Blundemo

I've seen Kimura blades go for $6,000 - $8,000 tops, even with horimono. That is overpriced for a modern sword with fake signature. Beware ebay.

1) It is difficult to see the signature from the picture you posted. Generally this dealer sells authentic work unless he says it's Gimei. The signature has a faint character of "Moto", but it is difficult to tell. It doesn't look formed correctly. 2) This is from Suriage work, but I have also seen some Ubu Kanemoto blades (Magoroku) with the signature at the very bottom of the tang 3) I would think so, but kodai Kanemoto works rarely have false signatures 4) I can't tell from the hamon. The hadori in the pictures obscures it. Is it a neat sanbonsugi (3 cedar trees)? 5) This is not an Edo period polish, it's modern. It could paper Hozon if authentic in it's current state

If Japanese swords were priced solely on the merits of their quality, it'd be a much easier marketplace to understand. This is not the case when provenance, age and name recognition come into the picture. A smith like Kiyomaro shouldn't be worth more than a masterpiece of Ko-bizen or Ichimonji. But that's what the market decides.

And where do you buy? It is always good to have many sources BTW, a dark hamon can indicate softer and less brittle steel. Better to take on armor, especially when combined with niku. But the colour is also a function of polish... Various places, depends what I'm looking for or if I happen to stumble upon something at a good price while I'm looking for a said sword. Japanese dealers are a little more pricey but obviously have better stuff. Western dealers tend to have lower quality items and with high prices but can be bargained with. However, Western dealers tend to exaggerate the descriptions more or include unnecessary info to help it sell. Regarding point #2, this is why I said Mr. Tsuruta's description of a "cut well sword" is wrong and misleading. Dark hamon means a tough blade, not an extremely sharp one.

I have seen some consigned, others without "consignment sale". I don't know how many blades are resold from a much cheaper price because I only research those that interest me, but it could be more than I expect. There is nothing wrong with making money, but from a buying viewpoint, it is better to look elsewhere. Almost every single description of the swords are described as "well grained, jinie attached", even if it is not so. I have seen him list swords with a dark hamon and say "this kind of dark hamon makes cut well sword". Which is untrue and confusing to beginners who might believe it. Other times the information is technical where he might have not inputted the correct era and that sort of thing. Probably lack of time from the amount of sales he's pumping out.

Mediocre quality swords at a high price. Often, swords auctioned on that site were purchased much cheaper from a different vendor. Example: an 80,000 yen tanto that ends up selling for 500,000 on aoi-art. The dealer is a nice guy, but has your typical salesman behavior. Descriptions of swords are not very accurate at times.

Mr. Trotter, I have no specific sword to show, it's only a question to expand my knowledge. Suriage swords that had their nakago reshaped would mean that it was probably done in Muromachi because suriage laws were not truly settled then. I wanted to know if anyone here knew if suriage swords selected for cutting tests were allowed to have the nakago reshaped or remain with a cut off kiri jiri shape.

If a sword that was previously Suriage was selected for a cutting test, was it a rule that the sword's cut off kiri jiri tip would be reshaped afterwards?

Mr. John, I think I know which book you're talking about, but I have not been able to find any sellers. Those who do sell it never respond to my inquiries. Do you happen to know a seller of this book? Mino blades are of my main interest, particularly Kanesada and Kanemoto.

You are correct; my mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. 吉: Kichi or Yoshi

Final price $6,312. For a nicely made gimei blade with some history behind it, it is not bad. Most of komonjo's recent sales appear to be from blades with fake signatures of famous smiths.

Fujishiro's description on Nosada is the best I have read thus far. Thank you for sharing this; this bit of text is very helpful, especially the description of the hamon. Perhaps he was called Yoshizaemonnojo later in life and Kichizaemon in his earlier years seeing as that sword I posted is one of his early works.

Mr. John, Are you sure he was called Yoshizaemon? I have seen an example where he signed as "Kichizaemon" http://www.iidakoendo.com/info/item/a089.htm

Good workmanship, but a Kotetsu on ebay resold from yahoo Japan auctions is doubtful. http://www.ebay.com/itm/S67-Japanese-Sa ... m1e8458373 Few hours left. A signed kotetsu would go for over $100,000, but this is a nice shinto blade.

