Shugyosha

I think I sold the tsuba to Bruno. A classic case of how one's taste evolves over time - when I sold it, it didn't do anything for me as it seemed a bit twee, but now it would be a keeper. At the time I sold it I felt it was genuine based on the quality of the work and the kakihan matched one recorded in Haynes (if I remember correctly).

Choshu Hagi ju Tomomitsu Saku.

+1

Nice!!

Hi Grey, In gold - 黒坂義知應需 - Kurasaka Yoshimoto ōjū - Responding to Kurasaka Yoshimoto's request. I'm a little less confident of this bit: 東塩子 - Higashi Shiogo - a place name I think. 源 一 造之 - Minamoto [ ] Kazu (maybe read Ichi) Tsukuru Kore. I'm missing the second kanji on this line. Sorry for the mixture of fonts.

Cheers Kyle, should have known better...😳

Nagato ju Kuniyoshi.

It's a perfectly respectable blade - bit of an old soldier but nothing not to like.

Adam, If you are intent on commenting on other people's items for sale (and practicallty every other thread), you can hardly complain if they do the same in return with items that you own. To do so would make you a hypocrite would it not?

Because Showa 13 would be 1938? 😀

Hi Steve, Welcome to NMB. I don't think that you're going to get a lot of help from the pictures you have posted: if you are able to post a picture of the whole blade with the guard and habaki off that would help and maybe close-ups of the point and any detail visible along the blade you are more likely to get some comments.

Hi Phil, To drop a hint, what you've put in the thread title relates to the blade's measurements. Do you have any pictures of the full blade with the habaki and shirasaya tsuka off? I think you'll get some better comments if viewers can see the whole sugata clearly.

Hi Matt, I hope I would pass - my feeling is that the question mark over the Hamon would always be nagging at the back of my mind and I wouldn’t be a happy owner of it. That said, it’s an easy decision: I don’t have that kind of money and I don’t need the sword to complete a collection...

I feel that if this was a probable Juyo candidate then Tsuruta san would have got the polish done himself and entered it for shinsa.

If you read the write-ups of the NBTHK monthly kantei competition they normally suggest that when you see this kind of sugata you think koto nambokucho, Keicho shinto or shin shinto. I don't think it's koto as the patina on the tang seems too light in colour and in the photographs the jihada is very close grained, almost to the point of being mujihada, so I'll back Chris's view and go shin shinto.

Hi Jay, Noshu kuni Seki ju Kanetsune.

Well, however it came about, it sure is fugly.

Actually I'm wrong: you can see the butt end of the hi in the picture of the tang on the kanteisho.

Is this another sword ruined by someone like "Samurai Monkey"? I'm assuming the "improvements" were made after it went to shinsa?

Hi Niall, Welcome to NMB. In terms of overall shape despite the discolouration, I think this one is in better condition than the other one - the first blade looks like it has had the point re-shaped. My feeling is that this is a later blade than the first and I'd say shinto with again maybe with some Mino influence based on hamon and the file marks on the tang. The tang might have had some after-sales work done on it as it looks a little roughly shaped and the file marks seem a little variable in shape and depth and these points are normally addressed with some care by the smith. The boshi looks like it might be ichimai meaning that the hardened edge takes up all of the kissaki and might be a kantei point as it is, whilst not exactly rare, a little out of the ordinary. As regards getting them polished, speaking from the head it probably doesn't make financial sense to do so as you would not recover the money laid out, but they're your babies and there is a Japanese qualified polisher working in Oz so you could at least get them looked at. I suspect the second blade would be the one to have done as the shape of the point on the first one might not leave enough hardened edge to work with. You could try a little WD40 to loosen the habaki on the first blade, leave it for 24 hours and see if it makes a difference. I don't think it will stain the blade but give it a good wipe over with something soft once you have the habaki off. Hope that gives you something to go on and that you enjoy your new swords. You'll surely get some more informed comments in a while. Best, John

I agree with Grev on this. When I've had doubts about an item I've sold I've asked for comments so that a purchaser could make an informed decision. When I have mis-described an item, I've had a PM from a member and I've updated the listing accordingly. I have been guilty of passing positive comments on other people's sales, usually because I like the item and the price and have had a positive experience with the seller in the past. That said, I usually avoid making negative comments as them's the rules. I'm not aware of any collusion between members in this regard and I'm not aware of anyone getting ripped off. On the few occasions where there has been a dispute, it has been mediated out by Brian or other forum members. So who are the victims and who are the perpetrators? Is anyone going to own up or is the problem one of perception rather than one of reality? If there is a genuine issue here, is it that the "perpetrators" being deliberately misleading or is the issue one of ignorance of what is sold or of applying an aspirational price to an item? This last factor tends to be self-regulating as we can all see the repeated price reductions that go on and a number of items that simply don't sell and get withdrawn - perhaps because the seller has bought from a dealer at a higher price than can be got on here. If the sales section of NMB isn't perfect, it is still a fairly benign place to do business - I've only had one experience I have had second thoughts about: one of the first tsuba I bought I now feel is gendai rather than Edo period, but that is my problem and I own it. Is anyone else going to fess up?

I was amused to receive some "fencing equipment" that I bought from a fellow board member.

+1

Hi Adam, What Ken said - it would be tough going but can be done. You do occasionally see horimono carved a little into the hamon if the hamon reaches high up the ji and there isn't space. I can't remember where I read it but apparently you can have a hot or cold suriage for a blade. Logically the better option would be to re-heat to take away the hardened edge after the new ha machi, but it can be left in place. Yep the nioi and nie are there in your sword. As you said earlier, the order of things should be cutting the hi after yaki ire - there's no point in going to the trouble of cutting the hi before hardening the edge as this creates a lot of stress and if the edge cracks you've lost the work that has just been put in so, unless it has been re-tempered (the only possible other option), the hi has been cut after your blade has been given its hamon. There could be several reasons for this - as Ken said to conceal a defect or to lighten the blade for an owner who has suffered an injury or has gotten old or who practises a style of fencing that is done better with a lighter blade, or even just likes the sound a blade with hi makes when you swing it. I've not thought much about this before, but I can't honestly remember seeing a hitatsura blade with a hi - that might be my Alzheimer's though and no doubt someone will point to a load of them now I've said it. Perhaps this is because of the difficulty of cutting it or perhaps because it works against what the function of the hitatsura hamon (if it has one) which one would think is to stiffen the blade. I hope that's helped answer some of your questions though, with Nihonto, definitive answers can be hard to pin down.

Hi Adam, It makes sense if it's a hitatsura temper to which a bo hi was added later - either by the smith or at the request of a later owner. Same would go for a blade with mune yaki potentially.