Marius

Unless it is a tachi tsuba. But yours is not.

Ed, the tsuba is Edo. Iron is too bland to be of an earlier production.

Adam, please read this thread - might be useful for your future purchases: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16947&hilit=advice+beginner And congratulations on your first sword. Well done

You can't read Japanese? Even I can Try to decipher these kanji: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ka ... roke_count It's fun :-)

I think that to some extent this may have been rather gunto collectors who have driven the price up. General's tassel, ancestral blade etc. Have you seen the "q&a about this item"? One of them refers to potential value, a crude attempt to drive the price up. The story about the father who has hidden his treasure beneath the floor boards... Not exactly credible. I have the feeling that there is some shill bidding going on here. Ah, eBay... Sa? BTW, the "kinpun mei" is painted with goldpaint and crude.

Junichi, I have a small lamp with maybe 12 little LEDs...

A simple LED lamp works fine for me :-)

Alan, Kurt, Don't be shy Please share those sites with us

Saku - made (this). Masatomi, Choshu. Nice tsuba, well done Now you'll want to check if the signature is genuine.

Good start It is a real tsuba :D You could try to decipher the signature. But the eBay seller takaramon has done that already... So, what do you want to know?

Mike, I haven't found anything about your training as a polisher. Can you please tell us who taught you?

Mike, Who is your polisher?

Thanks Brian

Also, keep on mind that they publish an oshigata with every sword they sell. That helps the buyer who cares to look at them.

This one is actually for JPY600,000

Apparently some people regarded this as the real McCoy...

Sorry for the OT, but what happened to Reinhard and Milt the Ronin?

And where do you buy? It is always good to have many sources BTW, a dark hamon can indicate softer and less brittle steel. Better to take on armor, especially when combined with niku. But the colour is also a function of polish...

Sorry guys trying to write using a smartphone (I'm off skiing) :D And no, I don't think that deers have any deals for me

Well, I never bid in their auctions But you are right, these auctions are unnecessary.

Branson. Wasn't the tanto a consigned item? I don't expect bargains from dealers (or anyone) but what I usually see are fair prices. What lacks in the description your opinion?

Just to make clear: the original dealer was NOT Tsuruta-san from Aoi Art? And The dealer you bought it from was someone else, and has since passed away? I see the different dates for purchase and appraisal, but it may be somewhat confusing at first glance...

That is odd and sounds very unlike Aoi Art. I am not saying that this could not have happened, but it is strange. Have you committed to the item? Have they acknowledged? Accusing them that they are not honest is not fair. Your statement makes them look like some cheap crooks, which they are certainly not. Tsuruta- san runs a serious business and he and his staff are very friendly and very good at communicationg with clients from the West. And they have some really good swords. A top source when buying on the internet. They deal with many clients and have a huge inventory, so errors can happen. The best thing to do if you really want to buy, is to agree on a down payment. That shows committment and they would never change the price (not that I have ever seen any price hikes on their site and I am a regular visitor of their site for some years now). My communication with Aoi Art was always excellent. They respond very quickly and are very forthcoming.

Thanks guys This site is a great resource. I use it on a regular basis. I think I will call Mr. Cole just to thank him. A great effort and a great contribution.