Brian

I have to agree with Guido 100%. Folks, I am known to be diplomatic, but one thing my Japan trip has taught me is that to move forward we are going to have to get serious and sometines blunt. That means telling it like it is sometimes, so that we don't spend pages hinting at things that can be said simply. I hope people will see it as constructive criticism and not personal. No bad things about the blade besides it being gimei, and that doesn't make it a bad blade. But the koshirae is bad and the news could be worse. We can learn from this, know what to look out for, and call it a lesson. Or take it personally and learn nothing. I would prefer the former, and it is how we should be heading in our studies. Trying to prove the shinsa panel wrong is also not going to lead anywhere. They have years more experience than us, and all the books to fall back on. Gimei isn't the worst thing in the world. Koshirae can be improved or changed. Still a nice blade, just not good fittings at all. Let's take advice to heart and not see everything as a personal attack when it is merely intended to hammer an obvious point home. Brian

Yes, but the blade didn't sell for $99. It went back to the opening bid after the seller ended the auction early. Probably due to a private off-eBay offer as usual No great concern though anyways. Another "sleeper" wishful-thinking project blade that would have needed a full polish anyways. Brian

Yep. Oil quenching was done as an expedient method during WW2 for the semi mass produced blades. There was less chance of breakage and less stress to the blade. Traditional Nihonto are water quenched which is more risky. Oil tempered Gunto are obviously worth a lot less than traditional Gendaito. However I am not 100% sure this is oil quesnched, so this is just a general guide right now. Brian

Tim, (Don't forget to sign each post with a name) I wouldn't concern myself to much with the fittings. As mentioned, they are frequently changed or mixed. Does look like the saya was swapped. Does the saya close completely and smoothly...as it does look like there is a slight gap at the habaki confirming the swap. Painted nakago numbers are as Stephen said...just arsenal numbers that don't mean anything. Fittings numbers and any stamps are just assembly numbers. It is the blade that counts here. Read up on nie, and see if you can discern much in the hamon. I think this has a good chance to be a nice handmade blade. It had a good polish at some stage too which shows some hadori finish. Try and look at it in various lighting confitions and see if you can see hada and nie/hataraki. Regards, Brian

Gunto go for more than $700, and while they don't appeal to us, there are militaria collectors out there who are perfectly entitled to their hobby This is worth more than $700. Probably anywhere from $1200 up to $2500 depending on what it is. And there is no way to tell that without a window and professional opinion. Asking what a surige blade is worth is like asking what a 65cm blade goes for. There are any number of factors that come into play. Impossible question imho. Suriage Shinto and Shinshinto are a no-no for value. At that age, they shouldn't have been shortened. That doesn't mean they have no value, just that they are worth less than an unshortened one by some figure. What something is worth is purely subjective and rarely gets an answer here for the reasons that it sinply can't be answered. Figure what you want to pay, how much it is worth to you, how much you like it, and then set a price. Dating it will be difficult. If the hi are not hiding any flaws, then maybe it was a slightly better blade for someone to take the time to do that. But it's all just speculation really. Good luck. Brian Edit to add: I see Paul posted while I was typing, and said pretty much the same thing.

Few dvd related posts removed, let's please keep this one Edo related and start a new Samurai movie thread if necessary. Thanks, Brian

Henry, That is a very nice koshirae indeed, and I am glad you did decide to purchase it. Search the forum for "shozui" as there have been quite a few posts on him and some shoshin examples posted. Whether by him or not, (and with this maker we would likely assume gimei unless proven otherwise) the fittings are very nice indeed. Good purchase imho. Brian (You think it would survive the boat trip if you were to bring it with on Fri?)

