I just bought this item from Ebay - any thoughts ?

[Prepeleac]

I have purchased this tanto - please kindly let me know what you think about it. It is my first sword and I hope I wasn't off that much. To my limited knowledge it looks like a good quality nice piece.

Item number: 280950446166

[Jiro49]

May I ask why you bought this tanto? Was it the name or the blade?

 

Respectfully,

[Prepeleac]

I think is a combination of both. It seemed like a very nice/old blade.

Thank you

[Prepeleac]

What are your opinions about this?

[Brian]

Please sign all posts with a name, thanks.

Considering most of us will have seen it on eBay, and yours was ultimately the only bid on it....afraid that tells it all.

It isn't a Masamune (at least THE Masamune) and the age can only be told by a shinsa. A Japanese seller would not list a valuable blade on eBay like this.

So basically, you have to treat it as any unsigned blade, and not sure there is $3K value there.

But it's genuine, and probably has some age to it, so if the condition is ok you got a genuine tanto, with a horimono that looks a bit dodgy.

 

Brian

[Marius]

Brian is right, although he was very diplomatic. The horimono is very very bad, and it has most likely been added to the blade to hide some flaw.

 

I am sorry, but you could have done better than that.

[Prepeleac]

Thank you

 

C. Crismaru

[Jiro49]

So its an expensive lesson. I would bet most of us have spent about that in mistakes over the years. But if you like it, that is what counts.

 

Now that you have joined the nmb you will learn a lot and will make better purchases in the future.

 

Respectfully,

[Jean]

I did a lot worse, but now believe me, I have learnt the lessons and all my new swords are top notch and I did not pay them more than the previous ones but they are 100% better, that is experience

[Prepeleac]

I got the seller to reduce the price to half and learned my lesson. I wonder if it is worth even that much. Btw - there is a pic of the area under the horimono - and it looks ok. Is the tanto worth even that (1500$)?

Chip C

[Marius]

I got the seller to reduce the price to half and learned my lesson. I wonder if it is worth even that much. Btw - there is a pic of the area under the horimono - and it looks ok. Is the tanto worth even that (1500$)?

 

Chip,

 

well done, that is good news :-) As for the sword's value... You will find out as soon as you put it up for sale, I am afraid. It really makes no sense to speculate now.

[Prepeleac]

I don't think I will put it up for sale for a while - since it is my first sword. I will post ample pics and might try to get it evaluated.

Chip C

[Brian]

At $1500, I don't think it is a bad price..about the average for a nice mumei tanto. However whether it is "nice" or not, you will have to determine once you get it. If there are no fatal or major flaws, I think you will do ok.

As for bargaining a price down after you purchase it...

 

Brian

[hxv]

May I ask how you managed to half the price after you paid for it in full?

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Prepeleac]

It has been advertised as made and signed by The Great Masamune - on EBAY - which is false advertisement. I offered to pay half or retract the bid. The seller said he is "very, very sad" and that is "his last sword " and that he is an "honest man" it comes "with papers and it is a genuine contemporary to ".

What if it is? Begginers luck - would be the omen invoked...

Thank you

Chip C

[hxv]

Very good for you to call him on it. You are lucky as the seller could challenge you to prove that it's not by THE Masamune. You will have to waste time and money on the NTHK/NBTHK process.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Prepeleac]

Oh ... I'm sorry to have done that - but I got all this concerned feedback from you guys - it sounded like a newbie's big mistake and I panicked and conversed with the seller. I just didn't want to be taken advantage of... But if it turns out to be a genuine extremely rare and precious blade I will pay the difference...

Chip C

[paulb]

If it turned out to be a genuine blade by the smith it is claimed to be, you could afford to pay him 10x the difference and still be well in pocket. :D

unfortunately the chances of it being by the named smith are about as high as me winning the lottery.

[Eric H]

but I got all this concerned feedback from you guys

 

Actually you have saved $ 1‘500.00 based on the comments of the guys. Have you taken in consideration to donate some money in favor of the Board?

 

Eric

[Prepeleac]

And in an effort to reward such generous donation the board would then provide me with a tanto made by "The Great One" ...And we would be on David Letterman and The Morning Show...as I am planning my retirenment and write a book called "The tanto - the real story"...

