Brian

Well..the Sukesada was nagasa 31.4cm, and this one is at 30cm so both are ko-wakizashi And relatively they say that tanto fetch more than wakizashi all other things being equal. Brian

http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/wakizashi/07263.html Just giving out a few possibilities. This one works out to around $2350 and I would ask them if they think it would get papers, and ask if they would submit it for you. I still don't think this one is a bad deal at all, but you should look at all options before deciding. Regards, Brian

Hi Mr Block (Please remember to sign posts with a real name) I hate to comment on pending sales since our opinions can influence a sale, but since we don't know the seller I guess it is fair and not biased. Just remember that they are opinions and what counts most is whether you like it or not. It looks like a nice little blade in good polish. Remember that a shinshinto due to its age has to be in good unmessed with condition. The fact that it is ubu helps, and this is a requirement for a shinshinto. However ware are a small negative in a recent sword and I wonder how much it has been polished in its life? The chips are visible, but don't look too bad. Some live with them, and others it bugs constantly so you would have to decide how you feel about them. It will affect the resale value as will the short length and ware. These wouldn't be looked at as "battle scars" I think. I think the papers are a big plus in that they allow you to know immediately what you have without speculating. I am unsure on the sword's purpose, but expect it was just a small sword as it doesn't look like a boy's sword to me, but it may be? I have a Sukesada with simillar shape and nagasa and am still unsure of what it was made for. Maybe just merchant's sword. If you factor in the papers and polish, then you don't have a bad price there. A papered wakizashi would be at least $2K, but the name and sugata don't make it the most saleable, so I think you have to decide if it "does it for you" or not. As with most things, you save up to buy the best you can afford. If you have the patience, then there are always nice swords out there, but you would need to add some funds. It all depends if you are going to start collecting, or just want your first piece that can satisfy the urge for a while. I suspect that if you are asking now, then you have your doubts and if so, then you will always have second thoughts about it. If not, and you like it, then buy it and maybe sell oneday to upgrade. I know there might be totally different opinions, and you will have to make up your mind on whether to go for it or not. Imho, it isn't a bad deal, but koshirae would have sweetened the deal and it is in a pricerange where there will be other choices possibly, but you don't want to spend more than then still have to paper and polish. Let's see what others have to say. Brian

It's more on koshirae, with a good section on urushi. http://www2.una.edu/takeuchi/DrT_Jpn_Cu ... 5B3%5D.htm Brian NB: There is a good Word doc. to download in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2251 It's about everything you could ever want to know about urushi except no pics.

I like the look of this place, although I have no knowledge of them besides a little bit I saw on knife forums: http://www.watanabeblade.com/english/index.htm Love the webpage, and the bar chart telling you how busy they are :D Brian

Telegraphic transfer, ie. bank wire transfer. They are an auction site, although I am not sure if they are run by a particular shop with one seller, or take items from many sellers. Brian

Ouch, those are quite some prices Nice knives though. Have you contacted Darcy and asked about his supplier in Japan for these? : http://nihonto.ca/hocho/ Maybe Moriyama san can search for some info on the forge of Tsunahiro in Kamakura? Of course anyone in Japan has seen the shops dedicated just to knives, with wall to wall kitchen knives of all types. I was stunned at the variety and pricerange. Take a look at these too: http://japanesecutleries.com/ind.html and http://hocho.o-1.jp/ Brian

I don't think anyone was calling you stupid at all Henry, you have every right to an opinion just like anyone, and I am glad you made those points. Nothing wrong with ppl having different opinions too...that's what discussion is for. What it means is that we need better photos of the surface and in different light conditions so that we can explore the theories more. It is a good point that photos can be misleading, they can make a good item look bad, and a bad item look good. Regards, Brian

Yes, I know, but I was writing it for the benefit of people with the mentality like myself. Brian

Mr Ushio, This would just be a guess at this stage, but I see that there was a Heianjo Nagayoshi (NAG525) that is listed as: masame-mokume, itame, notare, suguha, fine horimono, TK469, K225, K228. Known for high-quality (long?) yari with well-carved hi. He was from Yamashiro. He worked around 1469-1486. There is another working around 1394-1428 (NAG502) that has the description: Gassan style; ayasuji which fits in with your description, but he is from Echigo. I would be leaning towards the first one, but as I said it is just a wild guess unless we can find some oshigata to compare to. There were quite a few Nagayoshi. Brian

This is what forums are for...good research leading to a nice clean result. Nice one! Brian

