still interested in learning whether this is likely fukuoka ichimonji, or any bizen ichimonji. any kantei guesses?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/K-JAPANESE-TACH ... 231d3f6213

also, is the cut on the nakago really an "ichi" or not? it just looks like a random scar to me.

do the large ware in the final pictures look problematic or is that not unreasonable in a koto blade?

please no comments about the seller or the sale itself so that the post doesn't get deleted by mods.

thanks!

At your current level of study, advice is to buy something papered.
If you live in the North America, advice also is to do it from an American source.
Wait for the right item, and then haggle until you are happy with the deal.

Otherwise, you are really pissing forward into a strong wind.
Customs issues, brutal currency rate, and ebay pillow promises of what something is/isn't?

I think the previous thread was correct, but see it is gone now. A ware or two in a koto blade is fairly common, but that is irrelevant here.
If you are determined to piss into the wind, please let us stand way back now.

If you persist in this, I don't think you will be around very long.

I note the sale has been pulled. For the sake of clarity:
1. from what I can see I do not think this sword is Fukuoka, Yoshioka or ko-Ichimonji. The hamon shows some Choji flamouyance in it but the shape, look condition and nakago all suggest it is later, much later.
2. Without specifically commenting on the seller who I have no experience of, any dealer in Japan who seriously believes they have an Ichimonji blade in reasonable polish would not put it on ebay at a starting bid of $500.
3. In support of Curran's comments. if you are starting do not use ebay to find a bargain, one time in 100 you might find something of merit, but more likely you will be dissappointed.
Find a good local dealer and build a relationship with them. In thirty years of buying I have never had a bad deal from a recognised dealer, they just cant afford to upset their client base.
There is no wish to be rude or unkind in these comments but it is sad and frustrating when hopeful beginners continue to post this type of thread in the niaive anticipation that there really are national treasures on ebay for a song. For every positive tale you hear there are thousands of bad experiences.

Read Paul's reply first.
He has much more tact and elegance than that of which I am normally capable.

~At 6am with no coffee, I wrote the most restrained reply I could.~

Hello,

It must be the most easiest signature to GIMEI -

Also, $500 as a starter and no bids. That is a teller for sure.

Without a MEI it would for sure be sold for at least double that amount.

/Martin

thanks everyone. don't worry, i don't really post my occasional ebay questions because i'm thinking of buying from there, it's more that i'm trying to train my eye and confirm what i think i'm seeing. i do heed the advice of trying to study higher end pieces (i attend token kai every year, have a growing collection of books including the sano bizen ichimonji book, go the museums when an exhibit comes by) whenever i can in order to learn, but i feel like it's a worthwhile skill to be able to clearly recognize stuff at the bottom end, or blades that are being misrepresented too.

for example, sometimes people i know will bring me a showa-to and ask about it -- i think it's important to be able to look at things like that and be able to say with some confidence whether something is traditionally made or not.

i do love koto bizen blades though, and i would like to be able to recognize a good deal on even a lower end piece if i saw one (e.g. sukesada), whether on ebay or a token kai, or in someone's garage. but i readily acknowledge that i am a relative novice who's just slowly learning, so i do appreciate all the cautionary statements.

in this case, i'll consider my suspicions confirmed. thanks.

for what it's worth (and i realize it means little), the bidding went up to over $5000 before the seller pulled it.

that would still be about 10% of what it would be worth if it had been right

: )

Yeah, pulled it... I am drawing conclusions to that and those conclusions I keep to myself.

"pulled it" would be draw back object from auction..or?

/Martin

Yes, and this seller does it on a regular basis. No sense to waste time with him. And... no hidden gems on eBay