runagmc

maybe a stylized Showa period...

Hi Jean, I agree. Unfortunately, that doesn't keep some people from feeling that their words are beyond question... We need as many knowledgable members on the board as possible, but in some cases knowledge breeds what comes across as a know-it-all mentality... and when you add in language differences... voilà :D ... In a lot of ways I agree with George, but certainly don't blame Brain, as we have all seen his patience so many times before...

Why do you think it's a polishing stone? I would super-glue it...

People will pay more for the same sword, with higher-level papers... ...so it depends on the purpose of the sword owner... ...do they want papers for resale, OR to get an attribution for their own learning/ satisfaction?... If all the owner wants is an attribution for their own satisfaction, Tokubetsu Hozon is overkill for that purpose (be it sword, or tosogu)... IMO... Some people go for higher-level papers wanting to see what level of value, or preservation, a sword society will deem their item worthy of... but that could be seen as collecting papers, rather than the item itself...

So... they judged the sword to be the work of the nidai Masahide... signed with the late name of the shodai (Amahide)... but shinsa team didn't think the mei was engraved by the nidai (which would have been shoshin daimei)... but that the mei was done by someone else, and so gimei?

Hi S. Sinatra, What have you found in your research?

I see Bizen 日新子 (Nishinshi ?) Motoyuki saku... maybe wrong reading... I don't remember ever seeing Nishinshi used before, so...

Hi Franco, Sorry, I obviously misunderstood... As for another term for hardening on the mune, I can't remember one... but it's certainly possible...

Comparing ALL the workmanship to be seen with verified examples may help you decide if your's may be shoshin or not... Also, it helps if you focus on shoshin examples with similar dates...

Mutsu no Kami Kanemichi... I agree.. FYI, Big Name mei = should be considered gimei until evidence suggests otherwise...

I saw the breakage near the monouchi too (I'm not sure it's complete nioigire), but since it's not on the cutting edge, I would think it's not a big deal, at least not a fatal flaw... Edit to say, After re-reading your post, Franco, I'm not sure if your "Breakage " refered to the breakage of the mune-yaki nioi-guchi around monouchi, or refered to earlier comments about mune-yaki needing to be in spots to be considered MUNE-YAKI... Anyway... :? I agree muneyaki is hardening along mune, regardless of amount- seems simple enough...

I can't hardly imagine this level of mune-yaki was unintentional... The pattern looks intentional as well as the sheer amount... Also, to top a question with another - Is there any school noted for this level of mune-yaki on a shinogi-zukuri katana?

It is fairly unique, so that could be a positive for resale. Personally, I kind of like it mainly because mune-yaki like that is not normally seen on a shinogi-zukuri sword, at least in my experience. If it were me, I might try to bargain down the price some ... maybe mention you're a member here... BTW, I wonder how that much mune-yaki would affect functionality... maybe there was a reason (breakage) this much mune-yaki isn't normally seen, unless the sword is moroha-zukuri...

Small "Na" stamp for a sword from Nagoya arsenal...

Although I didn't make it, I would like to say I appreciate your work Chris, as well as the others who make sword shows and shinsa possible in this part of the world. Hopefully, I will be able to make some in the future... It's really too good of an opportunity to miss, even though it always seems there are things that need to come first... I thought about making the 6-7 hour trip, just to stop by, look, and turn around for a 6-7 hour trip back... but it didn't happen.

Squid attacking lobster... first time I've seen that theme... Edit- maybe some other crustacean

Is it something that can be noted from the back of menuki, I wonder?

Interesting, I don't remember seeing engraved mokume like this before...

Sad, but true... (toiling for a living, hoping to be able to make a living, because the love to create is almost all consuming at times). What do the other artists on the board think?

Kurt, just so you know, rusting a new nakago is not difficult... so, it's not always an accurate way to gauge age, especially if a person doesn't have lots of experience in recognizing all the factors which can point to a 1000-year-old sword... OR... a newer sword which has been purposely "aged"... False aging is often done purposely to decieve... just like false signatures... On the plus side, the sugata looks nice and the polish looks OK (although the hadori isn't doing the sword any favors, IMO)...

I think it's more the lacquer work (takes lots of skill, and time), age, provenance, etc... ...not much to do with exotic or especially precious woods, as far as I know. Although, I'm sure there are some examples were precious woods were used... which being a wood worker myself, I would be happy to see...

I'm no expert in Bizento, but to me it seems there is a lot of variance in hada (from very tight, to very coarse) almost throughout. Obviously the Omiya have a better reputation, and I think there is a legit reason for that... I have seen some VERY nice Omiya blades, but can't remember a VERY nice Kozori off hand...

A kozuka with kaginawa depiction...

Try to figure some kanji for yourself. Most of these are VERY important to know... Also, I have pics of a wakizashi dated a few years after yours that has a very similar mei...

I think it's a resonable assumption that things are cheaper for those outside Japan, buying from Japan, when the Yen drops...