Marius

Well, since I have started this thread by indicating that I have a Yokoyama Sukenaga sword, let me publish a few pics showing the mei and hamon of Sukenaga. Two of them show the mei on my sword (as always, I suspect it is gimei) Two are from the Compton collection catalogue, showing also the hamon. One is an oshigata, I have got from one of the NMB members. The pics are here: http://gallery.me.com/mariuszk/100016 If you have any others showing Yokoyama Sukenaga or any other Yokoyama swordsmiths, feel free to upload them to this page.

Jean, many thanks, just wanted to have a confirmation that this hamon is not typical for the Bizen Yokoyama school. Due to the quality of the pics, it is hard to judge anything besides this. The sword has yakidashi and this unusual hamon. How about the signature? Is it worth a closer look? Should anybody have any swords of this school, pics would be greatly appreciated.

Dear All, as I am the owner of what seems like a Bizen Yokoyama sword, I am interested in every example of this particular school. I have come across this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-sword-in-m ... dZViewItem The pictures are probably not enough to judge this sword, but I would be delighted to learn your opinion. Is this a Bizen Yokoyama or not?

You may want to read this article: http://www.nihontocraft.com/Aratameshi_Nihonto.html

Dear Carlo, I have always thought that Polish bureaucracy was one of the worst in Europe. I am so sorry to see that Italians share at least the same or even worse problems. Customs serve nobody, just customs officers and their bosses in some ministry. Let us opt for free trade. Not only for nihonto.

John, There was never any doubt about this. I also like to point out eBay items which are of interest to me and which could be of interest to others. This is undoubtedly such an item :-)

Yes, it might be a cheap buy, but the polish will not be cheap, for sure. Then, you don't know if hamon shows up at all. Besides, it seems from those pics that the nakago has been "cleaned" at some point.

Dirk, are you sure you are not confusing Hiroshi-san with someone else? I watch his auctions and they always attract many bids and end up with sale prices above the starting price.

This guy has various hijacked auctions, one from Hiroshi-san (kanetoyo), others from other sellers like daimyou54eb... How should we stop this bastard? I have notified Hiroshi-san and daimyou54eb already. Here is the seller: http://myworld.ebay.com/yanzot1/ Best regards

Or you may want to use this tool - probably safer for you and the sword (although you must be careful not to hit too hard): http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/tools.html

Very nice. You have done very well, IMHO (I would definitely buy it for more than $1400). If it has no fatal flaws you really should get it polished.

I am not an expert, but I am almost sure that in order to make a proper tsunagi, you would have to have either the blade or the saya would have to be disassembled, which, of course, you don't want to do. I guess that one could make a short, makeshift tsunagi with a wooden habaki. This could do the job. Question is: is it worth it?

Brian, many thanks, that explains everything. I would say that the puzzle is solved :D The buyre will have to find a solution (pun not intended ) to remove this lacquer from the nakago.

Hi Grey, I do not intend to bid, I ask only in order to learn what may be wrong with this nakago. I don't think it has been welded (or glued) to the blade - in such a case one could expect an authentic, valuable mei. I simply do not know what to make of this makago and I wanted to ask the experts. Is it bad repatination? Is it welded? Is it tsuba wear? What is it?

Hi Brian, IMHO it could be just a tired sword, with coarse masame grain. What really puzzles me, though is the part where the patina of the nakago ends and the polished part begins. I did not want to describe what I think about it in order to have an unbiased opinion from the NMB members. Have a look, please :-)

Dear Koichi-san, yes, sorry about the confusion.

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.