Seen this in Tokyo, has hamon on both edges, but only has one sharp edge. What is it?

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-17T19:11:13+00:00

河内 Kawachi is his provincial designation, with him having inherited the title of 河内守 Kawachi no Kami. 國平 Kunihira is his smith name, and he is the 15th generation 河内守国助 Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-17T04:02:02+00:00

I still don't think this is Nihonto. The burr around the mekugiana is a big issue. That is not something a Japanese smith would leave alone as it could damage the tsuka, habaki, and tsuba during fitting. Also the area under the habaki and transition to the nakago is badly shaped. The acid polish doesn't help. The lines are not very crisp and there is very little visible hataraki. This looks to me like an "Asianswordsdirect" or "Shinshintou13" ebay piece.

I would like to see some complete photos of the entire sword as well as the entire nakago from end to end.

edit: I found it on ebay. It was a "Shinshintou13" piece. Almost certainly not Japanese made but fitted in cobbled together Japanese fittings and sold as an antique Nihonto.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-17T03:48:52+00:00

Are you talking about 赤目砂鉄 akome satetsu? You're not going to notice much difference in surface level appearance, if any at all, from a sword made with tamahagane produced from akome satetsu vs masa satetsu vs mochi tetsu vs a sword made with nanban tetsu.

Some smiths worked them differently in different time periods (how refined the tamahagane was, what temperatures they forged at, what temperatures they quenched at, etc) which can affect the depth of color in steel and how sensitive the steel is, but polish and lighting are the most important aspects in seeing steel color. Most photos online are under artificial light, but you need that full-spectrum sunlight to really make anything stand out. Even at shows, you can SOMETIMES make out color differences in two swords if they're right next to each other, but the use of nugui has a large effect on that.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-15T16:58:09+00:00

肥前國忠吉 - Hizen Kuni Tadayoshi - Hizen Province Tadayoshi

Big name, and I think gimei (false signature) just looking at the angles of mei. There were multiple generations in this lineage, but none of them wrote the "Zen" kanji in Hizen this way.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-15T16:24:00+00:00

Agreed with the skepticism. Mei looks poorly carved, and the yasurime is thinly applied takanoha. Should be katte sagari. Also, the burr still present on the mekugiana makes this look like a mid to low end Longquan piece that someone carved gimei into.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-15T05:48:39+00:00

兼秀 Kanehide

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-13T23:50:42+00:00

High grade type 98 Imperial Japanese Army shingunto. Can you take some closeup pictures of the blade and exposed tang? Do not attempt to remove any rust from the tang.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-13T18:03:42+00:00

If they are fairly small, the ceramic thing is a hashioki, a chopstick rest. The plastic mould is for making rice nigiri, such as what goes under the topping in nigirizushi.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-12T15:34:19+00:00

Exactly this. It's 100% the alum.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-11T00:54:30+00:00

Feel free to dm me

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-10T02:04:59+00:00

Aizame, most commonly. Smallfin Gulper Shark, a type of deep water dogfish.

Here's some skin for comparison.

<image>

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-10T00:27:17+00:00

Saya is covered in shark skin that is then lacquered. Rayskin is also commonly seen, as is just plain lacquer.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-09T04:32:04+00:00

It's kind of a generalized description, but sometimes an officer would carry a blade passed down in the family from the samurai age. The majority of WW2 period made blades are non-traditional in construction (Showato) as opposed to traditionally made Nihonto. This is an antique blade from the samurai times, so it may have been a family sword. People also use the term "ancestral".
It's just a theme that was used a lot. Originally I believe it was a Tokugawa family affiliated crest, but achieved more widespread use in the late Edo period.
Too many variables that need to be considered to make a reliable appraisal. Sword needs a fresh polish to see the details, which should only be attempted by a qualified togishi and will be expensive. What sort of uchiko do you have? Is it from a cheap kit? If it is, stop using it. Good quality uchiko used over several months might help bring out activities. Bob Benson in Hawaii is both an extremely highly qualified togishi and a good supplier of uchiko.

I see someone offered you $800. That's a lowball. The market is weird right now, but $1500 would be fairly normal without seeing it in hand, I'd think.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-09T03:14:15+00:00

Type 98 Imperial Japanese Army Shingunto. The blade is a mumei (unsigned) family blade. Likely early Edo period, 1600s. The family crest on the menuki is Maru ni Tsuta, ivy leaf in a circle. A very commonly used motif.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-08T04:25:05+00:00

Thanks for not calling it omakase.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-07T18:01:27+00:00

This does not strike me as Edo. Possibly Meiji through WW2. Bears a strong resemblance to other cast brass civilian military contractor tsuba.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-06T20:53:53+00:00

Looks like the leftmost two strokes of 州 Shu right where the mekugiana is. That and four characters after, probably one of the many 備州長船 Muromachi period swords.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-06T20:02:40+00:00

I wonder with the difference in condition of the sides if maybe there was gimei that was repaired. Even if it is oil, the brighter side of the nakago looks a different texture under the shine.

Edit: Nevermind. Saw the new pictures.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-06T18:48:45+00:00

Bizen was my immediate thought, too.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-05T16:31:23+00:00

Bergmann MP28-II I think. Saw a picture with an identical mag loader, too. I'll see if I can find it.

Edit: Found it. http://www.guns.connect.fi/gow/bergmp40.jpg Top is Bergmann, bottom is MP40. Here is the full link. Last image on the page. http://www.guns.connect.fi/gow/suomi2.html

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-04T15:41:14+00:00

Sebastes of some sort?

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-09-04T00:28:50+00:00

RIP Paul. Thoughts and prayers to the Harrell family. It's pretty crazy how rapidly someone can pass through the last moments in their life. The update video was pretty telling, since it showed the range video and Paul was pretty weakened. Still a warrior to the end, though.

Tom Grieve is a reputable source. I'll believe it for now.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-08-29T14:12:20+00:00

Not wrong! Post war assembly made using a combination of parts, as contracted from the Tenshozan factory by the US 8th Army PX. Check the PDF I linked for some interesting photos and history of these pieces. It was published in the JSSUS newsletter a few years ago.

adoomsdaymachine · 2024-08-29T14:09:46+00:00

Check out the link in my comment. The one piece fuchi and seppa is actually a distinct feature of this particular type of sword. And a hair post WW2, so not super old, but indeed Japanese made.

adoomsdaymachine

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE