Brian

Todd, Yep, it is a WW2 sword. However I would caution against jumping into a sale until you have a bit more research into whether this is a mass produced sword or a Gendaito (traditionally made) I can't tell from the pics, and you would need to examine it closer to see if it has any activity and grain. The smith seems relatively undocumented from the sources I checked, so not sure if he made both types. If a Gendaito it would be worth more than double a Showato. Even if just a mass produced sword from WW2, for a militaria collector the surrender tag adds value, and I think you would be looking at upwards of $1K as a rough guess. Brian

Morita san, No, that isn't expected It is assumed that all translations may or may not be gimei, and we obviously don't expect people to check each one. If there is access to info, or an opinion on whether it is shoshin or not, it is always welcome..but translations are always appreciated and no disclaimer necessary Brian

Chris, I am not sure of the exact composition of the wartime coating, but I am led to believe that they still coated the blades and then oil quenched them instead of water quenched. This was easier, less stressful to the blade and assisted the mass production. Obviously a smith still worked on the blade, it wasn't just stamped out of a solid billet, but it wasn't forged and folded from tamahagane, and the steel was mill steel. So the edge is hardened, but without the care and activities that traditional methods impart. Brian

Mr Chen (Don't forget to sign posts with name) The best imho for swords under $5K would be Aoi Arts, and they do get by with their English. Not sure how many you will see on display, but they have a large stock, small shop. See the links page for their info, and to other shops in Tokyo. There are some great shops, but many specialize in more expensive swords. Remember that with the deregistration process and licencing, you won't be able to take the sword with you, it will have to be sent a week or so later. Regards, Brian

Chris, It has the Seki arsenal stamp. Although this isn't a 100% indicator at all, it is very likely that this is a wartime oil quenched more mass-produced sword. Lack of grain and activity in the steel will confirm this if the polish is good enough, but I am 90% sure that it isn't a traditionally made one. Brian

Those are wonderful and huge yajiri. They gave them to you? Wow..can i get some friends like that? :D They are much larger than most I have here. I would expect most of those to have a hamon if polished. They might look very nice in tiny shirasaya and polish. Saw quite a few like that in Japan, and even for these lesser embellished examples you are looking at a few $100 each. How many of these did they have in the kura? Very jealous here Brian

Piers, Please do. I am a fan and small-time collector of yajiri. Would love to see them. Does anyone know of a book that has more info on them than the Japanese Polearms book? Brian

Well..since you are the bilingual one, I think I will delegate that task all to you. How's that for putting you on the spot? :lol: Brian

If we are going to mix our metaphors, I would hate to know what the Pope does in the woods. Brian

Contacted the buyer, as did a few others I am sure. Brian

Thanks Piers, that is good info. I should have clarified that I know a (very little) bit about them and hope i wasn't putting you on the spot. Good to have an idea of how things work there, and get a mental picture of the scene. I should imagine an old, unexplored kura must sometimes be a collectors or antique dealers dream. Brian

Heck, exaggeration and hyperbole are par for the course on eBay as Kaji said. At least the item is genuine and actually for sale, and has all the info listed. Brian

Ah, the seller is clever in that he saw Tim bidding up the last fraudulent items, and so now he blocked bids from him. The same will happen to whoever bids the highest now. But there are a lot of us here, and I am confident we can shut down every one of his auctions. It's already higher than any normal person would bid, so we have stopped someone being conned again. If someone places him on the watch list or "notify me when there are new items" then we will know about his auctions early. Btw..I agree completely with everything said about eBay here. On the other hand, if Tim phones eBay or emails them, showing repeated attempted fraud by this seller, they will remove the seller if the case is proven well. Yes, he will be back under a different name, but one day at a time, right? Brian

Is this Tim Peppin? If so, and it is 100% verified it is (I am sure it is) then what I suggest is getting Tim himself to bid a huge amount and make sure he wins it, then tell the guy to sod off. Don't counter bid it up to some insane price, just make sure he wins. That way eBay can't hold the bidder responsible for the bid, since the pics are stolen from him directly. Someone notify him to do that....eBay won't end it fast enough I am sure. Brian

