Nickupero

Wow a lot of comments, thank you for everyone who gave their input. Thank you Chris and Eric for the info regarding Enshin. Darcy raises a good point, and I think its an interesting situation, both blades are extremely similar but are dated 9 months apart in 1898AD, maybe commissioned by the same owner at a later date, maybe not? The Shirasaya's look darn close aside from the horn around the mekuhi-ana (forget the name), I had a look close up and I have to say there might be a chance that the Dai received the new rectangular finishing (I've had those white round ones crack and fall off), the reason I say this is under close observation there is an air gap when looking inside the hole where the deeper white horn could have previously existed, maybe its me being overly optimistic. Under popular demand here are some more pictures of the blade, some very interesting hataraki don't mistake it for Kizu, both very healthy pieces.

Just got my hands on a Dai-Sho from Hayama Enshin, both are dated 1898 AD, full mei is Jōunsai Hayama Enshin Kore o Tsukuru. Started taking some pictures and I'm very intrigued by this set. Meiji work and later is not my area of focus on so I can't say I've had many examples in the past. I know Enshin liked to make these style swords but how rare would a Dai-Sho set be? Was this common work for him? I understand that this would fall between the middle of his career, right? Any more info or comments about his smith are welcome. Dai: 66.7 cm Sho: 55.5 cm

Hi Gents, this write up is based on my personal experiences....appears Fedex (Japan division) has made it their policy now to no longer ship any swords. At first it was no antique swords/ blades, but now they seem to have adapted to every other possible wording, Replica sword, ornament sword, Large knife, etc. One or two items may have gone past in the beginning but as November nears the end of the month they seem to be aggressively enforcing this new policy. They are aware of the situation with people trying to play with words, and even if you manage to get it through them somehow with your creative wording you face the item arriving at your customs and having the possibility of being rejected for poor or inaccurate description. This is a big deal for the Japanese dealers because fedex was the trusted method for the higher end items, I doubt anyone feels comfortable sending a Juyo piece using EMS, EMS has technically banned shipping swords a while ago but items still manage to get through, and by using them you are faced with a service that has a poor tracking system and high percentage of lost / misplaced packages. This is a particular concern for myself because I have several blades in Japan not able to safely export. Brian and those of you using fedex outside of Japan worry not, fedex is having no issues sending these internationally as long as they are not exported from Japan, I've had no issues delivering items to my clients worldwide using Fedex. For those of you trying to get pieces out of Japan I wish you good luck and hope they get to you safely.

I think "a little eye candy" is way too subtle of a title.. my eyes are still doing circles, maybe call it eye cocaine or something.

Thank you David, I try to make my inventory represent my taste as a collector! Lord of Nihonto I like, its catchy, got me thinking…… and so my creative side came out, amateurish I'd say but enjoy :lol:

Thank you kindly for the comments both Brian & David, I'll leave any more papering up to the new owners, got the Chicago show coming up so maybe someone will submit it there. Brian it appears not to be the makers Mei on the Fuchi but maybe a Kiritsuke Mei, memo of some sort, reads 四　与　三　分　五　多. I'll leave this in the hands of the Tosogu experts Speaking of papered koshirae I got one coming for sale soon.

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Hi Guys, have this pretty shinto Wakizashi attributed to Fujiwara Takada by the NBTHK. The blade is of excellent work, Tokubetsu grade work I would say. Nagasa measures 48.5 cm / 19.1 inches with a sori of 1.0 cm / 0.39 inches. Nice strong Sugu hamon in very good polish. Fittings are nice, with solid gold Komainu Menuki, saya is bright red which we don't see so often, on the back ridge of the Saya that rests the Mune has a flat surface. Everything fits nice and tight. Price for members is $4,850 US plus shipping and transactional fees, donation will be honoured if sold here. I won't be listing this on my site for a little while. If you have any questions please email or PM me, email preferred.

Definitely some teasing there, looking forward to seeing more. Kevin its nice to know that there is such talent so close to home! Barry I'll have to one day take the 6 hr drive down and come see you guys in action. Enjoy this Saturday for me guys!

Bump and price adjustment before I post it. Offering it to members members and even members for $2,250 US plus shipping and fees

Kunitaro-san, I am on the same page with you… 100%

Oops, lol… This offer is for the real privileged, so make sure your members know. :lol:

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Hi Guys, I'm offering this affordable Shin-Shinto Tanto with recent Hozon, Ubu Mumei attributed to Kaifu. Nagasa measures 21.6 cm / 8.5 inches. The Koshirae is old, have a few flaws, being some touchup work done on the Saya's Urushi, and a fracture in the Tsuba (still very strong). THe blade looks good, in slightly older polish but everything good with some active Horimono. Has a double sided Kozuka with mirror image which is nice. SOLD Thanks for watching!

Welcome Matt, nice to see another fellow Canadian added to the message board!!! You'll learn lots here.

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First thanks to Brian, Matt, Henk-Jan, and James for the kind comments, glad that my pics come close to showcasing how nice the set is. James you are correct the 政 would need to be small in order for it to have been there prior, I'll have to take a real close-up picture to see if there are any remnants of strokes. So Maybe just Tsune like James proposed, it is elongated which apparently is common in the first Gen, so Chris's assumption of Owari Masatsune would be accurate, thanks Chris for the input. So how about we say end koto - early Shinto. Here are some more pics of the blade, enjoy.

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