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Also remember that not everyone is a blade collector. Many are sword collectors ie the whole package together with untouched koshirae. Not everyone is an elitist blade hunter. If that is your “thing” - fine but don’t assume others even want to follow the same path. The sword collector most likely has a whole different set of objectives and tolerances which could easily mean accepting an unimportant blade or one in poor condition in return for some nice fittings. It has already been said above I’m sure but judging what others enjoy collecting based on your own views is irrelevant

This Naminohira Rayhan mentioned is such a beautiful piece. Plus it s ubu https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A060224.html I was going to get it but something I liked more came up so I had to pass. Naminohira has always been one of my favorite schools and they tend to be priced low and overlooked as a more functional school lacking in artistic features. It is also one of the only school where I prefer their Sue over their Ko counterpart

On the other hand, if it really is the aesthetics of the blade that captivate you, it may be a $1500 blade that is "just right", even if you could afford $50K. It's not going to be "that name" with "that history"... but that's not always important. It may be something else entirely that is the goal of the purchase. My last blade was a sad little overpolished and belt sanded wakizashi for $150... and it's a wreck, but I'm learning lots from it, and will have fun making koshirae for it.

Thank you for your service. Happy to help.

There you go, proof one can work out what a sword is from images, well done to all.

Personally, I think that a modified nakago like this would be considered ubu by shinsa.

Here some more pictures. best regards John

Thanks, I was curious about this being reshaped as you mentioned as well as the Niji Kunitoshi I saw at the SF show had a description as the nakago being ubu but also has a kiri jiri type nakago-jiri. It seemed a bit odd to me but the translation of the sayagaki and setsumei both say ubu. So I wonder if maybe just the tip was slightly altered but the nakago otherwise remains the same and if that still counts as ubu.

First of all - modification the nakago-jiri is my assumption. Not shins opinion However, I would expect iriyamagata-jiri for an early Yamato blade. It is very unusual for Hoki Here's Markus' full translation of setsumei if anyone is interested: Tachi, Mumei: Yasutsuna (安綱) Measurements Nagasa 80.4 cm, sori 2.8 cm, motohaba 3.0 cm, sakihaba 1.7 cm, kissaki-nagasa 2.7 cm, nakago-nagasa 23.6 cm, nakago-sori 0.6 cm Description Keijō: shinogi-zukuri iori-mune, slender mihaba, noticeable taper, deep koshizori, sori also decreases somewhat towards the tip, funbari, ko-kissaki Kitae: rather standing-out itame that is mixed with mokume and that features ji-nie, much chikei and jifu, the steel is blackish Hamon: nie-laden ko-midare that is mixed with ko-gunome, ko-chōji, many ashi and yō, some small tobiyaki that appears in an intermittent manner, nijūba-like elements, and kinsuji and sunagashi Bōshi: sugu with a rather pointed kaeri and tending with much hakikake to kaen Horimono: on both sides a bōhi that runs as kaki-nagashi into the tang Nakago: ubu, iriyamagata-jiri, yasurime are indiscernible, one mekugi-ana, mumei Explanation Yasutsuna (安綱) was the most representative smith of the Ko-Hōki group and the meikan date his active period around Daidō (大同, 806–810). The style of existing works, however, suggests that he was active somewhat later, that is, probably in the late Heian period. Among surviving signed Ko-Hōki works, relatively many go back to Yasutsuna, and the smith is particularly famous for his meibutsu Dōjigiri-Yasutsuna (童基切安綱). This blade has with its slender mihaba, deep koshizori, and funbari an elegant tachi-sugata. The kitae is a standing-out itame that features chikei, jifu, and ji-nie, and the steel is blackish. The hamon is a nie-laden ko-midare that is mixed with ko-gunome and other elements. Thus, the blade is of a classical elegance that reflects very well the typical style of Ko-Hōki works, is of an excellent deki as well, and we are in agreement that the attribution should be to Yasutsuna.

Funny, selling my collection of Star Wars Legends Comics is what allowed me to purchase my first gunto May the force be with you, -Sam

64. …bought my first german trench knife on the flea market. I was 18 then and it cost me DM10,-

I really like Hizen's work, I think he's too underrated.