Chip C

[Prepeleac]

But overall - from the pics, guys - does it look like a nice tanto for it's age?

Thank you

Chip C

[Mark]

And in an effort to reward such generous donation the board would then provide me with a tanto made by "The Great One" ...And we would be on David Letterman and The Morning Show...as I am planning my retirenment and write a book called "The tanto - the real story"...

Chip C

 

not sure i understand this comment. We try to be helpful to all who ask. Eric's comment was just a simple reminder that the help is free but there is a cost to run the board and if you have had a large financial benefit from the help you might make a small donation to offset the cost of the operation to show your appreciation. maybe ijust misunderstand the meaning of your comment.

[Prepeleac]

I apologize dear sir... I am new to all of this. With all due respect sir , I would not mind making a donation down the road but usually the rule of conversation is if somebody says something outrageous it is ok to go down that path. While I appreciate the imput of the members that helped a new member that possibly got burned due to his lack of experience, I do find it outrageous to be requested to make a large donation (1,500$) which is the equivalent of what I saved after a process of negotiation. I did not get a professional analysis of the item I did not have extensive talks with anyone. 1500$ is a lot of money for me and by extrapolation likely to most of us and I want to express my gratitude and respect for your opinions in regards to my purchase which simply put came down to: it is a mistake to pay that much for that item and we all got burned in the begining.

That is the only reason I continued down on the path of humor and by no means I tried to be disrespectful or cynical without provocation. I truly value any imputs I can get since I'm a newby and I do hope that the begining of the this path is going to be under good auspices.

Respectfully, Chip C

[Mark]

Chip

 

maybe you did not understand, the suggestion was you might want to make a SMALL donation, like $15 or $25 that would represent 1% of what you saved. i do not think anyone even suggested you donate $1500, no one would even think of anything like that. we are not here for the money, it is just nice when someone uses our help they show a minimal amount of appreciation

[Prepeleac]

Yes Sir, I would be honored. I just didn't want to be misunderstood. That's all.

Thank you

Chip C

[Marius]

You will forgive me, but I think the remark about a donation was quite inappropriate. Newbies come here for help, and not for being pressured to make donations. Once a member understand and appreciates the value of this Forum, he/she is free to make a donation. Especially when making a sale thanks to this Board.

 

But starting with such a suggestion, be it concerning even a small donation makes me feel quite embarrassed.

 

Sorry about this Chip. Don't worry, keep coming here, you are always welcome.

[Prepeleac]

Absolutely not a problem. The fault is all mine. I have a sense of humor that gets me in trouble at times. I am privileged to be talking to people like you with appreciation for this form of art, history, craftsmanship tied together with the magic patina of Japanese old rigor and honor. I cannot wait to get my tanto and post ample pics of it for your consideration.

Thank you

[Tcat]

I have a sense of humor that gets me in trouble at times.

 

Hello there good sir! Always good to see a kindred spirit..

[Brian]

I appreciate Eric's sentiment...but also agree with Marius (who is a regular contributor)

Contributions are always appreciated and help the forum, but are never compulsory and I would hate for ppl to feel obligated or pressured.

For the record, the OP has indeed made a contribution for which I am grateful. It would be foolish and counter-productive to ban all comments about contributions (I am not crazy :lol: ) but will make sure they don't intrude, or make ppl feel obligated. So a and a

 

:D

 

Brian

[almeister]

Hi Chip ,

In the unlikely event that you have purchased a blade by " The Masamune " ( from memory - active somewhere around the 1300's - he is the smith who evolutionised the way blades were made for strength/flexibility back then & his ways are still practised now ) I have a documentory dvd where the host goes into Masamune story - the hosts stated that " all " Masamune blades are considered "National Treasures" & also stated that many collectors had sent them back to Japan because of this ( ?? - whether or not they were paid a considerable amount for returning the blades - wasn't mentioned ) As stated you're facing the same odds as winning the lotto to stumble across one of these . However I'm sure there may be the odd one or so out there that someone isn't willing to give back . It would also be interesting to get some feedback with regards to the statement I quoted from the documentory - as I've also heard there's a Masamune blade on display at a museum outside of Japan as well ?

Welcome to Nihonto Chip !

Cheers , Alan