Flea Market Find

[Kinnan]

Hello to all!

I hope I've come to the right place to help identify the maker and date of this sword I bought at a local flea market last saterday.

I know a little about antiques in general, but old weapons are unchartered territory for me.

Unfortunately there is a lot of damage, the tip is even broken off, something that is apparently considered a 'fatal flaw' (from what I've read so far). After some further reading I've managed to remove the handle to revael what could be a signature of the maker, hopefully someone will be able to translate.

But the fact that it had a certain degree of quality about it, and the fact the young lady only wanted 10 euros (about 11 dollars) for it, I took a gamble and bought it.

Many thanks in advance!

Kinnan.

[Kinnan]

The rest of the signatures

[mywei]

Looks a legit nihonto at least. Pity about the boshi

Edit: 備中国於松山若州冬広作之

Bitchu kuni oite Matsuyama Jakushu Fuyuhiro saku kore

Nengo dated at Eiroku 2, August

[Kinnan]

The actual damage

[John A Stuart]

That isn't starting off Rai 来 is it? John

[Kinnan]

A better picture of the first 2 kanji of the other inscription under better lighting (don't think it resembles the 'rai' kanji (is that a correct terminology? Do correct me if I'm wrong, as this can become quite a learnfull experience for me)and also total picture.

Thanks already for the fast replies!

 

 

Kinnan.

[Geraint]

Well Kinnan,

 

I wish my first sword was that good!  If the tip problem is fatal it will have gone through the hamon, if not then it might be fixable though it would still detract.  However the fittings!  That looks like a shakudo tsuba and the rest of them look nice.  The missing kurikata would be easy to replace and with a little cleaning and the rebind of the hilt the whole thing will look really nice.

 

For 10 euro you did well.

 

All the best.

[ROKUJURO]

Kinnan,

the KANJI on the first photos are the date, but I can't read it. The other side shows the MEI.

I have the impression that the whole package was a quite valuable one in the past, and it may be well worth to have a skilled craftsman look after it. If the broken KISSAKI is really fatal, will be seen then.

Don't try any 'repair' by yourself! 

[Jamie]

You got this for a very reasonable price. Since you only have the price of restoration to consider.

 

You might try to take a couple more better pics so we can see the hamon line in the tip. This might be restorable. In the picture I can't tell if it's reflection or turnback.

I'd recommend having a professionally trained polished look at it.

[johngdo]

10 euro? Can't go wrong at that price. Amazing find!

 

John

[Ed Harbulak]

To me, the date looks like it's "EiRoku second year 8th month" or 1559. The mei starts out Bitchu Kuni but then the remaining characters aren't quite clear enough for me to make out although I think one of them is Hiro. Some better photos would help and certainly a good picture of the broken tip of the blade. I'd call it a fantastic bargain for the price you paid. 

[Stephen]

One heck of a deal, if you can capture the boshi turnback we can tell if the kissaki can be saved, a good togi can do magic anyway. 

[Kinnan]

Hopefully this will be of a help, it really is very difficult to capture the hamon with a camera, but I did my best.

Also a few sharper images of the mei, and the other inscription.

And a combined picture of the tsuba, kashira and fuchi and in my previous posts I forgot the pictures of the inscription on the kozuka, so here they are. (I'm slowly getting to know some basic terms, realizing there is a completely new world opening up to me, and I'm astouneded by the vast amount of knowledge is shared on this forum... many congrats on that!)

Kinnan

[Jean]

The kissaki looks like it can be saved

[Stephen]

worth a restore IMHO you got it for the price of postage!!  nice fittings!! 

[PhoenixDude]

Nice find! Im so jealous! I like it for the phoenix on the saya alone!

[SAS]

I agree a trained polisher can restore the kissaki; the kurikata can be replaced and the ito rewrapped; you have done well for the money.

[Vermithrax16]

Wow great find! I am NO expert but think kissaki could be saved if the pictures are showing the boshi correct. Maybe re-shape to an ikubi kissaki which I love. Good luck!

[vajo]

Wow! What a deal.

Congratulations!

[ROKUJURO]

......the boshi correct. Maybe re-shape to an ikubi kissaki .....

Jeremiah,

 

re-shaping to a completely different style makes no sense. This would lead to a loss of authenticity and value!

[cisco-san]

Great find!!

[Greg F]

Hi Kinnan and welcome. What an incredible deal you got. I hope you are willing and able to have the blade polished and the koshirae restored by professionals, if so please show it off to us. All the best.

 

Greg

[PNSSHOGUN]

Pictures of the mei are still quite blurry, if you can get some better lighting and crisp pictures and post it in the translation section you might have some luck.

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

What a great start Kinnan  

[Kinnan]

Thank you all for the kind replies!

The more I'm reading about the craftmanship involved in creating these weapons, the more exciting I become.

Judging from the reactions it would be worthwile to restore it, but from what I have read till now, this is a costly process if done the correct way, and since I'm just a waiter in a restaurant, it will take quite some time to get such savings together.

With some natural lighting and a better camera, I've been able to take a much better picture of the mei, so I'll be posting it in the translation section.

 

Kinnan.

[Stephen]

Sir you are young, there is no hurry, learn proper care, save it for later in life, you will appreciate it so much more to realize your its caretaker for the future. 

[dominnimod]

Another option, (if you are still not attached to that beauty  ) would be sell it (the good fittings are a plus) , maybe add a bit and purchase a modest blade in polish with shirasaya ,so you can appreciate the activity and workmanship that goes on these blades.

[johngdo]

Thank you all for the kind replies!

The more I'm reading about the craftmanship involved in creating these weapons, the more exciting I become.

Judging from the reactions it would be worthwile to restore it, but from what I have read till now, this is a costly process if done the correct way, and since I'm just a waiter in a restaurant, it will take quite some time to get such savings together.

With some natural lighting and a better camera, I've been able to take a much better picture of the mei, so I'll be posting it in the translation section.

 

Kinnan.

Worthwhile is a relative term.  Artistically, is it worthwhile?  Absolutely.  Everyone here would love to see what this blade has to offer, providing that kissaki damage doesn't prove to be fatal.  If money is a major factor, it's important to understand that for many (probably most) blades a restoration will not yield a good return on investment financially.  The most important thing is to properly care for it until one day perhaps restoration will make sense.  There is no urgency.

[PhoenixDude]

just a wild guess, probably about 3,000 USD to repolish and fix the koshirae, for probably about a 2,000 USD sword once its restored.

[Stephen]