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How about getting random wound picture, adding it to offer with a nicely made up story, counting that there people that will consider this as a plus for the sword. BTW, you will never believe what people can do. I saw an accident at my Dojo, where a young boy 'earned' 4 stiches while using Iaito ... How? Well, he took a big swing and stabbed himself behind back, with Kissaki (still pointy, even on dull Iaito) in calf (seems they are a nice target).

Tokyo-nihonto often deals in that price range. Nice website and photography and is a forum member.

雲林院 - Unrinin Ref. Unrin-in Temple (雲林院) - Hidden Gems in Kyoto

Dear all, i have trouble with this mei especially the 3rd kanji. First two maybe Unshū? thanks for any help, best regards John

Thank you for the is very detailed info it really helped me out a lot. After researching more it seems the signature says bushu ju masakata and it seems like he was active around the late edo period. It also seemed like this style of tsuba is a pretty common bushu theme.

Thank you Nicholas, I appreciate it

@deadreconing11 looks like it. The 3rd character is hard to see due to the mekugi ana. But there are also probably more forged than real signatures of Minamoto Kiyomaro. I’d wait for someone more experienced to chime in.

Holy crap really?

I have sent you a PM with some advice. I would personally not opt for a dealer polish when buying your first blade. You want a well polished blade, not a blade that still needs polishing (which can expose flaws, or be done crudely) Greetings, Lex

Any time period for my first Nihonto. I’m thinking active Hamon. Really I am so overly excited/anxious I just want to get something so I can settle down and take my time before trying to find something more expensive and knowing what I want more. what do you think about this Nihonto? They will polish it for 50,000yen more. https://shop.nihontou.jp/products/detail/29510

When someone looks for a Hozon papered katana at around 2K then the supply is simply on the low end. You will certainly encounter dealers in Japan selling swords for this price, often with some defects. Many of these blades will be sold between dealers or without ever going on any website. I think dealers in Europe and the US will be less tempted to deal in lower end blades because they won’t have a high profit margin. I think this particular market is extremely underrepresented by dealers, there is a lot of demand for blades in the 2-3K region sold within the EU or US. There is just a lot more to gain when you sell higher end blades, even if you wouldn’t sell them as quickly as a lower end blade. The lower end market is currently mostly populated by EBay sellers or sellers like @PNSSHOGUN listed. They offer blades for a low price, but often without papers or with defects.

I believe it’s minamoto kiyomaro

Davo you don't want that did you expand the blade and see all the lamination folds exposed, even it's description if you look at it in English says heavily polished, sure has a lot of The Bling you want but you would tire of that quickly once you've seen better blades in your learning. You're going to have to ask other members about Japanese shops I've not bought sword in many years.

https://shop.nihontou.jp/products/detail/29510 It is not very expensive and not sure why? But I really like the way it looks. Thanks for any help it will be greatly appreciated

That is unfortunate, I would personally go for an example in better polish to insure a better studying experience. A well polished sword would be affordable even under this price. But it eventually all boils down to your preference. Do you want a koto, Shinto or shinshinto sword? And if so, what is the most important factor that you like to see in your blades? An active Hamon or stunning Hada? Greetings, Lex

They sold it already

This seller focuses on low end items, you will often see sold items on other sellers pages at inflated prices. https://tokyosword.myshopify.com/

$2000 is a weird price range. It’s kind of the middle ground between eBay old white paper blades with questionable attributions and getting into Hozon blades by lower ranked smiths and those with flaws. I saw a lot of these blades in Japan at the few stores I went into that were more tourist focused. Seemed like some of them dealt mainly in $3-5k and under pieces exclusively. Check out the links above, as there are a few Japanese online dealers that have quite the selection of $2000ish swords and sometimes papered.

Thanks Bobby, that's exactly what I mean. Seems like a good marketing tool to include a wide range of buyers. I posted this question, not exactly for myself, but in wonder why a dealer wouldn't corner more of the market.

Savage Made me spit my drink out you bastard

Gendaito is a nihonto?

Samurai film? No no no.....that injury has power rangers all over it

Some dealers do try to do something like this. If you look at Seiyudo, a high end dealer in the Ginza district of Tokyo, they offer a category of quality, lower priced swords called the “S-Line.” To quote their own marketing line: “The S-line is our new brand to offer swords which are relatively inexpensive but have a high artistic value.” Pretty accurate if you ask me. At the same time, Ginza Choshuya has “Fine Swords” which boasts nice swords at a nice price. By and large, these dealers do offer decent quality blades in good condition at decent prices. Other sites have a mix of goods and many of their lower priced swords are usually of questionable quality, unlike what Seiyudo and Choshuya are trying to offer bargain-minded collectors.