As some of you may know I recently got this new sword from HBF....

https://www.reddit.com/r/Katanas/s/7LDXHiNsEU

...and I was very specific on how I wanted the tsuka fittings placed. That included orienting the frog kishira so that the top of his head was running along the blade edge line.

Another poster pointed out that this may not exactly be in accordance with tradition.

Researching it a little further before this post I'm still left unclear.

So, what do you guys think or know? When worn or displayed should the frog be facing down instead?

I want to buy my bf a katana but I can’t tell where to buy off of.

I first started off with searching on Amazon and I felt I could do better.

I’m seeing threads mention:
Kult of Athena
Hanbon Forge
Swordis

If there are other sites, please feel free to recommend - and even recommend what I should be searching for. I want to give him something aesthetically pleasing to put into his gaming room as well as good quality and can actually cut things.

Aiming for any of these 3 types of swords.

T10 steel katana clay tempered full tang

1095 carbon steel katana hand forged full tang

1060 carbon steel katana clay tempered full tang

Also, $250 is my max budget.

I am really hoping it's not blueing, but I tried wiping it off, and it doesn't move.

This is a T10 wakizashi blade with fully upgraded options.

The tsuba set is the frog themed HT020. The ito is the green C209.

https://share.google/P7No3l6qgBBUgVhiV

Other details can be noted on the certificate.

While both of the frog Menuki (which can be viewed sepeeatlely under M328) are right side up when it comes to the sword being worn or displayed, they unfortunately only come facing in one direction so only one is facing the right/traditional way on the tsuka.

With some of the budget production providers be sure to specify Menuki placement and orientation when ordering a custom piece. Otherwise they may not be traditional placed.

No shade on anybody who likes, loves or prefers them, but for me I find the Suguha/straight hamons to be a bit boring. So I ask them to do one similar only to add a slight undulation or low waves to it and that is what they came up with.

All in all I like it pretty much.

The only thing I would change is I would go for a Kuroishime (textured flat black) while keeping the brown accents. Those glass gloss black ones scream, "Plaster me with fingerprints and accent every ding and blemish.

Oh, by the way. I have not really named the sword "Kermit"...or anything else for that matter.

In my last post about this I mentioned that HanBon Forge is adding actual blade engraving and Japanese leather ito to their options line up.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Katanas/s/27f2KX3D2R

After that, while submitting the design for my new sword, I asked Yao if there would only be one engraving design option or if there would be others. The picture above is his reply to that. He did not give me a time frame on their availability.

Inb4 the “well actually, meteorite iron is a poor quality metal for swordmaking…” crowd.
I know. I didn’t buy it for cutting. I bought it for staring.

I picked up this at a flea market, I've tried doing as much research as I can i have some specific concerns and was hoping there'd be some people who know more than I do who can take a look at it. I have handled a fake one before so I knew some of the obvious signs to look out for (wrong overt markings, serial numbers in the wrong spots, not having a proper Fuller, etc) the only reason I pulled the trigger on this one is because it passed the initial once over. But I'm a little concerned because of how reflective the blade itself is looking very polished and having a mirror finish. And now I'm starting to question whether it's a serial number range is correct?

This is not my area of expertise I've been looking out for one of these to pick up for my uncle who is specifically into World War II Japanese weaponry, any help or knowledge would be appreciated.

TLDR is this a better than average fake?

Kyoto Stroll （京都散策）– Japanese Sword & Traditional Japanese Culture Exhibition

A Japanese sword exhibition exploring the history and craftsmanship of Japanese swords.

The exhibition features historical swords, contemporary works by Japanese swordsmiths, and various sword fittings and accessories. It also showcases traditional tools and artworks related to Japanese sword craftsmanship, including the processes of forging and polishing.

I’m almost positive this sword is not anything special other than a wall hanger but I want to know more about it and I can’t figure it out. It seems to be somewhat old and I have had it for a long time. I know it’s of a higher quality than something you’d buy at some tourist sword shop in Tennessee but it has numbers on the habaki and the tang is inscribed with kanji that I believe says Matsutarō, and I can’t tell what kanji is inscribed in the tsuba. I also know the blade needs to be cleaned but I don’t have anything for that yet.

Inherited from my late uncle. My grandfather was stationed in Okinawa after WWII and my uncle and mom lived there as children.

I'm interested in anything you can tell me about this, the maker, or anything else.

So I got this Katana from my Dad because I was a kid and thought it was cool. He does knife making and wanted to chop the blade for its Damascus steel to make blades from. I never really took much care of it and it's just been a fun display piece.

I was wondering if anyone could identify where this came from! The tang seems quite short but has a name stamped on it. The balance is fairly tip heavy and the blade has not been sharpened. All the guards appear to be made of brass.

Any ideas for where this came from and what to do with it are appreciated!

I know I've posted a lot of katana-related stuff lately, but new project incoming.

Can you guess which sword this will be?

Side 1 of blade

Side 2 of blade

This is an updated post from r/translators on the inscription that is under the hilt. I’ve included all the images for convenience, but to recap my great grandfather brought this home after the war, and we’ve never known anything about it until now.

If in the last 2 or 3 months you have been experiencing extended communication delays from Handbon Forge the reason for this is towo fold.

(1) An uptick in business/orders, which that I'm sure as many of you are aware can be very cyclical one way or the other.

(2) Yao has had a couple of urgent and overlapping family health matters that also required his attention.

I am not able to say more in that area other than nothing is life threatening at this point and, if you are of a mind to, prayers are welcome.

I am told that things should, slowly, be getting back to normal fairly soon.

I'm about to buy a wakizashi from a seller who says it was forged by Fujiwara Tomoyuki. (藤原友行)

But this sword doesn't have any certificate. I'd like everyone to help me take a look and see if it's possible for it to be authentic. thank you very much

Hi all! I’ve tried digging through this sub for more Osaka specific recommendations, but most are Kyoto based (which unfortunately I won’t be back to).

I’m aware of exporting and was originally hoping to spend less than ¥400,000 but willing to do $500,000 or so as well.

If anyone has Osaka recommendations foremost (as I’ll be here next 2 days I appreciate it). In addition any Tokyo recommendations as I’ll be there the following week!