Thank you all for the additional info. A high shinogi and thin kasane is common; it is available on many mino and yamato blades. The hamon is what trumps me because he made many different styles. The most common seems to be variations of gunome midare. Some are o-midare while others are done in ko-gunome or, even more rarely, sanbonsugi like the example Mr. Darcy showed. Some blades with gunome midare hamon appear to resemble 1st gen. Muramasa. Here is a juyo example of Nosada that sold for 12 million yen: http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/f00182.html and a tired example that looks completely different: http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/f00127.html Others: http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords/JT988870.htm http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords/KT121578.htm http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords/KT120301.htm http://www.premi.co.jp/k-nosada%20130725.html You will understand when I say "irregular". Japanese translated books that I have read attempt to slap one characteristic on him, but it is simply not that easy.

Hi all, I have carefully researched this smith through Oshigata, books and internet image searches of past blades that were for sale. There is one word that pops into my head when researching this smith: "irregular". He made many copies and worked in different styles. Most blades that I have seen look like they were each made by someone different, yet have his signature on the tang. What are some key features to look for in No-sada blades, besides a well forged jigane? Thank you

Someone else also told me that polishers in Japan will usually clear the tang of active rust as a courtesy, but I will ask just in case. Thanks everyone.

Hello, I have a conundrum here. I have a sword that I'm preserving with a gold tameshigiri mei. The tang has some active red rust that I was concerned about. I don't want to oil it out of fear of rubbing off the inlay. It's actually getting polished at the moment in Japan, so my question is: Should I ask the polisher to remove the red rust on the nakago? Can they even do that whilst keeping the inlay intact? Thanks

Hi, you're very insistent that the blade is Shinto. I can tell you from my own knowledge and my handling of the sword that it is most likely not the case. I say "most likely" because there are no clear absolutes with this subject. Both Mekugi-ana have recessed metal on both sides meaning they were punched, not drilled. The kasane is not thick like Kanbun era Bungo swords, it's thin to moderate. There is not much taper and sori is shallow. Not all muromachi blades have great sori. The blade niku is shallow and the nakago is tanago-bara that doesn't appear to be "reshaped", but probably filed down to remove a signature. Running Itame hada with jinie and chikei finally leads me to a Sue-Soshu school in the late koto period. But anyway this topic has gone on longer than I expected. The blade isn't a treasure, it's a mere study piece that I found interesting and wanted more info about. The agreed upon opinion in this thread is Sue-Soshu as I had expected before I purchased it. Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Best,

As I just said in previous posts, this blade resembled Sengo school without their trademark hamon so I gravitated toward Shitahara. Lance, Yamashiro is a possibility but age is uncertain. Besides the shape and style, if the blade was shinto or later wouldn't the mekugi ana be drilled?

Shitahara den is described as making suguha hamon which is why I listed them.

Hi Mdiddy, If you mean Edo era Kanbun shape, this blade is nothing like that. Those are thicker in Kasane and have a wider mihaba with greater taper toward the monouchi. They feel like choppers. Few blades from that era are done in Nioi and most are in nie-deki. Fumbari is more pronounced in Early koto era and it declines in late koto. Fumbari is also largely dictated by the health of the blade and whether it is Ubu or O-suriage.

Hi Mdiddy, Please read about "Katate Uchi". This is what I asking about in my title and what I presumed the blade to be. These are sengoku era one handed Daito. Hiromasa: http://www.shibuiswords.com/hiromasa.htm Shodai muramasa: http://www.shibuiswords.com/mmasa.htm The nakago, Kitae and Yasurimei(now questionable) are similar to Sengo school but missing some characteristics like Mitsumune, hamon and etc.

The similarity to Sengo school. Edit: Also if you turn one of the pictures around in post #1, you'll notice the blade has a slight fumbari. What made you reach the conclusion that the blade is Shinto?

On a showa era tanto. Thanks in advance