Brian

Firstly, I would notify eBay with any proof that he neg'd you for not leaving 5 stars. Make a big complaint. Then, you can leave a second note on his feedback too. So go nail him there. Even though it will show positive feedback, you can leave a note saying "This seller gives negative feedback if you don't give him 5 stars. Beware, and avoid him" or something like that. Don't let him get away with it. Brian

Since I had a free 5 minutes before bed, and was in a photoshop mood... (No..not a good photoshop job, but a quick one) Brian

Milt, Omote is the side that typically has the mei (katana, tanto, wakizashi) and the ura has the date usually. Omote refers to the side facing outwards as worn. Note that the ura and omote on a tachi are on the opposite side. Btw..great article as usual from Dr T: (Well worth a read) http://www2.una.edu/takeuchi/DrT_Jpn_Cu ... cement.htm Brian

Hi Milt, They always face the tsuba, so the shishi will be facing the saya (ignore the fact that one is looking back over his shoulder) Regards, Brian

I have the answer! It is a reverse horimono! They cut away the rest of the sword in this case, and just left the horimono instead of the other way round. Ok... 'nuff now. If only we discussed real swords this much. Brian

Hi corvuscorax, You need to please sign all posts with a name. I hope I am not coming across as rude or difficult, but I have some problems with discussing a sword that has been purchased but not paid for yet. I think we either need to ask before we buy, or after. But there is a risk of giving opinions on a reserved sword and then having the buyer back out of the deal, leaving an unhappy seller. Hope you can understand this. I am happy to open this up for discussion if either the payment is completed and it is fully yours...or if the seller lets me know it is ok to discuss it before payment is fully made and while it is reserved. Sound fair? Pm or email me if either of these are done, and I am happy to allow comments after that. Regards, Brian

I think we can safely rule out Goto school from this one? The question is, are there others signing Seijo or is this just a gimei on silver fittings? Brian

Nice blade P. Rowan. Please sign posts with a name, thanks. I would agree, this doesn't look at all like a normal machine made blade. It definitely looks forged and folded, probably from different steel to the traditional tamahagane. Perhaps that company was experimenting with steel or forging. It would pay to investigate the company a bit. Well done to the forum sleuths again I would send the link or info to Ohmura san, who might have info on this type of blade, or be interested in it. Does show some vivid hataraki, if not totally typical. I think the WW2 Japanese sword collectors would love this one. Brian

Sorry to hear that Malcolm, Perhaps you can narrow down your location a bit so that the members in that area can keep a lookout locally? I would also keep a close eye on eBay. I think it is the modern "fencing" operation. Brian

William, Does look like it is at least suriage. Very controlled hamon pattern of regular gunome, one larger, one smaller repeated. Not sure if this will help with an attribution. At a guess I would say late Shinto, early Shinshinto? It has had that dreaded ferric chloride treatment though, so needs a polish to bring it back. Condition still looks ok and healthy. Brian

Thanks for the additional info Reinhard. I think you and Jacques have this one locked down. This is one of the few mei that I have seen where I can honestly say it is almost a perfect match. I would be surprised if it wasn't shoshin to this smith. I think we finally found a shoshin mei! :lol: :D Nice work guys. Odd..since we are supposed to be famous for not assisting newbies all that much. :lol: Brian

Dr L, Thanks for a well written and explained reply as always I do encourage people to have a go at their own items, no matter how novice they are. It shows an attempt at learning, even if sometimes we have no idea. Not a rule though, just a suggestion as pointed out. I also don't think that a lack of answers is necessarily a lack of people trying to help, but sometimes is an answer in itself. If the item is awkward or modern or not good quality, then often people hesitate to say this for fear that they will seem too judgemental. Not saying this is the case here, but for the future, sometimes no answers are an answer by themselves In this case, although I don't know the school either, I agree with John's answer of late work..maybe mid to later 19C, from someone who knows the art, but hasn't reached a level that we might see in better works. It is a perfectly adequate and genuine tsuba imho, but not of a higher standard. The work is ok, but the composition and placement seem a bit off. Not easy to express in words. Not a bad tsuba though...it would be interesting to be able to verify the school but not sure this is typical of a particular school, or maybe John is correct in his analysis. Regards, Brian

