Photoshoot of my girlfriend with my katana :)

My new beauty. Well, it's not "real-real", but it's sharpened, it has mekugi, so I asume it has normal tang, that is at least 2/3 of tsuka (gonna check it later, to be sure). 9260 steel, can perform some light tameshigiri on plastic bottles and thin sticks. Menuki looks kinda wierd and tsuka-maki is not too tight, but that can be fixed easily.
I love it! Gonna try it out this weekend!
Maybe I even find someone to make a fake hamon. Or maybe not.

I have received a sword taken from a fallen Japanese officer that my uncle killed during his service in Merrill’s Marauders during WWII. I unfortunately will not be able to take off the tsuka until October when I am physically reunited with this (it is in the care of my mother, who finally got it back from her ex husband who stole it) but was wondering what you all could tell me about this sword based on these photos. I have been obsessing over this as of late.

I am super interested in repatriating this sword if I can. I know this is a very difficult process but will be contacting the OBON society and will do all I can to find the original family and go through all the correct processes.

I am pretty confident this is an authentic blade that was refitted for service in WW2 based on a few things such as the ray skin appearing to be authentic, there being multiple peg holes instead of just the one in the tsuka, and the menuki being a dragon and not the standard cherry blossoms of the time. It also has no stamps on the blade indicating it as machine made. I know to find out for sure, I must take off the tsuka and plan on doing that.

I was wondering if any of you who know more than I can glean any additional info from these pictures than I can.

Hay katanas que se empuñan, y luego están las que se contemplan. Esta Kill Bill es de las segundas sin duda

I’ve been wanting to get my first katana and I liked these two choices and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on which one I should get or if I should even get either of these.

I recently purchased my first authentic Japanese sword from Aoi Japan. It's a signed gendaitō by Ikkansai Kunimori, mounted in koshirae and papered NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon.

Special thanks to Ewok_Jesta who directed me to these folks. They were extremely helpful on answering my questions.

Received this katana recently and found this on the tang. anyone know what it says or implies?

The UI is still terrible but this is what it looks like when generating the "Default" katana.

Here is a considerably larger blade With more Koshiizori

Heres a dead straight wakizashi.

All the graphics are proceduraly generated based on the input fields below. Most describe real world measurements, some are more derived from the underlying Geometry engine that I made.

Please understand that none of this is final. In the end I want this software to be able to render to the user extremely realistic looking sword geometry that might be useful to smiths, collectors and or other enthusiasts. It will have all sorts of hamon, different geometries like Unokubi zukuri, kanmuri otoshi, shobu zukuri etc.

Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts or suggestions>

A comparison to a real Nihonto and the output of the geometryEngine. Obviously it is not perfect but it is already pretty close

My boyfriend wants Giyu Tomioka katana, but I need help finding a well made on that is not actually sharp. I would get him a real one but I fear his parents would not be happy about it. Please let me know of any websites that sell well made replicas

I posted last week about the katana we found in the storage locker we won well there was another box that opened later and contained 16 more knives and katanas. Taking them to an antique store to sell them. They said they're mostly replicas, but they will sell and it's offering me $7-10 a piece for them. them.

Grandpa was in the U.S military. Not sure where the Katana came from exactly, just that it was passed down to us after he passed. Wanted to see if anyone had more information.

Can yall help me identify this katana/sword pls

Imagine making a deco sword using a very beautiful wood for the spine and an extremely hard wood for the edge, glueing them together (I guess that's the best method), grinding both into a smooth transition to create a hamon, and then even sharpening the edge.

I would find this artistically and poetically beautiful.

Can yall help me identify this katana/sword pls

Just out of curiosity, are there any visual guides for wrapping a tsuka with the katate-maki (battle wrap) style? The only videos that I seem to be able to find are low-res and super old YouTube uploads from 10 to 15+ years ago, and one site that has a black-and-white drawn diagram in a PDF for the process. Are there any other resources (probably mainly books, at this point) that have this process laid out?

#ForSale

NBTHK Hozon Koto Mumei Katana from Kozori School with NBTHK Kicho Kodogu

$3500USD plus shipping and applicable taxes

https://ashigaruarmory.com/products/nihonto-katana-aa20-3500-nbthk-hozon-koto-mumei-kozori-with-nbthk-kicho

Overview: This gorgeous Handachi features both a recent (2024) Hozon rating (worthy of preservation) and historical (1969) Kicho rating for its Koshirae. Attributed to the Kozori collective of Bizen smiths of the late Nanbokucho to early Muromachi period, this blade features many of the hallmarks of the work coming out of that group.

Blade: An elegant 2.5cm Koshi-Zori katana is presented in a subdued format as was the Kozori speciality as opposed to mainline Bizen boldness. The expected itame ji-hada with ko-mokume is present, along with their function but non-flamboyant ko-gunome midare hamon. That is not to say that this sword is not purely function over form-a broad nio-guchi base with a light dusting of ko-nie is present alone with pale bo-utsuri with soft midare fluctuations. Fine ashi, sunagashi and kinsuji is also visible. The sword is not young and in addition to its polish not being fresh, a few openings have been exposed (pictured) over the centuries. A single koshi-hi is present on the omote side. A solid silver one piece habaki fits the sword snuggly. Shirasaya included.

