Alex A

Your blades look nice, Just have a thing about decent blades being brought down by questionable koshirae. The ito wrap looks amateurish, if any of the fittings are modern repro i would get rid and start again with old, or just get shirasaya made. Nice swords though!

What oil is that Jean ?,

Hi Simon, difficult to tell from the images, but is that koshirae modern ?

Hi Jacques, Im no expert either, just have a few humble thoughts now and again. Seen and owned swords, papered swords by the way that dont quite fit the typical range for a given timeline (call it what you want). So i just accept there are always exceptions to the [ ] we like to fit stuff in to. Once had a chat with a dealer in Japan about this, kind of got the impression he was thinking i was being a little pedantic (at the time)

This should be framed.

Hello John. Dont worry too much, all personal opinions. As the famous Maradona once said in his book "keep your head above the sh**" and you will be ok

Unless its a bit of a gem and is something exceptional......... If you buy from Aoi, expect to re-sell at around 75% of the purchase price

Be great if there was this world where auctions were not rigged and folk sold stuff at a lot less than market value.

Depends. If what your selling is appealing If what your selling is priced correctly If the answer is yes to both it will sell, so long as any potential buyer in this "niche" market has the available funds at that time. Need a bit of luck with the timing. As for prices, still holding.

One other thing it mentions in the index, says 3rd Tadayoshi Kaeri is shorter and shows more Nie. small clues.

If i owned it, be happy with either

Interesting Paul. Mainly concentrated on "nijuba and kuichigai-ba." to start with, looked like a chopped old blade hence ended up at Senjuin to start with but then all that went out of the window trying to fit Ko-itame, surprised how relatively rare it seemed back then, mostly mention of mokume. Then on to Hizen. From memory, sure i read somewhere that nijuba and kuichigai-ba. was mainly linked to the 3rd, but looking at the book a short while ago its the 1st. Also, 3 rd is said to have mainly worked in Ko-nie, but 1st Nie. Totally missed the mei, and not a clue without looking in books who wrote what. I do see why 1st is stated in the write up. Suppose only folk that see hundreds of blades by 1st and 3rd would have a real shot. Learned something, thanks.

Preston has a good fair, Preston Arms & Militaria Fair – Buy, Sell and Exchange a Wide Range of Military Collectibles From Many Eras of History (prestonarmsfair.co.uk) Stockport and Liverpool also.

Hi Dave, Was at that one a good few years ago. One of the dealers was looking to get rid of a wak in gunto mounts, only £600. I passed on it and carried on looking around, then a while later found out id passed on a well known Yokoyama smith Polish was not great but it was a chunky old sword and would have took another. Occasionally, get some some decent stuff at these small fairs.

Nice sword! Went from Senjuin to Hizen, then ended up agreeing with the Thomas above.

Thinking about it Jon, i did have one small issue but it was resolved quickly. Bought a sword and it turned up with some rust spots in the Bo-hi (groove), they accepted it back but shipping it back took some time and was a bit of a worry (as shipping swords ALWAYS is). I didnt study the images online as closely as i should have done. There is no rush to buy a sword, hang around for a bit and get to know what you like first. No point buying something then wishing you hadn't, as a lot of folk do when they become interested in these swords. You see some fair deals on Aoi, sometimes great deals though in the sales section below. Usually, new folk have to have the "katana", but tanto or waks can be a better option. Lets face it, you dont need a 70cm blade for study and they can be pretty cumbersome. Shipping is more awkward and then you get the likes of customs and couriers being a little more curious, maybe All depends where you shop, i am but an humble bottom dweller happy with stuff like this Tanto: Kanekishi | Japanese Sword Shop Aoi-Art (aoijapan.com) Nota recommendation, just personal preference and making the point that it does not need to be so expensive. No papers, no need, good saving. Nice signed blade, nice fittings., small, easily studied, easily shipped, happy days. Have fun!

Hi Jon, not had any issues with Aoi in the past with importing to UK, just make sure they state the customs tariff for antiques which is 9706.00.00.00 on the description and add ANTIQUE OVER 100 YEARS OLD.....RELIEF REQUESTED That should do it..

Interesting exercise, main reason for me is thought id have a go as you should do without reaching for books and the internet. Wont bore folk with images of swords from my original choice but there are similarities, all went to pot in the end though, main reason being you doubt you would find any sword made by that smith with those dimensions I suppose unless you look at these swords in hand on a regular basis then it makes it rather difficult. Which most of us dont. Thanks though, lovely sword in great condition.

Mine had a rough life too Life aint easy for a sword named Sue.

Welcome Jon. Great place to learn about Japanese swords and have a laugh.

Good strong name Chris!

What you do Chris is pick a smith who you think it might be then MAKE it fit

Ive got a Sukezane i call Susanne

See if this warms it up Go Yoshiro or Kanemitsu maybe

If folk like yourself spend 10, 20, 30 + years looking at swords everyday, whether in hand or online then i consider your opinion valid, even if not considered "expert"