- 31 Oct 2016
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- #26
hey brother i just wanna know if they read this right . the guy posted this but i cant find this smith anywhere.
Tang translation
- Thread starter phonebooth
- Start date
- 12 Oct 2013
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There are tons of Sukemitsus. Its a very common name. The thing is, this is another wartime blade, but its got a suspiciously old and common name attached to it, so you have to wonder if the mei is authentic.
Take some advice from an anonymous stranger on the internet... forget about the obsession with buying a sword for now, and just spend a few months looking at what's out there. Visit the decent, reputable trader's sites just to get an idea of what is out there and how much decent blades are going for. Lurk around on the Nihonto message board forums and see what the guys there are talking about (and selling). Sometimes there are guys who are selling swords in good condition for good prices (look in the "for sale or trade" section). The junk end of the market (sub-$1000) is bottomless, and full of dealers who are preying on people who "just want a samurai sword". WW2 blades aren't worth a hell of a lot of money, although collectors of war memorabilia will pay a few thousands of dollars for items in pristine condition. If that is what you have your heart set on, you should check out the sites that specialize in World War 2 blades. If you are really interested in hand-forged swords from Japan's feudal past, then don't bother with the WW2 blades. Its like being obsessed with a Ferrari, and then going out to the used Volkswagen dealer hoping to find something.
Take some advice from an anonymous stranger on the internet... forget about the obsession with buying a sword for now, and just spend a few months looking at what's out there. Visit the decent, reputable trader's sites just to get an idea of what is out there and how much decent blades are going for. Lurk around on the Nihonto message board forums and see what the guys there are talking about (and selling). Sometimes there are guys who are selling swords in good condition for good prices (look in the "for sale or trade" section). The junk end of the market (sub-$1000) is bottomless, and full of dealers who are preying on people who "just want a samurai sword". WW2 blades aren't worth a hell of a lot of money, although collectors of war memorabilia will pay a few thousands of dollars for items in pristine condition. If that is what you have your heart set on, you should check out the sites that specialize in World War 2 blades. If you are really interested in hand-forged swords from Japan's feudal past, then don't bother with the WW2 blades. Its like being obsessed with a Ferrari, and then going out to the used Volkswagen dealer hoping to find something.
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #28
oh right on! wow ok i get it. thank you brother!
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #29
hey brother . so i bought this sword few weeks ago from a war vet who's dad took it from a japanese soldier back in Palau . said the the soldier wanted the blade back bc it was in his family for years. wrote his address and name on a script which i have also but the dad kept it and passed to his son then son sold to me . its an Omi no kami fujiwara tsuguhiro blade in ww2 mounts. so i took it to an appraisal shop today . other than the signature and authenticity checking out i already knew everything about my sword before i took it there. they knew their stuff tho and even read the signature without looking at any books. i just wanted to know what they would say it was worth. but he said theres a bamboo leaf crest on the handle hes never seen before on a ww2 sword . i would like to know if you know anything about it or why the soldier would put this specific crest on the handle of the sword(see attached) I also attached pic of my sword
- 12 Oct 2013
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Family crests are common on WW2 mounts. I don't know anything about this particular family crest, but the family would have special ordered the mounts with the crest on the pommel fittings, as you have here. If you google other images of WW2 swords (well, the mountings anyway), you will find a lot of examples of swords with family crests on them.
All families in Japan have (or are able to have) family crests. Bamboo is a common motif - but I couldn't find this particular one when I did a quick search.
All families in Japan have (or are able to have) family crests. Bamboo is a common motif - but I couldn't find this particular one when I did a quick search.
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #31
ok thank you! happy holidays brother
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #32
hey brother . in previous message i wrote how my sword came with a note in fabric . is there any way you can make out what any of it says? see attached. i know its a long shot but any translation would help
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #34
ya i knew it was a long shot. thank you for trying tho brother . happy holidays
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #35
hey brother hope you are well. you think you can tell me what this kanji says?
