 

Date of the tang is: "The 5th month,1865".

慶應元年五月日

[dilligaf12]

Thank you Morita san,does this mean it is an authentic blade do you think?

[k morita]

Good!

[geekman]

Hello, New to this Board...From what I remember, this swordsmith Takahashi Naganobu was one of the better Shin-Shinto smiths during the 1800's. I read somewhere that he never signed his name exactly the same twice.

 

Brian

[kunitaro]

There are 157 different style of Mei in the book "Takahashi Naganobu no Kenkyu".

Naganobu was born in Unshu, became a student of Unshu (Takahashi) Fuyuhiro. He was good, so He was adopted to Takahashi family, became 17th (Unshu 7th) Fuyuhiro.

He went to Edo, became a student of Chounsai Tsunatoshi,

Jo-Jo Saku, very famous for Good cutter.

The sword is beautiful Choji, or Suguha.

The Jitetsu of his Suguha blade is extra beautiful.

 

If my memory is correct. the famous story "Japanese Solder cut Gun Barrel with Japanese sword in ww2", It was Takahashi Naganobu's blade.

[Curran]

Vaugh-san,

 

Newbie clarification:

(1) Is your blade real traditionally made Japanese blade? Evidence points to-> yes, very likely.

(2) Japanese famous signatures are often faked. Is (Vaugh's) fake? Mmh. Not big name, so less likely to be faked.

(3) Unshu = physical place

Fujiwara= honorary title

Naganobu= name of smith

saku = made by

 

Your blade is supposedly made by Naganobu during 1865.

He is the student of a well known smith. Probably he has some talent too.

Restoration of a blade is a difficult and expensive project- often the financial logic is ends up being more expensive to restore the blade than to leave it as it is. Your might be worth restoring, or selling to someone who will.

 

Ps. Your sword is from the Shin-Shinto period (this means new new sword, or very new sword period). The major classification is koto (old sword) shinto (new sword) and shin shinto (very new sword). Like a person who is late teenager or early 20s... your sword is probably very healthy with little passage of age (if not used to chop the hedges, grass, trees, or gun barrels...).

 

The mounts for your sword are from WW2. They are not as old as the sword, but probably have some value. Be careful with them too. Ie. do not rest them or the blade on slate, as in the photo.

 

Kunitaro-san, Dr. Matt, and the others can probably tell you more. I am more interested in fittings, koshirae, mounts. Probably this is one sword you should consider keeping for at least a few years, and learn more about it. If you live in the USA, we can try to recommend a club to you, so you can go in person.

 

Curran

[cabowen]

Naganobu is actually quite well known as an excellent smith and often faked. The fact that he has so many different signatures makes him a large target for forgers.

[Curran]

Ah... listen to Chris B and the others.

 

Once again I show my ignorance of Shin-Shinto.

[k morita]

By the way, why doesn't Mr.Vaughn C show the blade pics?

[dilligaf12]

I will get pictures of the blades tomorrow and some other swords in the collection

[dilligaf12]

pictures for (Takahashi Naganobu)blade and it's WW2 jewellery,is it possible that somewhere in it's life could the tang have been remarried to a blade,i have taken close up shots of the section in question?and the tip looks to be played with.

[dilligaf12]

The rest of them

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Vaughn,

If by remarried you mean welded on, no; no need to worry about that. The tip (kissaki) doesn't look messed with either.

Grey

[dilligaf12]

Hi and thank you grey,now call me stupid if im wrong,i am new to the world of Japanese swords so i am doing as much research as my brain will allow me(which is not much due to the amount you have to learn)i have visited sites on the net and thought that the hamon on the blade resembled a sabonsugi hamon?which pointed me in this direction.call me stupid LOL.

[kunitaro]

The blade looks good !

Hamon is called choji-midare mixed with Togariba,

Sugata and Hamon is typical Naganobu's work.

This sword needs very good master polish and Shirasaya.

It is expensive, but it's worth it.

will get Tokutsuhozon without problem.

 

There is a Book "Takahashi Roshi Naganobu no Kenkyu" by Abe Yoshihiro.

556 pages. published in 1988, only 500 copies limited edition.

It has really full information of Takahashi Naganobu.

[cabowen]

The blade looks good !

Hamon is called choji-midare mixed with Togariba,

Sugata and Hamon is typical Naganobu's work.

This sword needs very good master polish and Shirasaya.

It is expensive, but it's worth it.

will get Tokutsuhozon without problem.

 

 

Even with the poor condition of the nakago?

[kunitaro]

Dear Cris san,

You are right about Nakago.

This sword has been through haｒsh environment in the past.

But It is completely un-touched condition.

Cleaning and take care by professional, it will be much nicer, ofcause, damaged parts such as corrosion and black holes will never recover however, Nakago is Ubu, the Mei and Yasurime is clear.

so, If the blade itself has no flaw, I believe (or hope) this sword will get TH...

[cabowen]

Thank you for sharing your opinion...I suppose it will depend a great deal on how good the workmanship is in the blade, which we can't know until it is properly polished. If the quality is very high, then I would hope too that they would overlook the poor condition of the nakago....Being shinshinto, in my experience, the condition of the nakago becomes more important than that of an older sword.

[runagmc]

Hi Vaughn, Thanks for sharing your sword here. It could end up as quite a nice piece, as others have said already. If you can come up with the money for a proper PROFESSIONAL restoration, I'm sure it would be well worth the money, as long as the sword has no serious flaws hidden by it's current condition. A togishi, or other knowledgeable person, will be able to tell initially if the sword looks to be worth restoration (keep in mind, even then, there's always the chance a flaw can appear during polishing). If you do get it restored, we always like seeing before and after pics and hearing about the experience. Good luck...

[dilligaf12]

Thank you all for the help for identifying this blade and it's history,i will put it away and continue researching the wonderful world of Japanese swords it has been an eye opener for me thank you all.

What would be the best way to store it until i can have it appraised for restoration please?

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Vaughn,

Here is a link to a care and etiquette site that will tell you what you need to know.

http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm

Grey

[Mark]

I see this maker used many varieties for his me as mentioned above. I also notice this smith sometimes used "grass script" for the dates but other times wrote them in normal kanji. It does not seem to be related to time as both types appear at the same time. Is there any thoughts as to why he did this? Is there some meaning to the choice of how he wrote the date?

 

mark

[cabowen]

He was quite eccentric, at least in this regard, and seemed to be quite determined to not sign the same way twice. I have never heard of any deeper meaning....