I believe urushi needs a moist environment to harden. Drying it will only keep it wet for forever. Search the forum, I have posted an urushi article somewhere that has all the info. They use a cabinet with artificial humidity to harden urushi. Brian

Before you get strung up, you had better clarify that it was tired, not restorable, had fukure, hamon incomplete, retempered, ugly and a write off..... I hope. Brian

Steve, Not a lot to go on, without pics of the hada and any real defining characteristics that stand out. However I would guess it is a generic shinto. Doesn't look to have enough age to it to say a Koto, and nothing that screams shinshinto either. I doubt you'll get much closer without a shinsa. The blade does look ubu (not shortened) but am I seeing traces of a hamon going through the nakago? The ana (hole in the tang) also looks drilled, so it may have been a much longer blade that was shortened, but I am not sure of that. Clues to the school might be that long turnback. Soten was a school of fittings makers, with varying quality. Search the forum for soten for more info. A lot of fake signatures too. Your fuchi looks reasonable quality. The fushi, kashira and tsuba don't match, so I would think the fittings were changed over time, as most were. Unfortunately sometimes we come to a dead end where nothing can tell you more about the blade without a costly shinsa process. Not saying this is the case here, but there isn't a lot to tell the whole story. Regards, Brian

Marcel, Chill. Your question is very specific, and relies on someone who has experience actually ordering a shinsakuto, and then also ordering it directly from the smith. Not many, as most go through an agent or dealer. I personally see no problem. You will get an invoice when it is finished, and swordsmiths don't mass produce, so they wouldn't necessarily have a need for lots of paperwork. If it makes you feel better, ask the smith if you could possibly get a receipt as you pay your partial payments. Is the smith one of the members of the All Japan Swordsmith Association? (Link on the links page) I assume you are in contact with the smith and can follow the progress? Either way, it si just a waiting game now until it is ready. I don't think there is any need for any concern. Post pics of the sword when you get it. Brian

Take this from a tsuba amateur, but is that a Bushu school tsuba? Brian

There are also some other good articles on the main page: http://home.comcast.net/~colhartley/index.html I particularly enjoyed the one on watching retempering. It shows that there are levels at which this is done that would be extremely difficult to detect. There are articles for everyone including the armour guys. Brian Edit: Did anyone pick up the comment on the one article where he writes: ...and an even briefer visit to a small shop in Zushi, where they had for sale a certified dolmen sword with Tsuba (no saya or mounts) - for about Y36,000 ($100)... Aahhh...the good old days. $100 for a dolmen sword..and it was worth 36K yen! :D

All, Not sure if this one has been posted before, but I found it while browsing. It is a very nice exhibition page by Dean S. Hartley, Jr from 1964 and has a good section on the various tsuba schools with some pictorial displays of each school. A good section on swords too. A lot of good info in there, and well worth a visit. Link is here Brian

KAN1608-1612, signed 兼 基 ? Brian

A year later, but at least it got polished, and good to see the results :D Very nice! Brian

Martin, These 2, which I am sure you have seen, aren't all that helpful since as far as I know the signatures aren't authenticated, but maybe they are of some assistance. the first is from the Boston museum: http://www.mfa.org/collections/search_a ... e&id=12488 (The mei can be enlarged) and the other is here: http://www.arco-iris.com/George/omori_tsuka-a.htm I'll try and hit the books tomorrow. Regards, Brian

Agree with Peter and Grey. The ones I have seen often go back to the war, and are of low quality. Seems they were more of a symbolic use, and sometimes have famous names or patriotic sayings engraved on the blades. Oil quenched usually ina sanbon-sugi style, and always have that rough nakago. Probably a general purpose soldier's knife. Maybe those who didn't have rifles with bayonets for this use? The nakago and hamon are the give-aways, and the shape of the blade is always odd, usually with a shinogi line making them look like the front end of a katana. Brian

Louis, Bet you are the only modern firefighter carrying a Tobikuchi Take it easy with the health, speedy recovery. Good to hear you are still out there and doing your thing. Regards, Brian

Sometimes called a "headcutter" sword and the myth (is there any truth to it?) is that they were used for taking heads in battle. However I am more inclined to believe one of the other explanations on Dr Rich S's site: http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/unji.htm Interesting item. I wonder if the mune has been reshaped to give it a point, or if it was made like that? Brian

No mistaking what that is :D On a sword..hmm. But on a small little kogata I find it quite cute, and very skillful. I like it. Brian