Marius

Hi Steve, this has been to some degree discussed in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2686&p=19060&hilit=bidders#p19060

Dear All, please have a look at this auction. Could you tell me what your impressions are regarding the nakago of this tanto? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... ink:top:us

Hi Jos, thanks a bunch for the pics :-) I presume that due top hagiri this sword does not have any NBTHK or NTHK papres? I would love to compare the mei on my sword with some authentic Sukenaga mei. So far I have two pictures of Sukenaga's mei from the Compton catalogues...

Thank you, Jacques :-)

second picture here, sorry...

Dear All, I have recently bought a sword with the mei of a Bizen Yokoyama smith, Sukenaga. Would you please help to decipher the mei? Many thanks :-)

I should really leve this to Brian, our Admin here, but I am so delighted to see your first post here that I cannot help it: Welcome, Hiroshi-san, It is so nice to see you here :-)

Dear All, I know that quite a few of you detest eBay for its fakes, fraudulent sellers, badly worn swords etc.. Still, I wanted to ask you a question: do you think that you can get better prices for nihonto than on eBay? I have browsed JSA and my impression is that some items are being offered at significantly lower prices than on eBay. OK, the auctions are not over, but would you find a naginata http://www.bidders.co.jp/item/100446786 in full polish w. new shirasaya being offered for $350 ??? Some entry-level swords really look like they could be a good deal... What seems to have been a good deal has been discussed in another thread as well: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2673 What do you think?

Dear Reinhard, I have actually learned a lot from your remarks. To me, a newbie, it is amazing. You are right about the sloppiniess of the tsuka elements. Thanks a bunch :-) It is always good to have a discussion and to be able to learn.

Dear All, I have found this wakizashi on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Japanese-Sa ... dZViewItem What strikes me is the very dark yakiba, which usually looks much brighter in photographs than the ji-hada. What is the reason for this in your opinion? Is it the quality of the picture? The type of polish?

Koichi-san, we have apparently discussed the SAME BLADE in the thread you have posted.

Brian, I have the impression that you can contact any other eBay user, provided that you are a user yourself. Just give me your eBay nick and I shall contact you (my nick is macmarius) best

Inhave dug out some more information on this ken. It was the blades description on eBay by Mike Yamaguchi (historian333): " Nagasa: 8.75". Moto-haba: 1.0". Moto-kasane: 0.6". _Toko taikan_ lists 4 koto smiths and 1 shinto smith who signed "Kuniyuki." I don't know which one this blade is attributable to. The koshirae (aikuchi) appears to be fairly new. Unlike ordinary ken which is usually entirely symmetrical from the blade through the nakago, this one is made asymmetical toward the bottom of the blade with slight "sori" given to the nakago. The nakago is considerably thicker (0.75") than the thickness measured at the shinogi line, so the saya is designed to house the blade without a habaki. I believe this is the way the blade was constructed and not a result of togi-heri. Ken were often made as an offering to shrines and temples (rather than as a weapon), and this might have been such a blade." Maybe this will help? I am still puzzled as much as you are.... Best regards

My friend who owns the blade says it is around 5 mm thick. So this is the thickness of a tanto blade. I asked my friend for some close-ups. He is not a good photographer though... so maybe there will be no pictures... best regards

Remy, have a look at the sugata then. What do you make of the sori? BTW, the ken did not feel or looked tired at all. Have a look at these pics: http://web.mac.com/mariuszk/iWeb/Site/ken.html Best regards

Dear all, what do you make of this ken? It has been offered on eBay by Mike Yamaguchi a few years ago (I used to own it then I decided to sell it off). It has no habaki, the upper part of the nakago holds the blade firmly in the saya. Most puzzling - the nakago is at a mild angle to the nagasa. What is it? A shrine offering? A reshaped tanto? Some pics attached. Best regards

Brian, Lazy bum that I am, I have not searched the NMB for this topic. Sorry about that. I shall be more diligent in the future. I shall also look for discussions about the impact of a signature removal on the nakago. On the other hand, if Darcy says I might want to consider doing it, I should be more confident that it won't hurt the nakago. My apologies to Darcy. Best regards