Swordsmiths rarely used their own real name. They took on an art name, and this is the one they signed with, and became known as. Later generations would use the same name, or maybe take a character from that name and add one of their own. So basically your swordsmith is Tsunahiro...history doesn't usually record what their real names were. Brian

I agree with Jacques, it is a close match, and looks shoshin (genuine signature) to me. Brian

Bob, By all means, drop him an email and ask his recommendation. I would think they would be happy to have you bring it in to one of the meetings. He is a decent and well known guy. He might even know someone closer to you. Regards, Brian

William, No worries about sharing them, if we don't get opinions, then how are we going to learn? The f/k are, I think, very late Hizen school, but not much detail and the carving isn't too well done, so genuine, but not very good work I would guess. The kozuka (you say it is double sided?) would then point to those meiji stamped table-knife style kozuka that are often pressed back into use as kozuka. Made when the fittings market died, for export. Stamped and of low quality. Real kozuka don't have the same design on both sides. The tsuba has a late edo cast look to it? The iron looks a bit rough, which then had some decoration applied. All the fittings look genuine enough, just late work made for a simple mounting. I would say this is also a composite patchwork of different styles put together for this sword. Browse some of the links in the NMB linls section and check some of the dealer stock there for some great examples of high class work. But of course then they have a price to match You get what you pay for as always. Brian

Hi William, I know you headed this post "high quality fittings" but I hope you know they aren't really? The kozuka and menuki look like very late edo mass produced punched work, with not a lot of detail. The tsuba looks fair, but fairly standard. Not sure of the fuchi/kashira school, but it will come to me in a bit. All in all a fairly standard and mediocre mounted set. Hope you don't take offense, but the truth is always better than no reply at all I think. (Hopefully) Regards, Brian

Hi Bob, We all wish No..the yen ranking system is just a rating system used in the books. Basically it gives an indication comparatively vs other smiths. It isn't a literal value. I also don't think this is your smith. Yours might be gimei (a false signature often used to make a sword seem more desirable) but it could be from one of the other Tsunahiro smiths. All in all, I think the mentioned value of around $2K is a fair one, unless there is a problem that reduces it. Regards, Brian

Barry, Ouch..that would certainly leave a bad taste. I don't get why these auction houses can't offer a decent post-sales service. I know that I wanted to place a few bids on the auction, and now I am glad I didn't. Can you imagine what they are going to try and charge for shipping some of the larger lots? Insane. Brian

Gabriel, That was a very informative and good post though! I think you were hinting that early Shinto is usually (yes..of course there are exceptions) better than late Koto in general Good advice on the care and restoration. Brian

Jesper, I stayed in the Hotel Parkside in Ueno, and found it fantastic. Jut across the road from Ueno park. Much better than I expected. You can find cheaper Ryokans instead of a hotel, but this one is in a great spot, the rooms aren't tiny, and I think it is around 10-15K yen per night for up to 2 people. You can choose Western or Japanese style rooms. They have a website, and cheaper online rates. I recommend it highly. http://www.parkside.co.jp/en/index.html Brian

Peter, Since when do we not have a chance of it being gimei? :lol: :D I would say try it. Looks like a nice blade, and if it comes back as gimei, then I can buy it at a good price :D Some other Tsuguhira (Tsugihiro?) here: http://www.nihonto.us/OMI%20NO%20KAMI%2 ... KATANA.htm http://www.satcho.com/Nihonto/Nihonto.htm Brian

Yep..I expect the blowtorch (if it is ever used, and I doubt that too) would only be used on a very fast pass or 2 just to get a minimum of heat like the boiling water. There is also the copper blocks method that withdraws the heat. But the true way is the wooden blocks that Guido mentioned, and a very keen eye. However it is all a moot point anyways...as we are not going to try it ourselves, and will leave it to the experts. This is like most of that Jackass movie stuff....don't try this at home folks. Perhaps Andrew our apprentice togishi will comment if he sees the thread (or Mr Pedersen?) Brian

He coulda made a fortune selling it on eBay. . . . . Brian