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So in these past few threads can we say that there is a reluctance to spend because in the beginning there is no confidence, education, uncertainty and when we get more confidenet we spend more? I have seen Gendaito blades that I would call Masterwork, Shinsakuto Masterworks, as so on. Example is a Okubo Kazuhira that I showed to Tanobe Sensei. He immediately stopped and looked at me quite blank, he said he does not do sayagaki on new swords....I was so scared I had offeneded him. He then said, but on this I will do. I have not seen any other Shinsakuto with his Sayagaki, he likened the blade to a copy of Sadamune and loved the sword for what it was, a modern Masterwork. Collectors are collectors the difference is not what I think it is more on the mitigating factors such as what one defines as quality, you get quality at 5000 dollars and at 5 million dollars, what is the defenition of quality? Is it about the availibility of comparible examples? Jussi I do not understand this post from someone as patient as you you have an analytical database that can all to the table any sword we have probably seen online and otherwise and yet the selective timeframe is long, if budget was no object then I would love to know what you would buy for your top 5? Riddle me that and I know you will say some amazing names and blades

Hi Chansen, to get an opinion you need to post all the information including price, size and whether it has papers and fittings or not. Better photos would help too as the mei isn’t legible (to me) and there are a ton of Kanemoto. https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/list?id_op=%3D&id=&name_op=starts&name=Kanemoto&kanji_op=%3D&kanji=&province=All&start_era=All&school_nid=All It’s perhaps a Mino wakizashi from the Muromachi period but it’s just a guess without more.

Offering two ji-sukashi iron sword guards. The first is quite large at 8.4cm x 8.2cm x 5-5.5mm. It is a symmetrical, mutsu-mokkogata openwork design, featuring myoga (Japanese ginger) motifs to form the hitsuana. I believe this to be a late-Momoyama to early-Edo Period Owari tsuba. While the surface of the piece is fairly smooth, there are gentle tekkotsu and tsuchime in the rim. Overall condition is excellent. Owing to its size, the tsuba has a fairly striking presence, with a natural, mellow patina. $325.00, plus shipping. The second tsuba is a bit smaller at 7.9cm x 3mm. It presents with a rather "starker" design expression, with a dominant heavy cross motif centered within the marugata form. Triple tomoe add to the motif, with one present in ji-sukashi at each "arm" of the cross. Slender strips of iron shadow the central element of the cross, suggesting a lattice. A very striking design. I am unsure of the school here. I feel the rim is too narrow for Owari, the design a bit too bold and martial for a clear Kyo-sukashi attribution. Some might say ko-Shoami. Again, I am unsure myself. Condition of the tsuba is very good, with a subtle, natural patina (no oils, lacquers, or wax here). $275.00, plus shipping. If both tsuba are purchased together, I would offer them at 10% off, for $550.00, plus shipping.

Jean, I can always count on you for your negative comments! You stated "E-Bay does not make presents!" So, do other dealers make presents? There are still several good bargains to be had on eBay, for those that can discern between actual Edo period tsuba from fakes or rerproductions. To each their own. Those that can spend whatever they want for a tsuba are the lucky ones, others have to search for bargains. My collection of tsuba is not museum quality, but it is still fun for me and a learning expierence to collect what I can afford. Are you suggesting that collectors of tusba should only buy museum qulatity tsuba? Damaged or not, my tsuba teach me a lot. And to me that is the important thing. You purchase what you can afford, and I will purchase what I can afford. Does that make my learning expierence from tsuba any less than your learning expierence? Don't be a snob. My opinion.

I think one important thing is to scale the time frame to financial means of the person. People will have varying opportunities and it would be of course important to make most out of them. When someone gets into sword collecting I don't think we should expect that he/she will wait 5 years before purchasing a sword. I think that is just unreasonable time frame, if it is that difficult to get into the hobby most people will just find another hobby. For the first purchase I think few months would seem like reasonable wait time. Of course the level of purchase will totally depend on the amount a person will be able to commit. I know some people in this forum (and outside forum too) have actually started at extremely high level, and that is an amazing feat. As a small time collector I have only 1 sword in my collection that I have actually wanted, I got it 3,5 years ago. The few others I have I have just purchased because they were very cheap and I liked them. Most likely when I approach my next purchase that I actually want in my focus I will sell something. For me saving up to items that I actually want will probably take somewhere around 5 to 10 years. It is just fun to spend 5 months of sword saving budget into a cheap item and then sell it bit later on for approximately same amount, that just keeps me being a collector. If I would only buy an item once every 10 years, honestly I think I would not care about the collecting side of this hobby at all.

I always figure if the only meaningful collecting was sai-jo saku master smith's pieces, we'd only have books on that. But we don't. If it was just koto and shinto blades, we wouldn't have books on shinshinto. If it was just traditionally made blades, we wouldn't have militaria books on war-time swords and fittings but we do. There is enough depth in this field to really get deep into any one of many many sub-genres of Japanese swords. Masterwork collectors aren't better or more pure than gendaito collectors. Its all about one's preference and collecting goals.

