Brian

I know that Ford was going to write a fairly detailed analysis of this one, but is pressed for time with his forum. I am sure we will get some explanation soon going into a bit of detail about his reasonings, and hope I am not putting him on the spot Brian

Pics didn't upload correctly. Edit your post and re-upload? Brian

$120 is a very good price too (Koto volume only) The Shinto one is getting hard to find nowdays. There has been talk of a revised edition, but I haven't heard any more about it. If you are looking for a Shinto one too..email them and let them put you on the list. They do come across them from time to time. Brian

Let's see... Almost no pics of the blade. No hada or hamon pics shown. A fuchi that looks like some of the repros I have seen (unless closer shots would have shown differently) and someone with no selling history and minimal buying history from sword guys. Nah..I don't think so from what was shown. I saw that one early on, but passed for those reasons. Also the mekugi ana seems offset to the point that there must have been some reshaping at some stage possibly. Maybe better pics would have shown it differently, but from what I could see it was a definite no-go. Just my 2c. Brian

James, There are many more I suppose, but for me it would be Fujishiro's Nihon Toko Jiten Koto volume (English translation available) or Nihonto Koza Koto parts 1,2 and 3. (Also available in English) What do others say? Brian

Milt, If the seller copies the pics and uploads them, you can't do much about it. I was refering specifically to those fraudsters who link directly to the original pics. There it works nicely. It doesn't happen often, but in this case, I was going by the statement: Brian

The link I posted is a reasonable option. They are trying to fill the gap that eBay leaves, and the sections are moderated, so if you see a fake, they will remove it. They are (I think) UK based. Brian

James, In English or Japanese? Showing mainly oshigata or mostly info about the smiths? Brian

Next time someone attempts fraud and links directly to your pictures, save this image, upload it to your server and rename it to the name of the one he is linking to. That way, this pic will display in his auction. :D Brian

Ford, Been done. http://specialistauctions.com/ But it will never be successful, because you just don't have access to the millions of viewers that ebay has, and no-one wants to bid on a site that only appeals to enthusiasts, because there is that false impression that the good stuff is seen by everyone, and there won't be bargains. Like it or not, valid or not, that is why people buy on eBay. Someone even tried Nihonto auctions, and it failed. Market value is not what people usually want to pay, they want something starting at $9.98 that they think will be a steal. Brian

Agree completely. That is certainly a stunning sword. And I think the price was good, if you consider how much you would have to pay to commission a new one nowdays. There is very good work being done today..just ask Paul Martin. These will be the Juyo blades in the comming 400 years....so do it for your kids' kids' kids' kids! Brian

Ok...you got me intrigued From: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2814&p=20061 Please tell us more.... Brian

No, they usually only block the selling of items from a certain country. And you are usually able to list it, but when they find it, they remove it and issue a warning. 2 Warnings and they suspend your account or terminate it. I doubt they will police bidding. It is usually up to the bidder to make sure they comply with the relevant laws in my experience. Of course what customs will need as proof that it doesn't fall within the ban is another matter entirely. Brian

Nice catch Jock. I caught it too a few hours before: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2896 Sometimes you just get a feeling for these. At least someone saved some money. When we have proof of these, I am always tempted to bid $100K just to save someone else from following through on the purchase. Brian

David, You get both types. Some kogatana (the blade) are just solid steel and some are forged and folded just like sword blades. Many will show a nice hada and hamon once polished. Note that only the opposite side to the mei gets polished. You will usually see the hamon and hada if present only on the other side. Best way to tell is to shine a yellowish light on it and see if it has traces of hamon. Some will have nothing, but there is every chance yours is forged maybe. If you search the forum for "kogatana" you should pull up posts on this. Note that the handle part is the kozuka. Regards, Brian Edit: See this post

Here's another 1 day auction with a rediculous deal: http://cgi.ebay.com/Exceptional-JAPANAS ... dZViewItem If that isn't a stolen and fraudulent account (last activity '05) then I'll eat my hat (figuratively of course :D ) Beware. Brian

Yep...I agree with you. I saw the same thing when Kalifornia banned certain parts and accessories that you could own anywhere else in the world...and yet eBay banned them totally with the same excuse. I know that many members here will jump for joy if Nihonto is banned from eBay but not all of us :? Brian

Sorry to hear that Peter. Was bound to happen. Shortly you will see Paypal banning any UK transactions that are Japanese sword related too I bet. Hopefully you can still list on eBay.com, although they might pull them when they see them. First of the complications, 100 more to come Brian

Damn John, you are setting us all very high levels to follow when we return there next. I hope Paul is also prepared for this, having shown what he can organise. :lol: Amazing stuff. Also wanted to mention that the pic of the cherry blossom above is picture perfect! Beautiful photo. Brian

Just got off the phone with Ford, and had a looooong conversation about it. It's amazing what you can learn from an artist who can see things with totally different eyes, and I learned a lot from this impromptu lesson. I can't really communicate as well as he does why this appears to be a modern piece made by student or amateur tsuba maker. Hopefully others who have a request for serious discussion can chime in and we can have a good educational thread about it. I know I am learning a lot. However at least I now agree with Ford and Ludolf. Perhaps others would like to give their opinion and comments? Do not worry about fakers "learning from our pointers" as this type of work is still labour intensive and I call it Milt's "modan" school rather than a fake (ie, it is likely made in Japan by someone learning to make tsuba etc) rather than a Chinese fake made cheaply to deceive. I guess strictly speaking with a gimei it is a fake, but there are more than one level of fake I guess. So what do the tsuba guys say about it? Brian

I'd be pretty shocked (though not surprised) if this was an outright fake. A late or modern work I would have accepted but an outright fake may make me go back to blades in a hurry :D I don't claim to know very much at all about tsuba, but this kind of work is scary to me. Maybe the "old iron" guys have something there. I look forward to hearing more about this one. Would also like to see a pic of the other side. Brian

Andrew, If the boshi is wide enough to keep it in the kissaki after reshaping, then it can be done and saved. If not, then a fatal flaw. The only way we can know if it can be saved is to know where the hamon is in the tip, can't realy make it out from the pics. You need to get someone good to fingerstone the kissaki so that you can see the hamon, and then an expert polisher can tell you if it can be saved. My mind sees a wide hamon there, and a possible fix, but I could be seeing things. Brian

Morita san, both you and Moriyama san never fail to amaze me. Can't thank you both enough. Brian

Since I have never had any feeling besides unease about this user, I have deactivated the account. Nothing about this user has made sense. Any appeal can be done via email. Brian

Thanks Rich, good to save in case it goes again. Lotta guys backing up older websites in case they disappear. Btw...Dr T's Random thoughts page disappeared, and I emailed him about it. Seems the university moved it, and when it came back, one letter having a "t" instead of a "T" made tyhe old link not work. So I updated my link, and anyone who has it bookmarked or linked, please update the link to http://www2.una.edu/takeuchi/DrT_Jpn_Culture_files/Nihon_to.htm Brian