Prewar70

Sukaira, that is a beautiful sword in every way. Absolutely lovely.

I will find that thread. Thx

Very true. Any thoughts as to why the GO Yoshihiro is in Japan and not Juyo? Safe to assume it's been submitted before?

Curious if anyone else thinks about this. We are all collectors and dealers in a sense, upgrading our collections and moving along pieces. There is so much nuance with Nihonto. So now I find myself wondering more and more, where is the flaw, what am I missing? If Masamune swords rarely come up for sale to the public, why is this one being offered? There has to be a great many swords that exchange hands in private collections. And over time the best of the best is in a collection that might only see the light of day at an estate sale or Bonhams auction. Anyways, it's a rabbit hole for me and interesting to think about but maybe also a bit depressing.

Hello and thanks for the info. I’ve attached some additional pictures. Geraint the seppa and TSUBA were definitely cobbled together. The remaining all seem to be a set and overall a nice package. They appear to have a copper base maybe judging by some color coming through. The wire inlay has a nice gold color.

I recently purchased a sword, and the fittings look good to me. I brought the tsuka to my local jeweler and she tested the menuki in several spots with her radar looking gun. They came back ranging from 14-17kt gold. I don't plan on removing them unless someone thinks I should. I'm wondering what you can discern from the pictures. Is it unusual that they're gold? Does automatically indicate a good maker and quality? Thank you for your help.

Interesting, thank you for that information. Is there anything here that looks older the Edo? I reminded him about pics of the other side and better quality, hoping he gets to it soon.

Interesting story. We had a birthday party at our home this Saturday, and a family member was in my workshop and noticed a sword of mine. As we were talking about it he said he had a collection of tsubas and was wondering what he had and what to do with them. His parents, years ago like in the 50s or 60s bought a home. I know, get's your heart pumping as you know where this is going. They were cleaning out the basement and found a group of swords along with the tsubas. His brother has the swords, and he got the tsubas. He sent me pictures this morning. I'm looking for guidance to pass along to him. You can feel free to message me. I think he wants to sell them because he's had them for a long time and has never known how to approach doing anything with them. Is there anything that jumps out at you as "this could be worth something?" As a group if someone wanted to put a ballpark price on them that would be helpful. Fun story, and looks like some interesting ones for sure. Thanks for your help. And if there's anything in particular you'd like to see better images of let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks.

I have for discussion a Bishu Osafune Kiyomitsu. I have many questions. Overall it is a very pleasing package to me, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it! Nagasa is a touch of 28", 71 cm. Ubu to me with one ana, drilled not punched. Nicely cut mei and well finished nakago. The blade has nice sori and extended, chu?, kissaki. Choji hamo and I can see good activity, if in polish there would be lots to see. Bright and clear nioiguchi. The hada is hard to make out but seems very small and tight. What makes me very happy too is that there are no forging flaws visible, no openings, even in the shinogi. So in my amateur eyes, it presents as a well made sword in good condition. The fittings also add to the package. They look like they've been together for a long time. I am not sure of the style but appear made of copper. The tsuba shape and work with dragons fit nicely. The seppa do not fit and must be later additions. The menuki I got curious about, because I figured they were brass or some other alloy but the lack of tarnish and a voice in the back of my head saying maybe they're gold kept bugging me. SO I took the tsuka to my jewelry story where they tested the menuki in as many spots as we could get the right angle with the radar gun and they came back around 17-17.5 gold. Not sure if it's solid without removing them which I don't plan on doing. So many smiths in the Kiyomitsu lineage. My guess is Muromachi era??. I read a lot about Bizen produced swords, custom made vs mass production. This sword would fall into the characteristics of mass produced, signed Bishu not Bizen, and undated. But the sword doesn't look mass produced. So I'm curious what folks think I have here. Thank you very much for your time and interest.

Hi Bruce, I believe the mounts are Kyu Gunto maybe type 19. Very basic

Kunishige? It is a nicely forged Wakizashi with a very distinct hamon. Of course I’m wondering if anybody is familiar with the Smith and school and any information you could provide or direction to point me in thank you.

Now that I think about it, I’ve seen auction houses that sell anything and everything take better detailed pictures of Japanese swords