Indeed...but I am not about to post any, and see if I can get its meaning verified Brian

Piers, Fascinating stuff..pity under those circumstances. For the beginners and those who don't know much about them, can you give us a bit of a background to kura? I know a bit about them, but perhaps you could explain them in terms of who had/has one, why, when and what for etc? Are there many unopened ones out there still, and are they limited to fairly wealthy families? Brian

That I think has already been well explained before. Important works are allowed some flaws due to their nature and importance in the grand scheme of things. They are simply of such a high standard that flaws can be overlooked in favor of the other factors. I see no problem with that at all, and agree with most of the posts here. I do see a marked difference between Ted's (humorous) comment of "I can't describe to you the differences between art and pornography, but I know it when I see them" and likening this to "I don't know a lot about art but I know what I like....." In the first instance, this comes from someone who has spent much time studying true art, and therefore knows the differences and what to look for. He knows what good art looks like, and when presented with meaningless "pornography" imitating art, he is able to know instinctively the difference. In the second case, the person does not know what good art is, and is therefore unable to differentiate between good art and mediocre craftsmanship. Relying on gut instinct only works if you have a background of an "informed and learned" gut :lol: So what I am saying basically, is that in effect we all agree that you need to study good works in order to be able to identify what is good and what is bad. You can't study flaws and then identify a good work from a lack of them...you study great workmanship and then notice what is lacking in lesser works. If some with limited budgets want lesser pieces to fill a desire or for any other reasons, I don't have a problem with that just as long as they recognize that this is a separate goal from studying the best out there and they don't consider it a substitute for what we are aiming at. However I do think that most of the comments are still in agreement about what to study and why we study it. Brian

Agree with the school completely based on the even masame and hakikake boshi. Not sure which smith though. Brian

All, I don't know how the subject of cutting tests came into this discussion. I don't see any indication this blade is, was, or would be used for cutting. It could be a short wakizashi even? The point about fatal flaws is a theoretical one. Fatal flaws would theoretically fail in battle but are not subjected to tests to prove that. Simple fact is that a fatal flaw is as defined by collectors and the Nihonto world. A hamon running off the edge somewhere is a fatal flaw to collectors. Whether that is borne out in testing or not is irrelevant really, it affects the collectability and hence the price. In this case, a bad flaw like this would negate collector interest too, whether fatal or not. But I don't see any indication that the OP wants to use it for martial arts? If so..that is an entirely different ballgame... I agree with Carlo completely that we don't know the intentions of the original poser, and this blade shouldn't be used for cutting anyways. Brian

Ken, The lack of replies in this case pretty much indicates that it is probably just a wild myth about old swords using meteorites. It simply isn't backed up by research. There are a very few modern swords that were made using meteoric iron, but that's about it imho. Brian

If you drop him an email, make sure to tell him to pop in again sometime when he has a chance and update us on the progress and how things are going there. Brian

Pierre Nadeau viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1447&p=9735 Regards, Brian

Reinhard, How do you classify this as fatal? "Fatal flaws"is another term that is loosely defined as meaning the sword would fail under use, or has a weak spot that would cause breakage. Afaik, fatal flaws are hamon incomplete, karasuguchi, chips through the hamon and hagire. The term fatal flaw is a Nihonto term that is fairly well defined by collectors, and not subject to interpretation as to our own personal feelings. Undesirable flaw, yes. But fatal? Many of the other flaws are ugly, and should cause us not to buy a blade..but are not considered fatal. These include fukure, ware, tired blades, umegane etc. I am going by pages such as these: http://members.shaw.ca/nihontonut/glossary.html and http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/kizu.htm While we all agree this blade shouldn't be purchased, is it technically really a fatal flaw? Brian

Bob, I would approach the auctioneers and request a cancellation of the deal and a refund. If an item is drastically different from the description, and in this case an outright fake, you might come right if they are a reputable company. Brian