Yes, spent some time talking to Paul and he is well, but very very busy. He has multiple interesting projects on the go. Aside from the swords, one of the highlights of this trip was meeting so many people I had heard about. Most are nothing like I had imagined (I bet they feel the same way :D ) and they are all a great bunch of people. I would make a list, but I am going to forget some names and look silly. I will try and post pics of a few of them if they are ok with it. Brian

John, Will see you are the Mishina sensei talk, and we will see what we can do. Looking forward to it. Got lots of pics of the show itself, but few of specific items as that is pretty awkward. Btw..we had 52 ppl at the Saturday "gathering," and another gathering coming up on Friday. Huge thanks to Guido and Bob Hughes for organising such a brilliant evening, and to all those who were able to attend. It seems we have many more lurkers than we know about and the dealers were very interested in the forum too. Of course many don't deal online at all, they have their steady market. Prices were somewhat high but probably mostly fair. You name it, it was there somewhere. Held a wonderful Sadamune today c/o Reinhard. Most swords in full polish. Yari don't seem too cheap anymore, so maybe the interest is increasing. Plenty of everything for every taste. I think there were round about 70 dealers there? At the end of the show, dealers seemed eager to deal. I bought one small tanto tsuba that went down about 30%. I expect overall trade was a bit less than expected. Probably due to the exchange rate. Brian

CJ, Normally I would step in and caution people for their tone and tact. However in this case they are essentially correct, and I hope you will see it as a firm way of trying to guide you in the future, and not take offence. This seller is well known and pretty fair and honest, and he pictures all the faults so that you can make up your own mind. Buyer remourse isn't a good reason to back out of a sale, especially when all the info was right there. eBay is a minefield, and there are very few bargains. If something goes low, it is due to a reason. We always caution people to buy books forst, learn a lot, then learn some more..buy more books, and only them can you think of making a purchase. You can always ask here first before you commit, but we don't encourage backing out of a sale. It is Mike's call what he does now, although he has no obligation to refund you. If I was you, I would explain nicely that you are new, you made a mistake, and will cover ALL of his listing and other fees. Then it is up to him. Take it slowly. Nothing good comes from rushing in. Stick around, read a lot here, check out all the links pages, and you will be ready for a purchase in a while, and we will be happy to guide you. Regards, Brian

Going back today, although once again I see to have picked up bronchitis and can barely breathe. Do I have to pick up one of those surgical masks to wear all day? I have pics, but no way of getting them off the camera right now unles I find an internet cafe with photoshop. PC in the hotel room has bare minimum of internet functions and no box to plug into. May have to wait until I get back for pics from me. Did the Oedo antiques market yesterday, but as I expected there were a few fittings but all very expensive (average tsuba for over $1000) and I think these markets are not an option for finding any bargains. More later. Brian

Good to hear, Henry. Now that I have had a shower, I can type without correcting every letter. Folks, we should be proud to have people on this forum like those that I met at the DTI and the dinner. If you ever want a good social event, I can't think of better folk than people like Henry, Ted, Guido, Bob Hughes, Ford, Koichi and the many names I will inevitably forget to mention. I met Reinhard at the DTI too..and as I had been told, he is a great guy and a serious collector. Nice guy, and I will be chatting more to him on Monday and hope to have him return to the forum. Back to the DTI... This isn't a low class show, and Henry is right when he says that there is a lot of top expensive items. I also wasn't able to purchase anything (yet) but it is amazing to see what is on offer. None of that "out of polish" stuff we are so used to seeing. The swords are in polish and there are thousands of them. If you are serious about collecting you really do have to try and make Japan a few times. I thought there were some really good deals even for the sword guys who can't afford the $10000+ stuff. For eye-candy, there is no shortage. Masamune on show, Sadamune...etc etc. Too much to take in at one visit. I saw many tsuba that just blew me away, although kidneys are apparently not accepted as payment. It is apparent how many dealers do not deal online, and how many items move locally here. The market here seems very healthy. There is a lot of talk about the Yen exchange rate though, and it is indeed affecting the sales. The dealers have seen a drop in sales to overseas clients. Polishers have also seen a drop in overseas business due to this. It is noted and hopefully the markets will stabilize. My lack of mention of specific items at the DTI is due to the overwhelming aspect of the show. I will try get more specific after Monday when I hopefully return. Brian

