SAS

Crap, now I need one of those tiger ones....

When 400 years old you are, look as good you will not...

The kissaki shape does not flow favorably with the sugata; the hamon seems artificially enhanced and does not appear to have been polished traditionally. The nakago appearance is unusual....it is hard for me to say more from photos. Edit: The kissaki shape in the first photo may have been an angle artifact; it looked ok in a different photo. Other comments remain.

Either way, you have great taste in kodogu....

I looked at pics 3 and 6 that Uwe referenced; i don't see those as fatal flaws, though they certainly are not desirable. it is an honest sword, showing its age; good for learning from and about. Enjoy it for what it is, and continue the lengthy learning process.

very nice...

Is THAT what we are calling it these days??

Thanks Malcolm; you may have guessed why i asked, as i am a student of Aikido, and am interested in its Daitoryu roots. I had communicated a few times with Stanley Pranin Sensei prior to his death. Fortunately the folks from Izakuchi dojo have picked up the torch to continue Aikido Journal.

Is this the Aizu clan or the Kyushu group?

Oww, my eyes!

Doesn't show up in the 1st 50 listings, did he pull it?

My sincere condolences to the family and friends.

The ara-nie on the ^^ above blade is spooktacular; the wheel of history has revolved, and China is once again exporting sword technology

Was he making his own steel as well....looked that way, unless i misinterpreted what i saw in the vid.

The whole matter is that the system is designed to judge Japanese blades.

Being signed Hizen, i am willing to change my opinion to konuka hada

I would say ko-itame, but i am probably wrong

^^ that is what my initial impression is as well.

"greed and deception" and "candor" are mutually exclusive.....

Regarding the (likely false) assertion that the blades were polished in Japan, without shinsa paperwork, they would be seized and destroyed. Truth in all things is to be valued by ethical humans; unfortunately, there are so many unethical ones.

Kanbun Shinto?

Weld seams have been discussed here on the board a lot, but i doubt they are very common. Many times what may appear as a weld seam is simply the previous position of the back of the habaki. I think to definitively identify a true welding seam, some type of radiography would be necessary. Unless it is a big name carved well enough to fool someone, what would be the point? For continued use a a weapon, i think in the past, they would simply suriage a sword broken in that manner and make it shorter, so as to maintain its usefulness. Just my opinion.

Nice package.

Then we could discuss the meanings of preservation.......

Paleoplanet has plenty of tutorials on arrow making and many other topics.