Ken-Hawaii

RIP to yet another Nihonto collector.

Anything is possible, Pete, but enough of us have been bitten by GSP that we just bypass any sale item, unless the seller is willing to change. Not trying to change your mind. Just be aware.

Agreed. Just a slight discoloration, with no intrinsic problem. You must be young, Tony, as my eyes would have skipped right over it.

I've personally been pretty lucky, with no mismatches, but I've also had my blades polished prior to submittal, & don't bother with ugly/unpolishable blades. I'm kind of hoping for some "visual guidance" on where the crossover point is, not so much for myself, but for people just getting into collecting. Any of you skilled photographers want to take a shot at that? Start out with a perfectly-polished blade, & show less & less-perfect ones, with an indicator showing where submittal stops making sense. Yeah, I know that's subjective, but we have a lot of experience in NMB.

Looks like it has some decent bones, Bob, but it could sure use a little loving. Too bad its former caretaker didn't spend a few cents on choji oil.

I've been advised to avoid submitting a blade to either NBTHK/NTHK shinsa unless it is in decent polish. Has this changed? If the team can't see enough details to kantei, aren't we wasting our money? I keep reading posts recommending shinsa before polishing, & wonder if that's really bad advice.

Brian, one suggestion is to have a running total of Gold Tier subscriptions shown on the main page. Might get others to participate.

Do double-check with Paul, Adam. This isn't the time to make a silly mistake.

Amazing what bothers people! I like it!

Welcome, Alec. To confirm th age of the blade, please add a photos showing the completely bare blade, as the sugata (shape) tells us a lot.

Wow! That blade has a bit of everything, Ray. If I collected Soshu, I would jump on that - one heck of a study piece! For all newbies, this is exactly the kind of blade that you should be studying, not the ugly, cheap ones. This is a university course in Soshu.

Yes, Markus sent out an email yesterday evening stating that he is out of the translation business, at least for now, effective today. So, you were lucky, Emilio.

Too fast, how? I thought that it was well done, & other than the hakikake boshi, I could see everything I expected.

https://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/kinkou/54dokyo.html

Glad someone else noticed that, Hamfish. Yeah, that would make a nice navel piercing, Bob. Or, maybe a bit lower....

Just one of many, Adam. The lice of eBay.

Cool find, Peter.

I agree, mid to end Muromachi. I think a polish will be more expensive because of the level of detail. Send a few shots to Woody, & see what he thinks.

That will take some serious thought, Paul, along with a rather massive budget!

Adam, blades should be evaluated on what you, the buyer, see. Authentication is by shinsa. Mwi have been faked for hundreds of years in many ways.

Agree with John. Your seppa is quite unusual, in that both surfaces are usually flat.

Basic midare hamon, & more nioiguchi than I expected. The thinness of the hamon indicates a lot of earlier polishes, & that's backed up by the kasane photos. This might well mean an older blade.

No karat weight shown. 24kt would be too soft.

https://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/e-swordsmiths-of-Japan/ebook/product-22166224.html An invaluable reference.

I really like both tsuba. They look older than anything in my collection.