JamesH

Thank you very much for your help. I can see now, I had absolutely no chance getting this on my own. Morita san, John, thank you so much to both of you for help. I am indebted for your assistance. Morita san, your knowledge and expertise are invaluable to us all. :bowdown: Thank you again. Brian, the world would be a lesser place without this forum. Kind regards James

Really any assistance as to where I would even start would be great. I am completely stumped by this one, I managed to match up 3 or 4 individual kanji but I am not even sure if thats right. As it stands I cannot even tell which side is the smiths name. Please help. Regards James

Sorry forgot to attach

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone could assist me with this mei. So far I have nothing. Your assistance is greatly appreciated, James

Hi everyone, Unless my old age is finally setting in, and playing mischief with my memory, I am 99.9% sure a similar sword to this one was discussed recently. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-samura ... 1038882408 If anyone remembers the thread, could you please link it. I just spent 20mins searching with no avail. It was also an eBay listing, I think it ended around 2 months ago. Basically, and again only to the best of my memory, it was also a long unokubi katana with bohi, also with an unwrapped tsuka and red lacquered saya... My mind could be playing tricks but it was a very unusual sword, which caught my eye, and now I'm wondering how is it possible to see another such unusual sword with almost identical fittings but much less rust and chips. Surely someone spending money on a restoration would not leave the blade in the old saya ? Brian, I'm you think my post is inappropriate while the auction is running, please freeze or remove it. Regards James

Hi everyone, I am only a newb so please forgive my overenthusiasm for this piece. I was really taken back by this tsuka, as I have not see tsukamaki stylised in metal before seeing this. I have seen other tsukas where tsukamaki was replaced by metal framing, but never like this To my untrained eyes this tsuka was just eye candy, though I kinda wish the fuchi kashira were a little nicer. I am sure many of you have seen the auction for this tsuka, but I thought I might post the photos here, so they remain for reference after the auction page is deleted in 3 months time. If this is in breach of any forum rules, or the seller objects Admins please delete my post. I dont have any affiliation to the seller, and have never dealt with him, so please do not take this as any kind of recommendation. I am also inclunding the sellers description less the 'selling' "Wakizashi tsuka with tsukamaki simulated in iron. It is precisely carved to look like silk wrap. The fuchi kashira have a winter landscape scene carved in iron copper inlay and silver nunome depicting snow covered mountains. Copper rope rim finishes the border of the fuchi and kashira." James

Hi Mark, Thanks very much for your help. I have not come across the kanji for Ka shu, so I will remember for next time. I am soo excited the hours I put into into trying to translate did not go to waste :D I thought I would never improve. Thank you again. James

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone could assist me with this mei. This is what I have managed so far, but I still have doubts my newbie reading abilities : ECHIZEN JU FUJI WARA NOBU YOSHI Your assistance is greatly appreciated, James

Hi all, I saw these two pieces on eBay from our friends Japanese-antiques-trading-and-shopping-center (who have been discussed here before): http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Japanese-SAM ... 7675.l2557 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Japanese-SAM ... 2ecacfabaa How would I go about finding the original Japanese auction for these? Also, just thinking out loud... Wouldn't a papered Muramasa be worth much more than what these guys are asking? I assume the price on the Japanese auction will be around half this, so is there something I am not seeing on these pieces? If this is something not to be discussed, while auctions are active, please PM me. With thanks, James

Hi Matt Thanks for your fast response. I have not see this combination of kanji before, thank you I will know "MI WA" next time. Cheers James

Hi there, I was hoping someone could assist me with this mei. I apologise for the quality of the photos but thats the best I got. Though my kanji reading is improving (well so I think ), I am absolutely stuck here What I have so far is : "NO SHU SEKI JU (SAN?) __?__ UJI NAGA KITAU KORE" Thanks in advance for your assistance. Cheers James

Hi everyone, Thank you very much for your fast replies. I guess the concensus is shinshinto. I was leaning this way as well, but the nakago quite threw me. I did not think it was artificially aged because I thought I didn't see any signs of this. Can someone please point it out for me so I see what everyone else sees What threw me more was the small cavity where the nakago has worn away where the suba would sit - at least I think thats what it is ... Photos are quite crappy I have only seen this on fairly old swords, but perhaps more experienced members can correct me if they have come across this on shinshinto blades. This and the lines that kind of look like faded kiri yasurime threw me completely off track. No takers on the School ? Regards James

Hi everyone I was hoping I could hear some opinions on School / Age of this sword: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SHINTO-O-WAK ... d=ViewItem Cheers James

I reported it to eBay when I saw the first lot. Then the next time I looked the ones I reported were taken down by ebay, but 2 lots of the same listings from 2 new sellers appeared. These thieves seemed pretty persistant so I thought I would write it up here, in case more keep coming up. It looks like eBay has taken down the ones above, so hopefully they will stay on top of these guys. I personally dont have anything against the Chinese, its just all these guys were all listing from Tibet, China hence why I thought I would include the location. What I cant stand is the blatant con, no matter where it comes from. Regards, James

Buyer beware, some guy in China is ripping off images from http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_024.htm and other pages of this website and making ebay listings off them. So far there are 2 ebay accounts with about 4 listings each (below are links to 1 item for each but if you go to 'other items' you will see the rest): http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/COLLECTABLE- ... 232b1d0aa5 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/COLLECTABLE- ... 33823e0504 Regards, James