In the case of a nakago where the nakago-jiri has been changed but not shortened, would that still be considered ubu?

I am going to look over all you sent. But I feel so much more relaxed after seeing some of the Nihonto sale listings. Now I can see there is not going to be a shortage of options now or in the future. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to help me. In fact I feel so much more calm now I can finally go to sleep. I have been awake for a few days looking at Nihonto and posting and talking to people. So I will have questions after I am rested and clear minded. Lol. Truly appreciate this. I am a registered nurse and I am used to helping people but not used to people actually helping me.

53. Jumped fully into nihonto collecting at the end of 2022….. former Star Wars collector for most my life and always had a passion for Japanese swords and decided to switch my focus and haven’t looked back….. big Star Wars collection helped me secure some quite beautiful introductory swords.

Based solely on the pictures, #1 fooled me because of the very first kanji. In the picture, the lower ‘hook’ angles down, but in the oshigata (provided later) the lower ‘hook’ curves upward. In the mei I have witnessed, Tadahiro’s first kanji the lower ‘hook’ curves upward. Maybe it was the slight angle the blade was laying at when the pic of the nakago was taken, but you can see the difference between the photo and oshigata. Guess it pays to have all the info before trying to make a determination.

Wow this is gorgeous and I’m my own country too. Where you located mate? &nbsp

This looks very much like a Norimitsu. Nakago shape is very distinctive of this school from that era. Is this papered?

The lowest serial number that I have recorded is #4, and the source is Donald Barnes, which is also listed in Dawsons. The lowest number I've ever seen online (with my own eyes), is #71 with matching saya. Shared here on the NMB earlier this year. 161 is very low, and would be a valuable addition to any Japanese military sword collection. But for 9k?! I’d rather have a papered koto blade in nice polish If anyone has questions regarding 95s, I'm always happy to share what i've gathered. All the best, -Sam

Hello, Selling this mumei Wakizashi in Shirasaya Some ware forging imperfections on Shinogi can be observed. The polish is relatively fresh. Total length of the blade: 61.8cm Nagasa: 47.3cm Sori: 1.2cm 650eur excluding shipping Sergio Martins

Hmmm interesting.....Well done. Separately, I can support what has been already said by various parties. This is an outstanding blade and actually I would say it looks much better than the school it is usually associated with. In other words, its jigane and jihada are much finer and much tighter than the school's. However, the nie is excellent as one would expect of the master

12 of them are ubu for Juyo Another 8 for Jubi/JuBun/Kokuho

How many of those are ubu?

I also saw this amazing blade in May. One of the standout pieces in a collection of superlative swords. I was truly honoured to have the chance to see this masterpiece in person. With a nagasa of 80.4, excellent deki and ubu all means this is a very important example of ko-Hoki workmanship by one of the periods pre-eminent smiths.

