Marius

Reinhard, thanks a lot, I appreciate your information about the Kunisuke generations :-) Since you have mentioned that your comments are about sword, I'd like to ask you to tell me what you think about this sword (besides the fact that it is most likely gimei)? Is it a good sword, what do you think about its features? Sorry to pester you, but my limited knowledge results in my insecurity of my own judgement. I like this tanto a lot. Best regards

Brian, Spot on! :-) I have dug out the seller's description of this tanto and this is exactly whom he atrributes this tanto to: "There were four generations of smiths who signed Kawachi No Kami Kunisuke. This signature and work style is similar to the yondai or fourth generation who worked during the Shinto period about 1711. The fourth generation of Kunisuke is rated Chujosaku by Fujishiro. He is said to have learned from Kuniteru because of the early passing of the second generation of Kunisuke. His work is a distinctive gunome with long ashi as demonstrated in this tanto. This tanto has a very distinctive gunome temper in nioi decki, a nice well worked mokume hada with itame mixed in. There is a very fine swept sand finish in the gunome patterns that I could not show in the photographs. The boshi is a jizo with long strands of nie and a long turn back. The nakago is ubu, one mekugi ana, file marks are o-sujikai yasuri, and the nakago is finished kuri jiri. The tang has a five character mei, and the sword is mounted in original old shirasaya. " So said the seller. Do you think he was right? Best regards

Reinhard, I do appreciate it. I bought the sword three years ago, at the beginning of my nihonto passion. I have also bought the "kuniyuki" tanto from the same seller (there is another thread on that one). He was describing the Kuniyuki as gimei, so I have found him trustworthy. He might not have known better with this Kunisuke gimei, anyway. He is not selling swords anymore, as far as I know. Today my knowledge is not much bigger that it was back then, but I know that an unpapered, signed blade is gimei. I would have bought this tanto anyway, because I think it is a good sword. What do you think? was it worth buying? Best regards

Jacques, many thanks. Since my library is in my house and I am away from it, I have only managed to look for Kunisuke in "The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords" which I have at hand. I have indeed found him, so he was ceratinly above Chu-Saku. Another gimei blade in my collection, then. Never mind, I like the blade, be it only for the horse-tooth hamon I have bought it three years ago (I knew even less than now back then The seller has told me: "I can guarantee the Kunisuke as shinmei 100% textbook mei and all the characteristics on the sword are correct" Seems he was either not very knowledgeable or simply hm... dressing ups his sword... Thanks again for your help and best regards

Jacques, do you think this tanto comes from the same school? The hako-midare is much more regular on my tanto. Also, why would someone place a false mei on a sword which is so characteristic, then? Was Kawachinokami Kunisuke a swordsmith whose mei would be worth putting on a good sword (I reckon this tanto is good, isn't it?) Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles... Best regards

Dear All, here are the pics of the sugata. Any comments? For those who want to see more, here is my site: http://gallery.me.com/mariuszk#100365 Comments will be highly appreciated - a beginner has to learn continuously Thanks for looking and best regards

deleted my post, as link to pictures is not active any more....

Dear All, attached are some pics of the "Kunisuke" tanto I have promised. What do you make of this hamon and hada? Thanks for looking. I appreciate your comments very much - an excellent opportunity for me to learn :-) Best regards

Remy, I'll take some close-ups today so that we will see the features of the hamon, whch has sunagashi. Also the hada on the sword you have shown us (its muji to me) is different from what my tanto has. Best regards

Dear All, another ko-wakizashi (or o-tanto) from my collection you might want to see - if I am wrong, just ignore this post :-) With my limited knowledge I simply have to assume that all unpapered signed swords are gimei, I make this assumption for this piece too. I would like to ask you your opinion about the tanto in general and the mei, too. Attached are some pics (shot by the seller) and the measurements: Total length: 43.8cm or 16 7/8 inch Cutting edge: 32.2 cm or 12 5/8 inch Sori: 0.6 cm or 3/8 inch Best regards

Many thanks Darcy :-) All pictures of this tanto have been made by the previous owner. I will produce some hopefully better photographs and I will post them here. I won't match the quality of your pics, unfortunatelly. Here are the measurements of this tanto as described by the previous owner: Total length is 29.8cm or 11 7/8 inches and the cutting edge is 20.7cm or 8 1/4 inches. I will come back with more measurements soon. Best regards

Oh, here si the source for my assumption (that the tsuba has suffered from being in a fire): http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/fire_scale.html Best regards

Am I wrong or do pics 10 and 11 indicate that the tsuba has been in a fire? Thankfully Possservice posts very good pictures - what you see is what you get. regards

My rules: 1. There are no opportunities on eBay, just fair prices if you are lucky 2. Even if I find something that looks like an opportunity, it is not real. Things like this don't happen to me. 3. If the opportunity seems 100% genuine, look at point 1 - it is still valid. The more one wants to convince me, he/she has no clue what he/she is selling ("I am not n expert on Japanese swords, I have got it from a friend, whose father was stationed in Japan in the 50-ies..") the more I know it is some sort of scam (marketing?) Best regards

Curran, what is the current price? It;s 18:16 CET and the price is $1,325... Best regards

Hello, thanks a lot for your feedback :-) You have confirmed a beginner's gut-feel and I am very encouraged by your positive assessment of this blade. What would I do without the NMB? SO good you are here, always willing to help and teach :-) Thanks a lot and best regards :-)

no, unfortunatelly. Any serious kizu? Best regards

Dear All, I have just won this wakizashi (thanks, Jean for pointing out it that it is slightly machi okuri). The seller is unknown, no feedback on sword deals, but, being a stupid beginner who relies on his gut-feel, I have decided to take the risk. I know, I should have asked before I decided to bid... Now I would like to ask your opinion about the blade and the papers. Was this a good deal or have I , hm... overreacted? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=011 Best regards

Brian, sorry, I should have guessed and checked. As far as the "fake vs. real" manual is concerned, I could give it a try, but what about the pictures? I could add some pics of my real nihonto (no outstanding pieces, though), but otherwise I would violate copyrights... The NMB members could certainly help here with pics of excellent swords and koshirae, but what abouth the fakes? Best regards

I guess, Drirk's idea is very good. Maybe, with permission, the NMB could publish this information: http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/fake_j ... words.html it should be updated, because the fakes are getting better. Regards

Jacques, I presume it may be gimei, but if it is not, then the "crispiness" of the tagane just like tha overall state of the nakago is said to depend very much on the conditions in which the sword has been stored. Or is there any "universal look" of a, say, Kamkura nakago? Best regards

Thanks to all of you :-) Again, an opportunity to learn. To wrap up: not a bundle-sword, not quite like Bizen, but cannot be ruled out. Overall, might be worth the risk. Good (Japanese?) polish but no kanteisho should make one a bit cautious. Good beginner's sword? Best regards

Dear All, I am sure that the seller (whom I know and respect and from whom I have bought a nice wakizashi in the past) will not mind discussing this auction. He is selleing rarely, but if, then it is rather high quality stuff (my personal opinion). What do hold of this uchigatana? It seems one of the bundle-swords to me and I take don't quite like the hada, which seems coarse. I may be getting paranoid, but was this hada "enhanced" somehow? The mei will not matter at all I suppose - if this is a bundle sword as I presume the mei would be the equivalemt to a "factory stamp". The boshi seems very nice though. Anyway, would you recommend this blade for a beginner? I would fancy it, to be honest.... here is the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=018 best regards

I have bought a yari from showa22 - it was exactly what I expected and I am very happy with it. Hope that helps.

Hm.. I see zero bids and a price of $1.0. Strange or was is a joke by some idiots? Regards