Prewar70

Florian, thank you, that is indeed very similar. Marius, no offense, but I don't agree with all your comments. Workmanship doesn't seem crude to me, the hammer marks are intentional. The iron has a nice patina as well. I don't know the age or if it's a mass product or not. The one listed on Grey's site is almost identical, so that might add validity to the mass produced thought. Guessing by the lack of interest its not high quality, but I wasn't thinking it was high quality to start with, but a nicely made utilitarian tsuba.

I am really enjoying this tsuba. Seems like a popular theme, crane, and not sure if those are waves or tree branches. Any information as to school, age, quality, etc I would be grateful. Thanks

Okay now trying to find this smith in the books. Obviously not the Aoe smith. Having some trouble locating this smith. Seskos book shows a smith that signed this way except his name was Tsugutoshi, 1801-1804. Any help would be appreciated. Is the inscriptions of nanban-tetsu or imported iron special? I've read that this was a precious imported iron. I will keep reading but info on this inscription and why it was used would be nice to know. Thanks.

I would like to give you a hug Morita san, thank you

I apologize for the poor pic right now, but anything you can make out? Seems like a lot going on in a small space. Thank you.

Damn Brian, that looks pretty darn close. Good find.

Thank you K Morita. There is some good information on shibuiswords website regarding Myochin school. Based on these limited pictures, what is there of the signature does it look correct? Late Myochin or early, is there a guess to timeframe? Is there any significance to the Sado Island signature. Thanks for all the help

i looked up Myochin and indeed it does look similar with the open grain and texture. Safe to say nothing really special about this tsuba?

What can you tell me about this tsuba. Only pictures I have so far. Thank you

Question on the Katsumitsu in the sanmei link. Why is the Harmon more active and different compared to the other side ? Is this a flaw or a negative?

Well I am in my infancy in Nihonto study. I am going to say the first thing I thought of when I saw this blade, how does this look different than a Hizen blade? To me, from pictures, it reminds me of a Tadayoshi or Tadahiro. Blasphemy? Okay, so I said it. Now in person, they might look very different. So please help me understand. On the AOI site they also say it "has shinogiji". Not sure what that means unless it's a translation issue. I take it to mean it has healthy shinogiji and jigane, with no rough hada or course grain.

That's really interesting Darcy and gives me a lot to think about regarding the Western attitudes towards blade health vs the Japanese. Just another variable to try and remember when evaluating a sword. I'm going to contact the seller, see if he will provide better pics and or accept an in person visit next time I'm in the area.

Wow, those are really great. How much time is involved to produce one and are you animating pictures?

I'm very happy with my new little tsuba that just arrived in the mail today. It's heavy, good thickness. Notice in the picture what looks like a V, hmmm. I like open work and iron, but know very little regarding schools, age, etc. Quality seems nice to me, patina is good. Any thoughts on this little tsuba I'd love to hear them. Thanks

That surprises me Ray. You have far more experience than I but for a Shinto smith, TH papers, and shingane, that seems surprising.

Does it matter, Darcys is Hozon, and the eBay sword is TH. Again, should not the TH papers cover a litany of concerns, especially with Hizen? And regarding no returns accepted, that's fine that he states that, but I know Ebay and they are almost always on the side of the buyer. And now that everything is through paypal, which they own, if a buyer has an issue eBay is going to help them. I'm not buying this sword, but I do travel to the bay area often. IT would be interesting to see in person.

Shouldn't the TH papers speak to the quality of the blade regarding the shingane, health, and overall quality? Stephen, not necessarily, but that isn't my question. I want to try and understand why a TH papered blade by a well rated smith, from a good school, is selling for roughly half the price and not selling. Maybe because folks don't want to spend 10k on Ebay, to your point. Or maybe if they saw the blade in person, they'd be willing to pay 15k like the one on Darcy's site. So what am I missing. http://www.nihonto.ca/omi-daijo-tadahiro-4/

Looks like a nice blade, TH papers, sayagaki but not sure by who, and half the price of where I have seen others for sale. I don't know the seller, but why isn't this sword selling, if I can ask that question. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-sword-Omi-Daijo-Tadahiro-NBTHK-Tokubetsu-Hozon-Token-/142376383427?hash=item21264b33c3:g:SDgAAOSwRGlXpl3N

I'm trying to learn, so offering up my thoughts and would like to hear yours. To me this is an attractive package. Beautiful blade, TH papers, koshirae is elegant and functional and also papered, famous school, sayagaki, polish, etc. The starting price doesn't seem out of line based on other sold examples I've dug up. It's suriage and wakizashi length, so maybe the only negatives??? I'm not a bidder, but seems like a better than average offering on fleaBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/142296670996?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

so a gimei cutting test but they didn't bother to sign a smith's name? The whole thing is odd.

