Japanese Sword

[dramos]

Stu,

I would never let any "Jo Shmo" try to "fix" the sword. I would be way to scared of someone butchering it and really damaging the piece. I paid $450 USD for it. Not sure if I overpaid or not, but I enjoy the piece nonetheless, plus when I bought it I had much less knowledge in the hobby and was just excited to own a Japanese sword. I will try to get into contact with Moses and see if meeting up is a possibility. Now that my finals are over I will have much more free time to dedicate to the hobby.

[Stu W]

At 450 you did not overpay and can always get your money back out of it so no worries there.

Regards,
Stu

[dramos]

Great! I am not so much concerned with the monetary values but it is always nice to know you did not get taken! lol

[ghp95134]

Thanks for a great start! I have absolutely NO knowledge of translating Kanji so I had no idea where to start. Are those the makers names? Places where the sword was made?

ス 濃州 北原[*] 博正作
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ス. I do not know the relevance of a STAMPED ス which is the syllabary "su". As a stand-alone sound, it makes no sense to me.

濃州. Noshuu. This is a province name, like a state. Today it is called Mino. Again, I have a low confidence level of my reading of 濃 "no" [the first part of Noshu];

北原. Kitahara is a Japanese surname.

[*] possibly 湿 [sh!tsu/moist??]. I cannot make out this kanji -- someone with more knowledge will be able to do so immediately. The character is well-formed and easily readable. I can only assume it is part of the given name. Some given names employ three kanji.

博正. Hiromasa. This is the smith's "art name".

作. Saku. Made.

山本. Yamamoto. This is a family name. The occurence of a STAMPED name in this location baffles me ~ I've not seen it before. Perhaps it is the owner's own name.

[Edit. I gave the wrong date of manufacture. The THIRD month is March; I inerrently wrote "May."]

Regards,
--Guy

[dramos]

Thanks Guy! This is really great info as I have had no idea of the origin of the sword, maker or when it was made. Thanks again!

[ghp95134]

Glad to help.

Regarding re-forming the tip. Yes, it can be done, but at great cost. If it is ever was done, there is just enough of the temper (at the "turn-back") remaining that would allow this to be accomplished -- at great cost. If this sword were valuable enough to save, it could be done -- but sword people would be able to tell because of the "tip:temper geometry." Yeah, I don't know if that is an "official" term ... but it works for me.

This PAGE explains better what I'm trying to say.

Cheers!
--Guy

[dramos]

That is what Stu was telling me. I will be looking into what it would cost to get the tip reshaped, but obviously that would be done if it is worth and if my budget allows.

[dramos]

Anyone have any idea when this sword was made?

[BOB COLEMAN]

Anyone have any idea when this sword was made?

The sword is dated the eighteenth year of Showa which is 1943. For your future reference, some of your pictures of the tang have the signature sideways. Always show a Japanese sword tang with the top of the tang towards the cutting edge on top and the butt of the tang at the bottom. It is very difficult to read kanji sideways.

[dramos]

Bob, your presence in this thread is greatly appreciated! I tried to edit my pictures so they were the right way up but I must have missed one. So this sword would have been a sword specifically made for an officer during the war?