Attachments
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #36
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #38
oh solid! thank you
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #39
hey brother can you make this sig out. just really curious . i will donate to the site again
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #41
im digging up randoms on the internet but by people who dont really know what they are selling. they just give descriptions like "japanese ww2 sword for sale might be antique" a lot are dont really look worthy or are just ww2 blades but i come across ones that look good and even have signatures. so thats when i ask you
- 12 Oct 2013
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Ahh, I see. Be careful. I can usually make out the signatures, but its quite difficult to tell if they are genuine or not. You probably know that there are a great many forgeries out there. People have been faking signatures on swords for centuries. And...the internet is full of people who claim they don't know what they have, when in reality they realize they are holding crap swords. They put their sword online, knowing the signature is fake, and they lure in people who think they have the upper hand.
"Here is a WW2 sword... not sure where it came from" - must be one of the oldest tricks in the book.
"Here is a WW2 sword... not sure where it came from" - must be one of the oldest tricks in the book.
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #43
true . i already got played by one so i compare them as close i can everytime like the one you just translated for me. see attached. the right is the one i had translated and the left is the real smith with papers. what you think?
- 12 Oct 2013
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Like I said, I'm not the man to verify signatures. The forgeries are often very good, and the differences will be so subtle, amateurs like you and I would not be able to pick out the differences. For example, the two vertical strokes in the 豊 character in the oshigata you posted extend maybe 1 or 2 millimeters beyond the top of the first horizontal stroke. However, in the sword you posted, these two vertical strokes extend maybe 3 or 4 millimeters above the first horizontal stroke. Is this a significant difference? I have no idea, but it would make me want to find more genuine examples of Yukinaga blade to find out. And what about the 高 kanji? In the oshigata, the 髙 version is used, but in the blade you posted it looks definitely like 高. This difference isn't so subtle... is it significant? Who knows? You would have to look at many more Yukinaga blades to find out. It isn't enough just to say, "looks close, good enough for me".
You have to remember that the guys selling things online are particularly internet savvy, and they are as able to search the internet as well as you are. In fact, its almost unimaginable that they could have an item worth several hundreds, or potentially several thousands of dollars, and are smart enough to post it to an online auction site, yet are not smart enough to search the internet for more info on it.
You have to remember that the guys selling things online are particularly internet savvy, and they are as able to search the internet as well as you are. In fact, its almost unimaginable that they could have an item worth several hundreds, or potentially several thousands of dollars, and are smart enough to post it to an online auction site, yet are not smart enough to search the internet for more info on it.
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #45
dayummm that is a good point! i think the signature is fake but like you said we aint experts so i dont think im a take a chance on it :|
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #46
oh also that book you recommended i should get. connoisseur's book of japanese swords by kokan nagayama. they anounced a reprint being released Jan 17 so i preordered it and should be here next week. was only 75.00
- 12 Oct 2013
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Yeah, I noticed that. It was out of print for a few years, and second-hand copies were getting scarce. Its a good reference to have. I think you'll like it. It was out of my league when I got it (meaning, way too detailed and beyond my level of comprehension). But now, after a few more years under the belt, I have finally learned enough to make better use of it. So, this is my way of saying, don't be discouraged if you find it a bit challenging at first. It is the book most every serious sword collector/enthusiast has in his/her library.
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #48
wow man im excited to get it! is that how you know how to read the signatures on the swords?
- 31 Oct 2016
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- #50
i got the book! ive read a lot already i think its great but theres a few things i wish it had more on like noticed it doesnt mentiion a lot of smiths but a good reference where they came from also in another swordbook i have it has an index of smiths and what their work is kinda rated
hey brother i got the book!
i read a lot even on the author. he's bad *** too. i went to his website and read one of his lectures at a university. was really interesting. theres only some things i thought were kinda missing from the book tho . i have another book and it gives an index on smiths and their work value by a number but doesnt list all smiths(see attached). i was hoping this book would have something similar but didnt. also it only listed known smiths and not a lot of other smiths of what i feel there are always smiths just as good if not better but just weren't recognized or popular but i havent read the whole book but from what ive looked at so far its great and gave me a better understanding 