An unpapered, mumei, ubu, wakizashi with a cutting test. Doesn't seem like something you see everyday. Does it look correct, and what are your thoughts on the blade. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-1667-YAEMANO-KAEMON-TAMASHIGIRI-Japanese-2BODY-WAKIZASHI-ZOGAN-MEI-SWORD-/351923427675?hash=item51f045595b:g:q6IAAOSwImRYP9ks

When you use a knife, it dulls, and naturally you sharpen it. There is obviously much discussion regarding polishing, and sharpening is part of the process or an end result. I have not seen anything on the subject of sharpening for sharpening's sake alone. I was wondering if anyone has information on this practice? I'm thinking of ancient times, when swords were used.

I didn't think I was mixing them, but providing both Hawley's point system and Fujishiro's rating. I agree with the Fujishiro you listed, and double checked what I posted and they are correct.

Jean, it's Hawley's rating system, for whatever that's worth. I see a lot of people refer to it still. Ken, you raise a good point, regarding the value of the rating systems. They are widely referred to so maybe they have some validity. And maybe they are more valid to a newbie like myself, there are so many variables in collecting it gives a person a feeling of assurance. My post is probably a very newbie way to even think about it. But points like yours and others hopefully, might give me some overall perspective. I probably shouldn't have included the price range and period, as it really doesn't matter. These factors can be different for everybody, and they can change over time too. Maybe you really want a piece by a highly sought after school or smith, but their top works are out of your price range so you are ok with an average sword. There are so many combinations it's hard for it to mean anything definitive but it might get some conversation going. Another example, I looked at what I thought was a beautiful sword, nice hamon, ubu, no ware, great period koshirae, NTHK papers, 75 points, smith was from Bungo province. When I asked another collector he said nice blade, but Bungo smiths aren't very regarded. So now I got this stuck in my head but yet that was a great sword! I'm not a dealer, so I don't think of the money part in the same way as a dealer might. I don't want to get robbed either, so it would be nice to buy at a safe level so if I sell someday to advance my collection, I'm in a decent position. Does a TH papered blade from a chu saku smith move faster than a hozon papered blade by a jo-jo smith, no hard n fast rules. I don't know, my thinking is probably all screwed up, but that's what I've been chewing on all day.

So I actually found myself in this situation and I thought it might be a good learning opportunity for me, and curious how the rest of the collecting crowd would look at this. I don't know if there is a survey option on the boards, I didn't see one, but it would be nice to track the results if there was enough feedback. So I know I am generalizing here, and I am intentionally leaving off the smith's names. A good sword is a good sword, regardless of who made it. Really good smiths have bad days, and average smiths can have an outstanding day. Do you buy the blade, and not the name, or a combination of the two depending on other factors. Is it more important to you to have a big name and average blade? A beautiful girl isn't so beautiful to everyone. So, generally speaking if you care to indulge me, where would you put your money? Each of these swords had an asking price between $5 and $6k USD without negotiating. All are Shinto blades, in shirasaya. Let's ignore koshirae, we're just buying the blade. If you're budget today is Juyo, pretend you're back in the early days. $5k is a lot of money, I think. Option 1: Jo-jo saku, 100+ point smith, NTHK-NPO US Shinsa 74 points, plenty to see but needs a polish to truly enjoy, but looks thin, polish could be a dice roll Option 2: Chu-jo saku, 20-50 point smith, Tokubetsu Hozon papers, ok older polish, can enjoy as is Option 3: Jo-saku, 15 point smith, Tokubetsu Hozon papers, good polish, perfect Option 4: Jo-jo saku, 20 point smith, Hozon papers, good polish, perfect