Brian

Wonder if it could be this guy? Seems to be a thin suguha hamon, but mostly out of polish/

Hope I'm wrong, but this appears made yesterday to me, probably in China. Nakago ana shape is very wrong, as is the whole aesthetic. Cast and modern? There are tons of Chinese modern fakes in Japan nowadays. Hoping for other opinions.

Another one from the seller of the Kyu Gunto. At least we have a mei on this one. Described as antique blade, it's in fairly decent Shin Gunt mounts. Again, not looking to purchase, just want to know what it is. Fairly poorly signed... Fujiwara Kanemitsu? Can't make out the top mei above the mekugi ana..special order or part of the mei....? Thanks all.

Brilliant move, well done.

Doing a great job.

Because for them, stuff at this price point is peanuts. They don't care when paintings and other items fetch millions. This is probably just nuisance stuff to them.

So what you are telling me is that it ISN'T a sword sold out of Japan by a dealer to the Western market without papers? I see. Hmmmm.

Just Google free image resizers. It's not the dimensions, it's the dpi. Reduce it to around 72-96. The online resizers do it all for you, in a few seconds.

Well done on having a go. You'll be getting these in no time. Btw..no worries. I get that spelling daily.

Thank you Jacques, for providing the exception that proves the rule. I suspect you are not familiar with nuance or generalization. I won't take the time to educate you. As I said... no papers means gimei. Most others here will recognize the unsaid. That if you are a novice, not able to kantei well, and buying swords from Japan that are cheap and unpapered, but have been polished...then you should be buying them expecting them to be gimei. If they turn out to be shoshin...bonus. But don't expect so when you buy them. Didn't think I needed to clarify, but clearly some feel the need to be contrarians.

No paper means gimei....again. If you are ok with that, then by all means go for it. Sword has a decent polish. So if someone had it polished in Japan, why wouldn't they paper it? Because it likely failed, so they are moving it on to the Western market. Very, very common.

Most of the good ones have been moved to the downloads section, when we changed to the new software long ago. Any missing ones, I can re-upload.

He "doesn't want to force it" meaning he won't try take off the tsuka. Probably end up with some mumei shinshinto blade or something horribly suriage. Don't know anyone willing to take a gamble like that for the money.

And without papers........you know already

Yeah, have asked for nakago pics. I'm sure I'll get reasons why he can't remove it. It's not a huge sum...about $1300, but that is far too much for a local sale. I'm guessing it would have a mumei nakago, maybe suriage. Don't see anything there to help date it. Was wondering what model/variant it is, or is it standard Kyu Gunto? More curious than interested in buying. I'd love to have a Kyu Gunto, but would want one with a decent condition earlier blade.

Buy OR sell.

Up for sale locally (asking too much) Wanted to run this past the experts here, as I am not up to date much on the military swords. What can we say from these pics? Condition is poor, completely out of polish. Too much restoration needed. Listed as a "Scarce Imperial Japanese army type 19 kyu-gunto military sword" Thanks!

This is just for interest, and is anonymous. I just was wondering how many people here have purchased items via the NMB? I always wonder how many sales result from listings here, and aside from the obvious ones where someone says "I'll take it" and the seller says sold, I am always curious how much business is done via listing here. This includes items bought from dealers that you may have seen listed here instead of on their websites. I'll add a few options, and allow more than one vote. Don't worry, this isn't an attempt to bring in advertising, fees or anything like that, it is just for interest and for me to know where to focus and to allow for future improvements. Appreciate your responses.

The personal stuff is wearing really thin. Any further comments that are personal and add nothing to the topic at hand will be deleted, and warnings given. Jacques, you don't know when to quit, do you?

Excellent find Dale! If someone can work on a translation of that, I think that's your answer. It is too similar to not be related. I suspect this is the same age and history of the one under discussion.

Unless you see it the same on the other side, I wouldn't worry about it. It seems to follow the hada, hence just part of the forging and not a crack.

As I suspected, which is why I sought confirmation here. Don't suppose he'll believe me, but it is what it is. I wonder the origin considering it is well aged.

Trying to get the additional pics. Let's hope he sends them. This one confuses me.

Asking advice on this one, sent to me by a friend here, asking if it's ok. Some parts look ok, but I'm concerned about a few things too. Hi looks wide. I've asked for pics of the stamps, serial and both sides of the habaki. Can you say anything based on these pics so far?

Much better. Shape of the nakago ana is also a lot better than the previous pics and is closer to what a tsuba should be. Still an odd shape though, would have to be modified to fit a blade. I think we can be certain this wasn't any Shogunate piece. I'm still in the "made for the Dutch trade" camp here. Something flashy with cloissone for the Western market, maybe anywhere from 1600's to 1800's.