Marius

I have recently acquired a (very inexpensive) diminutive wakizashi. I am sure, some of you have seen it on eBay, nobody bought it, but me, against my own rules to buy only gimei blades, so it serves me right Measurements are: Nagasa 39 cm Motohaba 2.3 cm Sakihaba 1.8 cm Motogasane: 0.48 cm The blade has fumbari and a pronounced sori. Hada is itame, the rest can be seen in the pics. Its proportions make it look like a toy sword, although it is a real nihonto. It rests in an old, carefully crafted tiger-striped honoki shirasaya. The nakago loks like it has been artificially patinated, so this sword may be gendai, though it tries to appear older. What do you think of it? Was it a boy's wakizashi or something like this?

IMHO, on the contrary - the description assures that there is NO hagire or other serious kizu: "And there is not HAKOBORE(nicked part of an edge) and HAGIRE." Oh, BTW, yes, I thought about muneyaki while writing "hitatsura". The choji are quite visible in the hadori polish. I think, I can discern the hada as well, lloks like ko-itame to me...

I may be wrong but I see o-choji and hitatsura, which, to my amateur eyes, looks rather awkward. What do you think of this sword? Might this be an interesting sword for a newbie? I am pretty sure that there are some bidders lurking and waiting to put in their last-minute bids as such a hamon is invariably attractive to beginner-collectors... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0423766428

Actually, it seems like it really has been machi okuri... But the patina is so awful.. Why would anybody do such a thing? This waki would probably be sold were not for the fake patina.

...that simply won't do! ...We expect buffalo horn Ford, I wouldn't expect you to bother with the description given the pics :D However, I am puzzled as to poplar replacing magnolia. I hate those ebony elements, too. I have a nice Shitahara school wakizashi in an American(?)-made shirasaya with ebony inserts. I don't like it but it does the job credibly

The seller says in his description: Comes in a poplar shirasaya with an ebony reinforcement that is well made and attractive.

I don't mind, it is one of my favourites - a Soshu Hirotsugu. Oh, and could you perhaps post a pic of your Kiyomitsu? Another one of mine I really like is this Uda Kuninaga.

Joe, those swords are not an investment. The first one is more of a gamble with considerable cost of fixing the grind wheel job someone has done to it, the second one is - to all intent and purpose - just a tsunagi (the kissaki has been ground down and the boshi is most likely lost). If I were you, I would buy a nice nihonto book for that money. You will learn nothing from either of these blades, although in their current state they may just remind you of machine-made WWII blades

Brian, thanks for the explanation. I thought that conscious hijacking is simply impossible on this Forum, given the gentility of its users. But you are right about the limits to the natural flow... Reinhard loves debates, and rightly so, because debates allow people to learn (you don't learn if you talk to like-minded people only) The only thing where I disagree is the distinction between diplomacy and politeness. Diplomacy is sometimes about saying something which might be unpleasant in a polite manner. I have been told many times in this Forum that I have no idea what I am talking about, but it was always in a very diplomatic manner, and, it was true :-)

Reinhard, your post is quite interesting, and I agree with it, but what to you mean by hijacked threads? I am on this forum for some time now, I have seen discussions diverting from a topic, but I have always thought of it as of a natural flow of thoughts... What exactly do you mean?

Read my signature

John, does it work? I mean, does the aplication of uchiko make an out-of-polish sword reveal hataraki? Does the sword eventually look like it was in old polish? If so, how long does it take?

Curvature is in the eye of the beholder, so to say... It is always an individual feeling. Hence the silence.

I guess that, given the current weakness of the Polish currency, it could make sense to order from Bartosz even if you are not in Poland...

Brian, hope to see you back soon. All the best and good luck :-)

This one went up to nearly $400... Actually, I think this is a chrming idea with "the ones that got away" :-)

I missed a nice suaka wakizashi tsuba with Shoki and Oni. I like suaka kodogu and I love Shoki, so I was very disappointed not to win the auction. I am still looking for a tsuba of this kind, with Shoki and Oni on it. The Oni here is particularly funny, he is scratching his head, rather puzzled than frightened while Shoki casts a spell...

Well, maybe... What I CAN see in the pics is a nice habaki. The rest remains uncertain as to the quality. I would not buy any sword having only these low-res pictures. But it is probably a decent sword, sold at its current market value

Mark, never do that again, otherwise you risk cutting your fingers badly. Gently up only, from the hamachi to the kissaki, NEVER down. Justa an advice of someone who has done it the wrong way.

A treasured blade is returning to me after a few years (I have sold it to a friend, and I was regretting it ever since). Just wanted to share it with you, as I know there are some fans of naginata naoshi here. Pictures attached, comments appreciated. Close up pics possible at the end of the month, when the blade is in my hands again... Let me know if you are interested in such pics. This blade's cost has cost me quite a few greenbacks, and I know I could have got an excellent ubu wakizashi or even an average katana for it. I know I will not be able to sell it fr what I have paid. I don't care, it simpy has this something that appeals to me. I was waiting for years to get it back... This blade is not gimei, so it clearly violates my principles of collecting :lol: Oh, BTW, and this blade is:

Thanks, Markus, I appreciate your help :-)

Dear All, could you please help me with this origami? I know it is Soshu Hirotsugu, that is all... Thanks

Not bad. From what I can see on your pics, the tsuba might be cast iron, though. I might be wrong as I am over-cautious and usually completely wrong when it comes to a tsuba . Could you post some pics, please?

Actually, no conspiracy here, just a simple calculation by eBay: how much of our fees comes from nihonto sales? does it make sense to provoke anger of (admittedly not too bright and rather populist) authorities, or worse, suffer a PR debacle at the hands of a hysteric press? The answers to both questions result in a logical conclusion - let's call the whole thing off. eBay is neither good nor evil. It is a company whose goal is to earn money. It is not a club of like-minded people or a charity, or a public service of any kind. And as clients, we, the nihonto collectors, have no bargaining power with eBay.

Adam, the admins here will tell you that we don't comment prices here, just swords. But I would say: hey, that is what "the market" now pays for a sword like this. Fair enough?