Tdognc Posted December 16, 2018 Report Posted December 16, 2018 Hi, there's a local man selling a purported "WW2 Japanese Sword" on craigslist and I was wondering what your thoughts are on it. Its beat to hell and almost everything about it looks wrong to me. The only thing that seems legitimate is the tang. Your thoughts are appreciated, thanks! Quote
Ray Singer Posted December 16, 2018 Report Posted December 16, 2018 Kiyomitsu. Perhaps Kaga Kiyomitsu. 1 Quote
ROKUJURO Posted December 16, 2018 Report Posted December 16, 2018 Taylor,this looks like a perfectly genuine KATANA, signed (and probably made) by KIYOMITSU. The mounting parts are not in good shape and the TSUBA is missing, but in case it is not expensive you could try to get it. But please consider that a restoration can not be made at home in your kitchen! If you are prepared to invest some money and you are really interested in NIHONTO, it may be a good start for a collection. The NAKAGO does not look like KAGA province, so it might be a later KIYOMITSU, but if it is not a WWII blade (which I cannot judge) it may still be a few hundred years old. 2 Quote
Tdognc Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Posted December 16, 2018 On 12/16/2018 at 9:17 PM, ROKUJURO said: Taylor, this looks like a perfectly genuine KATANA, signed (and probably made) by KIYOMITSU. The mounting parts are not in good shape and the TSUBA is missing, but in case it is not expensive you could try to get it. But please consider that a restoration can not be made at home in your kitchen! If you are prepared to invest some money and you are really interested in NIHONTO, it may be a good start for a collection. The NAKAGO does not look like KAGA province, so it might be a later KIYOMITSU, but if it is not a WWII blade (which I cannot judge) it may still be a few hundred years old. Well, that's good news! I don't know how to clean a Katana but I know enough not to try. Thanks! Quote
Surfson Posted December 19, 2018 Report Posted December 19, 2018 My first thought was Kaga too, Ray, though it deviates a bit from this example. https://www.aoijapan.net/wakizashi-kiyomitsu-kaga/ 1 Quote
Tdognc Posted December 20, 2018 Author Report Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/19/2018 at 7:24 AM, Surfson said: My first thought was Kaga too, Ray, though it deviates a bit from this example. https://www.aoijapan.net/wakizashi-kiyomitsu-kaga/ Thanks for the info! I bought it from the guy and I have a few questions. This will be my first nihonto that I personally own. I already read the NBTHK care and etiquette guide for taking care of it. I was wondering what resources you all use to learn about nihonto's and their history? Do you have any recommendations? I'm currently trying to read through ohmura-study.net. Thanks. Quote
Surfson Posted December 20, 2018 Report Posted December 20, 2018 A couple of good starter books are the one by John Yumoto and the one by Robinson. Quote
Surfson Posted December 20, 2018 Report Posted December 20, 2018 https://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Sword-Handbook-John-Yumoto/dp/4805311347 https://www.amazon.com/Arts-Japanese-Sword-B-Robinson/dp/B002J6G74G Quote
Tdognc Posted December 20, 2018 Author Report Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/20/2018 at 2:12 PM, Surfson said: https://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Sword-Handbook-John-Yumoto/dp/4805311347 https://www.amazon.com/Arts-Japanese-Sword-B-Robinson/dp/B002J6G74G Thanks, I'll check these out! Quote
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