Dear Darcy, many thanks for the advice. I know that Bob's kantei would be very valuable indeed and that it might be worth to submit the sword to shinsa. I would love to have somebody knowledgeable to assess this blade, something which is impossible with pictures only. But, apart from the bureaucratic hassle of sending this tanto abroad (I would have to get an export permit), I would not quite like the fake mei to be removed. Here are two reasons: 1. I don't quite trust "repatination". OK, I am not an expert, but I think one cannot easily replace patina which has developed over hundreds of years. I have learned this reading about tsubas, this should apply to nakago as well. I am sure Bob would do a marvelous job, but I would be simply afraid that it would to an extent spoil a good nakago. 2. I also think the policy of NTHK and NBTHK not to give Hozon to gimei blades (am I right, that is their policy?) is bad as it encourages people to remove fake signatures. This is (in my opinion) a bad thing for blades where the fake mei is really old and part of the blades's history. Why not give an attribution and state that the signature is fake but the sword good? It is just that I don't mind a gimei blade as long as it is a good blade (like this "Masamune" recently on eBay). Just a thought of mine... Brst regards

Sorry about that, and thanks a lot for posting the link. Coming back to the topic of this thread - has anybody something to say about the sword? Best regards

Andreas, A Rai Kunitoshi for $4,700 You should buy it if you think it is real :D Now, I would like to respond to your reprimand. First of all, please note there is a difference between "faked" and "gimei". The first implies a fake sword, a copy, the second a fake signature on an authentic nihonto. I have never said the sword is a fake. It is a subtle, but quite important difference. As for the tsubas - I have indeed thought that they might be fake (isn't this forum also about voicing doubts?) , but I was asking experts to tell their definitive opinion. With this sword it was different, but yes I have said that I am almost 100% sure that it is not what its "name" says. You got me however, with the mei. You are right, this sword is not gimei since there is no signature at all, just a sayagaki. However, whatever the attribuition to Rai Kunitioshi (be it the sayagaki or just the seller's assessment) it simply must be wrong. You maybe a better nihonto expert than I am (this is not difficult, given my glaring lack of knowledge), but it seems that my assessment of the market is erm... a tad more realistic than yours :lol: Would you try to sell a sword of which you had the slightest suspicion it might be a Rai Kunitoshi for $4700 on eBay? Wouldn't you send it for shinsa first? This seller knows about nihonto, just look at his photographs. He sells some allegedly "big name" blades (Masamune, Rai Kunitoshi, we will soon see a Sanjo Munechika here however he does not misprepresent anything - read the descriptions carefully. I have asked the NMB members for their opinion about this sword, as I believe it is a good sword i its own right, though certainly not a Rai Kunitoshi. I would appreciate your opinion too. Best regards

Dear All, we had a "Masamune", which was a very good shinshinto copy of a koto soshu blade as Jean has remarked. Now, from the same selller, we have quite an interesting sword, a gimei Rai Kunitoshi. What strikes me is the hada, it is described as chirimen. I will ask the seller for some more pics, as I cannot really see the sugata. I would certainly like to "study" it. Now, what do you think of this sword? Best regards

Brian, I won't insist, but look at this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-18th-Centur ... dZViewItem it looks like alloy, doesn't it? Or take this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-18th-Centur ... dZViewItem That's some coper aloy shining through the "patina"? Just being paranoid.... Best regards

Wow! Then they are real. What a treasure trove! Best regards

Martin, the reasons for my guess were: 1. bad pictures 2. scarce eBay feedback 3. "Mixed material" in the description, 4. one description for all tsubas 5. "fishy" seppa-dai on some of the tsubas 6. cast alloy look on some tsubas OVERALL: Too good to be true? Some of this seller's tsubas do look good, if real, they would be really worth a lot. But the combination of the factors listed above makes me suspicious. And, I am asking experts because I am not sure if the tsubas are real or fake. i don't know enough to make an educated guess. What is your opinion? Best regards

Dear All, I have noticed a new seller on eBay, with quite a few tusbas. They all look fake to me, but I wanted to ask you if they ideed are alloy copies. If they are fake, they have gotten really better in terms of how they look. A novice (like me) could be easily decived: http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-18th-Centur ... dZViewItem Best regards