It was with Choshuya around 2010 - with the benefit of hindsight I would have bought it. Twisted rope inlay goes back as far as the first master in the Shimizu Jingo school but rarely seen in the work of the first or second. When used by the early masters its very finely done and quite different. Here is another similar example of its use by the third master, again signed with his earlier signature style. Incidentally this is also specifically identified as being 2nd master by the NBTHK due to the confusion of the generations within the school. kindest regards Michael

I started my collecting based entirely on collecting gunto, I wanted one of each type ,95, nco etc then it got more refined the more i learnt. Gendaito, Copper nco etc etc Then i learnt more and moved closer to nihonto, collecting good smiths in gunto koshirae now i collect nihonto, more specifically ko-gassan. I went from £500 to £2000 then to £10,000 plus Would i have spent the higher end at the start of my collection? no. now i know what I do and don't know to a much higher degree and can be more confident in a purchase. Not just that; now I am closer to being able to appreciate what that price is getting me. But the final thing really is, even at the start of my collection , i loved the swords i had then, swords others would dismiss now as junk, they still sit there and are cleaned, oiled and kept well looked after. each one is a piece of my journey to where i am now in my knowledge and also while it may sound a little silly, those swords were crafted with care and sweat and deserve to be preserved.

Thank you Piers.

For other beginning collectors: A damaged TSUBA may be cheap, but it is never a bargain! In most cases, there is a good reason why an item is offered cheaply. E-Bay does not make presents!

I have seen plenty of collections with dozens of 500-1000$ swords and nothing else. Reminds me of Ukrainian army - one General, six mistresses, and every single one bears two inch red lips and certain other physical features. But there is a fun story, sort of the other side. I am standing in line at DTI and there is an American collector right after me. We are talking about what are we are looking for and I say - maybe I'll find a nice koshirae. How much do you have on you, says the guy. 10,000$. The guy starts to shake and taps me on the shoulder "you should not be doing this... you should not be doing this... Nice koshirae is 100k USD. You should buy books, study, and then with 100k you can buy a nice piece". Everytime he saw me walking between stands later same day he kept shaking his head in disapproval. I am pretty confident when this dude dies, for a year somewhere in Kansas couple of friends at the local club will sigh "John was such a massive figure in our field". And then comes.. nothing. There is not going to be a groundbreaking collection for sale. Nobody will state "Before John we believed in two Rai Kunitoshi but he proved there was three".

Thanks, this one came from a nice sword find, I'm still researching the whole package but my knowledge of tsuba is almost zero. very beautiful to me, subtle spots of kin-zogan.

The tsuba: signature on the left side of the seppa dai will read "Kane" and "Iye" The original Kaneiye is quite famous and later there would be a large body of artists that used the name to produce tsuba that were a reflection of his styling. This is not to say they are gimei (false signature), but rather that there are so many that it is hard to break them out by generation or personal name. Just more of a group name.

It describes the life of Fukushima Sensei, to whom the stand was presented.

Never regretted a sale as it helped pay for something better down the line.

My cousin sent us photocopies of pages from a book. I would like to find out what book these pages were copied from, if possible. My grandfather is shown next to another gentleman (third page). I would surmise that the book has something to do with the person shown on the second page. The highlighted text seems to be related to my grandfather?

I see it Sam, thanks a lot! MARTO-Crane Wakizashi-Oriental Weapons

Not exactly, but I’m struggling to find sources with good images this is what I was thinking https://www.marto.es/index.php/en/marto-en/oriental-weapons/katana-detail

David, You have picked out two nice wakizashi, either of which is a better choice than most folks make when they catch the bug. The input you have received urges you to first ask yourself, why you have to make a decision tonight? Could there be an even better choice that you will enjoy more if you take a bit more time? As has been pointed out, there are many nice swords searching for a home. Don't get in a hurry. There is always another train, and another sword. Don't wait forever, but don't rush. Knowledge is your friend, and it is your best friend as you begin collecting unless you are incredibly lucky to have a true mentor in this area. One exceptional mentor in the Dallas area, Keith Evans, is no longer around. He was was a person of great knowledge and integrity who had the opportunity to study and learn while he lived in Japan in the early sixties. We used to have a small sword study group, but Keith passed away and the other key member returned to Japan to live. I saw there was an Austin based group mentioned, but it does not look as though they are very active. There are a good many opportunities to examine Japanese swords in the U.S., but they will probably involve some travel. There used to be some sword shows in Dallas and Houston, but no more. Sword offerings at most gun shows are pretty poor unless you are extremely lucky. Get some books, and take the time to travel to one or two shows so you can see and handle different swords. You are more likely to select one that will hold your interest in the long run if you take more time to study.

I'm struggling to read this. I believe the fuchi Reads Kosuiken and motoyoshi the tusba i've got echizen and then i'm doubting myself after that

Hmm if you mean "Maru-To" Sam this seems a different one, see pics.

Oow Sorry Piers...my bad