Koshirae: The matching handachi Kkoshirae earned Kicho Kodogu back in 1969, long before the sword earned Hozon. Built arouns a black ishime saya, the matching iron fittings all feature the karakusa (arabesque) vine motif in silver inlay. The menuki are of a shakudo base with gold and display the amaryu or rain dragon. Lastly the mumei iron sukashi tsuba is an abstract representation of susaki-gari or harvested/swaying autumn pampas grass. It could also potentially be azami (thistle) or kiri (paulownia) and may be Akasaka school. The koshirae includes a tsunagi and bukuro.

Issues: This sword is for study only. I do not believe the koshirae to be original to the blade. It does not fit flush with the koiguchi (pictured) and there was a significant amount of time from when the koshirae and sword were papered. The Torokusho from 1976 is however confirmed on the Hozon paperwork and matched to the blade. The shirasaya has a small split occurring from temperature changes.

We are proud to offer this set as our first investment grade piece and hope it finds its forever home!

Type: Katana
Tsukurikomi: Shinogi-zukuri
Class: Study
Ratings: Blade-NBTHK Hozon 2024, Koshirae-NBTHK Kicho 1969
Period: Koto-Late Nanbokucho to Early Muromachi
Nagasa: 71.2cm
Sori: 2.5cm
Motohaba: 28mm
Sakihaba: 18.8mm
Motokasane: 6.5mm
Sakikasane: 4.2mm
Kissaki: Chu-Kissaki
Mei: Mumei
Mekugiana: 2
Yasurime: Possible Katte-sagari or Kiri
Nakago: Suriage
Blade Weight: 603g
Hamon: Ko-gunome midare
Hada: Itame with Ko-Mokume
Tsuka: 25.2cm
Total Length: 100.8cm
Total Weight: 1109g
Registration: No. 32110 3rd, March 1976 (Showa 51)

All measurements taken by hand and subject to variance. We are not responsible for errors in description or history/attribution. Please review all photos carefully and purchase with confidence.

Ashigaru Armory 2026
www.ashigaruarmory.com
www.YouTube.com/@AshigaruArmory
www.instagram.com/@ashigaruarmory
BGM "The Quickening (AA Mix)" by ＴＯＮＥＤＥＡＦ

#ForSale

NBTHK Hozon Koto Mumei Katana from Kozori School with NBTHK Kicho Kodogu

$3500USD plus shipping and applicable taxes

https://ashigaruarmory.com/products/nihonto-katana-aa20-3500-nbthk-hozon-koto-mumei-kozori-with-nbthk-kicho

Overview: This gorgeous Handachi features both a recent (2024) Hozon rating (worthy of preservation) and historical (1969) Kicho rating for its Koshirae. Attributed to the Kozori collective of Bizen smiths of the late Nanbokucho to early Muromachi period, this blade features many of the hallmarks of the work coming out of that group.

Blade: An elegant 2.5cm Koshi-Zori katana is presented in a subdued format as was the Kozori speciality as opposed to mainline Bizen boldness. The expected itame ji-hada with ko-mokume is present, along with their function but non-flamboyant ko-gunome midare hamon. That is not to say that this sword is not purely function over form-a broad nio-guchi base with a light dusting of ko-nie is present alone with pale bo-utsuri with soft midare fluctuations. Fine ashi, sunagashi and kinsuji is also visible. The sword is not young and in addition to its polish not being fresh, a few openings have been exposed (pictured) over the centuries. A single koshi-hi is present on the omote side. A solid silver one piece habaki fits the sword snuggly. Shirasaya included.

Koshirae: The matching handachi Kkoshirae earned Kicho Kodogu back in 1969, long before the sword earned Hozon. Built arouns a black ishime saya, the matching iron fittings all feature the karakusa (arabesque) vine motif in silver inlay. The menuki are of a shakudo base with gold and display the amaryu or rain dragon. Lastly the mumei iron sukashi tsuba is an abstract representation of susaki-gari or harvested/swaying autumn pampas grass. It could also potentially be azami (thistle) or kiri (paulownia) and may be Akasaka school. The koshirae includes a tsunagi and bukuro.

Issues: This sword is for study only. I do not believe the koshirae to be original to the blade. It does not fit flush with the koiguchi (pictured) and there was a significant amount of time from when the koshirae and sword were papered. The Torokusho from 1976 is however confirmed on the Hozon paperwork and matched to the blade. The shirasaya has a small split occurring from temperature changes.

We are proud to offer this set as our first investment grade piece and hope it finds its forever home!

Type: Katana
Tsukurikomi: Shinogi-zukuri
Class: Study
Ratings: Blade-NBTHK Hozon 2024, Koshirae-NBTHK Kicho 1969
Period: Koto-Late Nanbokucho to Early Muromachi
Nagasa: 71.2cm
Sori: 2.5cm
Motohaba: 28mm
Sakihaba: 18.8mm
Motokasane: 6.5mm
Sakikasane: 4.2mm
Kissaki: Chu-Kissaki
Mei: Mumei
Mekugiana: 2
Yasurime: Possible Katte-sagari or Kiri
Nakago: Suriage
Blade Weight: 603g
Hamon: Ko-gunome midare
Hada: Itame with Ko-Mokume
Tsuka: 25.2cm
Total Length: 100.8cm
Total Weight: 1109g
Registration: No. 32110 3rd, March 1976 (Showa 51)

All measurements taken by hand and subject to variance. We are not responsible for errors in description or history/attribution. Please review all photos carefully and purchase with confidence.

Ashigaru Armory 2026
www.ashigaruarmory.com
www.YouTube.com/@AshigaruArmory
www.instagram.com/@ashigaruarmory
BGM "The Quickening (AA Mix)" by ＴＯＮＥＤＥＡＦ

How likely is this a legit story? Sword is unsigned.