tokashikibob

Great looking sword,  a fine addition to any collection of Nihonto.

THanks for the info guys,  and I will let him know.    How you been Devil Dog?  Might need to check your reserve status as the Corps is getting ready here at Lejeune!

If anyone is interested in it let me know and I'll put you both in contact.

Best regards,

   Bob

   A friend of mine sent me pics this morning of a tsuba he bought at his local flea.   Guessing under $100.   I told him I'd post it up for the pros to comment on.    It does not look anything like Juyo to me but tsuba's are a tricky business.  

Best regards,

  Bob

23 hours ago, SteveM said:

Tsuba is 正阿弥　重信　(Shōami Shigenobu). 

 

Probably Aizu Shōami Shigenobu. Mid-to-late Edo. 

Thanks for the taking the time to translate for me Steve!   Appreciate it!  

8 hours ago, Jacques D. said:

It would have been Oya kunisada if it wasn't a gimei

Thanks,   Jacques!   The chiseler for the gimei had better looking kanji than Oya himself!

   Got a call from the bunker downtown to look at a couple swords that dropped in.   One was a common army parade, but the beat up wak may be a legit Oya Kunisada.   Mei kinda looks like a couple in Sesko's meikan from the early 1630's.   Anyway who knows.   The blade under all the age staining looks to be flaw free.    

   Tsuba is signed but cannot make heads or tails from the signature or if it is noteworthy in any tsuba characteristic collectors notice. 

Thanks for looking!

Best regards,

  Bob

Now that is a sword!  Please post some before pics of the blade.    Is the story interesting on how you acquired it?

Jean,  thanks for the tip!  I did look at it with 10x headset on and most if not all is "spider rust"   I haven't seen this before,  but I usually buy blades with much more rust and discoloration!

Nihontophiles,   I ended up with this sword,  here are a few closeups of Nagahide's work for future people looking up this smith's work.    Sword is machi-okuri for WW2 mounts.     Forging is interesting with interesting metallurgy and flaws.   The second pics shows these cloudy areas which I am unsure of it being a forging characterics or some sort of age stain?

1895.] A Japanese Sword-Song. 795
A Japanese SWORD-SONG.
“ Loyalty to m y lord, and vengeance upon m y lord’s slayer.” — Old Japanese Motto.

(Hush , listen — my Soul, my Sword !)
Is he near, the Fox that skulks
And kills in the dark, unseen ?
Shall we, too, hide and strike
In the dark a foe unclean ?
Brave deeds are done in the day.
Sun God, give me steel for sight,
War God, give me arm of steel
To avenge the deed of night.

(His life for life of my lord.)

(Hush, listen — my Soul, my Sword !)
Not molten with toil of days
Was the steel of your fashioning,
But with labor of strenuous years,
And the steel was a living thing.
Through your eager, thirsting veins
The red drops hissing ran,
Pure blood of a fiery Soul,
Proud spirit of a Man.

(His life for life of my lord.)
(Hush, listen — my Soul, my Sword !)
You writhe in my grasp, my Own —
He is near, the Fox we snare !
You lift your quivering length,
One moment — one chance — if he dare !
The blood that is in you gleams
Wicked red, with flashes of light —-
Now, Sword, my Soul, cleave clean !
Revenge is new life, new sight!

(His life for life of my lord.)
(Hush, listen — my Soul, my Sword !)
Am I, too, wounded to death ?
What matter ? My foot can spurn
His body, the Fox that skulked,
That killed in the dark. I earn
Remembrance for loyal love,
For vengeance unto the death —
And this is a glorious way
For a man to yield his breath.
(His life for life of my lord.)

Mary Stockton Hunter.

Very healthy blade with better than average fittings, I would be happy to own it!   Good candidate for submission for papers down the road.

Ben,  Make plans to visit sword shops in Japan and attending a few of the sword shows here in the states ASAP!   It doesn't hurt to buy fixer uppers to learn a bit from as a catch and release type of event.   My preference after getting bitten 15 years or so ago, is buyng Nihonto with healthy blades in  good old polish that can be papered if I desire.  

Tanker with regulation sword.     I thought it was a pretty good pic of a reg sword.

  I think so Bruce,  It lets the handle line up with the mekugi ana.     Going to put it in my booth with a Japanese flyers outfit,  should look good together. 

  Fellas,  Picked up this oddball from a online auction because it's something different and the leather garbed swords always gets me!    Never seen a kinnuto in field fittings almost a last ditch piece,  whaddaya think Bruce?

Yep,  I got a two out of three too.  The 5 hole katana got a question mark due to a  worn gakumei which Steve M and Jussi were able to ID the kanji on this board with good pictures.  Chris B said the second character was too worn to verify by the team.   I'd like some NMB papers!

On 4/17/2023 at 4:50 PM, waljamada said:

I'll be at the show either Friday and then Sunday...or just Sunday...and have two shinsa tickets.  Going to post a "which to submit?" on the nihonto forum in the next few days to help me make a decision.  Only have three unpapered signed blades in my collection to decide between and then one signed tsuba that might be worth submission. 

That was a good idea,  as I was on the fence on which blade to use my 3rd ticket on.   I mailed my box up there already but would have liked the board help choose!

I wonder if anybody can chime in about the number of collectors in China?   If the traditional historical negative view of Japanese in general is overcome the Chinese market could be a game changer.

Old polish looks good,  I always like buying nihonto that way, Good buy!  I wonder what the price was?

   Jeepers,  I need to get that haunted WW2 blade Mark sold me 12 years ago on the auction if the market is this strong for ghost blades.     I wonder if they have special spirit papers from NPO if strange things happen while it's laying around the suite?  https://www.ebay.com/itm/113828029442?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=s3IXV20cS72&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=vr5my0t8r0c&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Merry Christmas gang,    Wish you all the best this holiday season!    I bought a wak the other day online as it was too cheap to pass up and was surprised by the wild hamon it sports up and down the blade.   Didn't see a easy match in Connoisseurs,  I'll have to dig a bit more in the reference books.    Looks like hot lava popping out of the pool in the volcano. Best regards,

  Bob

Thanks for the translation Ray!   No collection room for me,  too big a family,  I have 10 kids and 7 of them are still here!

Hey Y'all,    I took the day off today to gather things because I am setting up for the 1st time in 2 years at the gun show.   While digging around finding objects I forgot I owned I found this Naganata Naoshi.    I remember getting this about 8 years ago,  so I brought is out to give it some oil and was surprised it was signed and I did not have it tagged.    Not going to sell this blade but put it where I know it is,  also found a nice 18th cent flintlock!    Man,  when you find things in your own home that you forgot about you might just have too much laying around!    Any help in translation would be appreciated.   

Howdy Nihontophiles,    I've not been hunting blades the last 4 years or so unless they fell into my lap.   Recently I have followed a few online auctions (not ebay) for pretty common gunto and gendaito military blades amongst others and the prices seem to have increased maybe 30% or so the last 4 years.     So,  what is the state of the market these days for Nihonto?

Thanks Steve,  definitely not the lost Masamune.