Ok let us ignore the Hanwei stuff/ China replica as they have no bearing here. Instead we will look at O-Kissaki to start. Most collectors new and old have some love for O-Kissaki but on that mountain there are Kings (none in your budget) and there are outliers that can be surprising. When looking at O-Kissaki you will have 3 eras to observe. We know O-Kissaki started in the Nanbokucho era and some can be found in the early Muromachi period then going into the ShinShinto eras and finally you get them in Modern times. Some of the Kings of O-Kissaki are: Nanbokucho (Koto) Chogi, Shizu, Naoe Shizu, Nobukuni, Kencho, Hasabe, Motoshige, Kanemitsu, Norishige (period specific, he later changed to Heian Sugata), Kunimitsu, etc, etc but to help you see them you can see these links (not for buying but observing, I am using online links as most people do not buy books anymore, why? no idea.) * Note that in the downloads section in the NMB you will find a lot of material also. https://markussesko.com/articles/ https://www.sho-shin.com/ https://www.nihonto-museum.com/collection/masamune-no-jittetsu https://www.nihonto-museum.com/collection/sadamune-no-santetsu From the Muromachi you will see things like this: https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords2/KT219471.htm (not exactly O-Kissaki but still a powerful Sugata. I have seen this one in hand in Osaka and I think the day will come when it walks into TJ, but that is another thread). Going into the ShinShinto you will see the kings of O-Kissaki are Satsuma, Kiyomaro and his school https://www.nihonto-museum.com/collection/satsuma-province-swordsmiths https://taiseido.biz/products/detail/pg93.html Those are just a few examples. But you have a budget so scouring through what little liks I have in your budget we can find a few items like so (Japan only as you want to buy there) I have taken liberty to go from 400K to 800K JPY. https://www.tsuruginoya.com/items/a00646.html https://www.tsuruginoya.com/items/a00659.html (Naginata Naoshi, not O-Kissaki but might still get the heart pumping. Note that Naginata Naoshi do not retain value very well and is a have a specific type of collector that appreciates them) https://world-seiyudo.com/product/ska-120124/ (will paper for sure) https://www.sanmei.com/contents/media/S72306_S1304_PUP_E.html (will not paper because the smith is still living, I think?) https://www.samurai-nippon.net/smp/item/P-988.html 9not magnificent O-Kissaki but a nice Kissaki in terms of shape, condition is another story) https://www.samurai-nippon.net/smp/item/P-811.html 9more of an Iaido sword, smith is still alive) https://www.samurai-nippon.net/smp/item/P-911.html (Nobukuni has archetypical sword styles and this isn't really one of them but for the sugata it is ok. Condition is polished down so you might be buying a sugata and shape you like but very little to learn from) https://www.samurai-nippon.net/smp/item/P-846.html (strange one but papered. Condition issues as polished down and Muromachi) https://www.samurai-nippon.net/smp/item/P-878.html (not O-Kissaki but nice Sugata and could be papered in the future with Koshirae it would be a nice starter) https://www.samurai-nippon.net/smp/item/P-467.html (Issues on the Nakago, Massive sword, unkown school but has papers, needs a polish to bring out the disco) https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords5/NT329440.htm (will paper in the future, I think the smith is still alive) https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords11/NT334358.htm (will paper, to get masame right on a sword this long is a feat on its own, but needs a polish maybe) https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/en/product/ichiran/tachi_and_katana These are a few suggestions based on your O-Kissaki comment but if you want to narrow it further then Era, Hamon, Jigane, etc needs to come into play. There is no shame in buying a ShinShinto to Modern sword if forged well and has elements of learning just for the Hamon, Jigane, hataraki and such. If you want something more in the future you will have no issues selling them (especially if papered) and then going forward. No you do not need to lose money but be smart about it. Now in Unicorn teritory you will find swords at high prices but keep in mind that Unicorns have specific buyers and you have to hold it for a long time as oposed to fater moving lower priced items. Remember that when you really know what you want, gravitating to a Unicorn and having just the one sword collection is an achievement on its own. You dont have to have Osaka castles collection to have a great sword collection, you just need that one. And no, do not just buy what you like, you will like a lot of stuff at this stage, the point is to progress. We all had lots of lovers but in general we are working through a process of elimination to find the one. Before you go gallivanting into dealers in Japan please learn the proper etiquette before hand of handelling the swords as mistakes here will get you thrown out and the community is so small that word spreds. You won't find anything after that. Also make appointments and send them the links to the swords you want to see. Buy from the right dealers and you will build a great relationship. Buy from the sharks and you will be used and abused all week. Caution: Aoi Art swords: This dealer is very approachable and it is hit and miss with them so you really need to know what you are looking at and for. https://www.aoijapan.com/img/sword/2025/25235-2.jpg https://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-sakuyo-bakkashi-hosokawa-masamori-kao/ (One of my favorite ShinShinto smiths) Others you might like: https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A060224.html https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A101024.html https://www.e-sword.jp/katana/2510-1069.htm (The interesting thing with swords like this is they will paper if the Mei is intact and the smith is no longer alive. Then you really have a full parcel) https://www.samurai-nippon.net/smp/item/P-852.html (condition issues) When you narrow stuff down we can go into pro and con of each, at this price range there are always cons and it is an accepted known.