Struggling to post this through very tired eyes as I battle to wake up this morning. DTI 2008 first day was a roaring success. over 40 people crammed themselves into a lovely little izakhaya for copious amounts of loud banter and even more copious amounts of liquid refreshments. After the 3 hour time limit was reached everyone made their way onto the streets of Tokyo. Unfortunately failing the attendance of a good sheepdog, the groups ended up losing each other and split into at least 2 groups. We ended up losing Guido, Ted, Ford and the others..but since we ended up with Clive Sinclair, Kenji Mishina, Koichi Moriyama and others, I think we had the better part. They were stuck with Ford and the majority of the other mad collectors.... :lol: Note to self...make sure you have cellphone numbers with you. At this stage, I have yet to confirn that everyone made it back alive.. Oh...and there was some sword show thingy earlier in the day.... Kidding (it`s all true though) The DTI is a roaring success and totally mind blowing. I don`t think I am lying if I say there are more than 60 dealers in attendance. Wall to wall swords of the highest caliber and more tsuba than you can take in without your head hurting. The foreign attendance is high this year, and I got to meet many fine and wonderful people. When I am more awake I will update with some items on view and some of the people I met. It is all pretty overwhelming and by the end of the 8 hours I had't even begun to take in a fraction of the items on offer. First impression tells me that prices are very reasonable. Although many prices are in the top level, for what you are seeing and getting, there are very good deals. Trade looked brisk, but I am told it isn't as good as it could be. I thik the next 2 days wil change that. Many are going back today, I will have to return on Monday and see what is left. There are going to be many sore heads and empty wallets today More to follow, time to take inventory and see if everyone made it home. Great seeing and meeting everyone. Those who were there, feel free to add more when the shaking subsides. Will post some pics when I can. Brian

Stephen`s right. The occasional warning is fine, but there are so many of these Chinese fakes that we could spend years pointing to them all. This one is bizarre are in that they have listed (faked, or used a real?) an Arisaka bayonet. Anyways, `nuff of these for now Brian

Just to add to this, I also tried contacting Mike to assist in resoving this, with no response at all for the past few weeks. If anyone can assist, please pm Tony or email/pm me. Regards, Brian

Max pic width to display directly in a post = 800 px wide. Yours is 896 wide, hence the link. This is to prevent forced scrolling. Brian

KM, He is hotlinking his images linked directly to Jame's pics in his own photo album. So just uploading a new version of the pic changes the pic he is linked to. A lot of scammers link directy to the pics they have stolen. Brian Edit:- snap. James got there first. Day one in Tokyo..love this city

Thanks John. John Berta is a decent guy I hear...you should come right with them. Tel. Numbers here: http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/swordgrp.htm Where is Barry Hennick situated? Brian

Guys, With no offence intended and with all due respect, we don't advocate self polishing or any form of acid work on any original blades here on the forum. Yes, it can definitely harm a blade, and badly. Although lemon juice is mild, it can get into open grain and if not stabilised, I am sure the polishers here will tell you what it can do. There are others risks too. I know a lot use it, and nothing we say will stop it, but please understand that the official stance of the forum is to not advocate this kind of work or encourage/discuss it. Via pm is fine if you must, but not openly please. Otherwise we have to decide what is ok and what isn't. Is ferric chloride ok? Is steel wool fine? How about 1500 grit paper? You see where this goes, and better to just not go there at all on an art forum. Hope you understand. Regards, Brian

Don't we have a member or 2 from BC Canada? I seem to recall that. I am sure we will be able to hook you up with someone who can guide you and show you to a sword group. Bit of patience as lots of guys heading over to Japan now, or they might check in in a few days. That would be the next step imho. Regards, Brian

That is also a very nice looking tsuba you have there. Could it be Mino Goto? Brian

Barry, Thanks for updating us. It looks like we are going through interesting times. Hmmm. Will report back with any info we hear in Japan the next 3 weeks. Brian

Guys, Take it easy with the youtube/video posts, especially if off topic. Not everyone even has the bandwidth to view them, which makes it hard to moderate them or view them. On topic is fine, but if I think they are just comical or off-topic, I'm going to remove them. Brian

It's a flaw. Not fatal, but a visible flaw, and will affect the value and/or outcome the same as any visible flaw. This goes for it whether it is shingane or umegane. Let's just say it isn't a good thing. Brian