Mystery Kao?

[Bruce Pennington]

The guys as NMB are stumped by this one. It has been proposed that the top character is a kao and the bottom is "写 (or 寫)", which would mean the blade was made in honor, or to imitate, the work of the smith whom owns the kao.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Nick Komiya]

The first character is no Kao of another smith, as you never use someone-else's Kao to refer to that person, just as you do not refer to a person by imitating their signature in the USA.

Also there is no way to read a Kao, as it is more like a finger print than a character.

It could be, however, the Kao of the smith that made this copy, as referring to yourself with a Kao is legitimate usage.