jwooley23 Posted September 15, 2013 Report Posted September 15, 2013 HI. My grandfather left me a sword when he died. I have seen some that look very familiar on ebay and were referred to as shin gunto. Best i remember, he said when he was coming home from WWII he was allowed to bring this home with him. I am interested in knowing the value, and the translation of the engravings. Thanks to anyone who is able to help. I am having trouble posting pics on this site, so please feel free to email me directly at jwooley23@hotmail.com if you would be willing to assist. Quote
Stephen Posted September 15, 2013 Report Posted September 15, 2013 try reduce and crop, you should be able to post then. Quote
jwooley23 Posted September 15, 2013 Author Report Posted September 15, 2013 ok, let me try again... Quote
jwooley23 Posted September 15, 2013 Author Report Posted September 15, 2013 sorry the pics are so large Quote
Stephen Posted September 15, 2013 Report Posted September 15, 2013 looks to be Kanehide , maker... long kanji is the date, showa ju hachi Quote
jwooley23 Posted September 15, 2013 Author Report Posted September 15, 2013 thanks so much for that info! so you are saying that the name of the maker (meaning this was made by hand?) is "Kanehide". and the longer series of carvings translates into the date of around 1944? sorry for the questions, i know nothing about this topic. any idea what the value may be in the condition from what you can tell? Quote
Nobody Posted September 15, 2013 Report Posted September 15, 2013 Actually, the mei reads Kikuhide (菊秀). Quote
Stephen Posted September 15, 2013 Report Posted September 15, 2013 Thank you Koichi san. I was not sure of the Kane as it and no legs to stand on Quote
jwooley23 Posted September 16, 2013 Author Report Posted September 16, 2013 Great information so far. Thanks for the quick assistance. Looks like there is a little info on kunide on other threads here. I will read all I can find, but would be interested in any other info anyone has on this maker. Really would like to get a value estimate. Can't find anyone local to appraise, so just a guesstimate or range would be great help as well. Amazing how nice people are here. Quote
Stephen Posted September 16, 2013 Report Posted September 16, 2013 does it have a small stamp above the hole in the nakago? Kikuhide is listed in seki smiths http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/seki.htm Quote
jwooley23 Posted September 16, 2013 Author Report Posted September 16, 2013 never would have noticed those until you asked. here are the pics. doesnt seem to match the ones on the link though? Quote
hxv Posted September 16, 2013 Report Posted September 16, 2013 Money-wise, with a scabbard, in the current state, I would say $700-$1000. Without a scabbard, may be $500-$800...guesstimate. Hoanh Quote
jwooley23 Posted September 16, 2013 Author Report Posted September 16, 2013 just as fyi, here is the scabbard. except for the leather wrapping it, the scabbard seems in excellent shape-what little i can see of it. the leather has deteriorated quite a bit. Quote
Markus Posted September 16, 2013 Report Posted September 16, 2013 Kikuhide as he is listed in my Index of Japanese Swordsmiths: Kikuhide (菊秀), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – „Kikuhide“ (菊秀), civilian name „Murayama Kikuo“ (村山菊雄), born September 21st 1905, he worked as guntō smith and died April 8th 1952 Quote
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