Alan F

Close-up photo of a yokote, just for interest. Peter

Hmm, something smells very fishy here. The "guy", presumably the seller, said that it had been stolen? Or was he the buyer? You didn't say. If he was selling it to you, I would ask for proof that the supposed item had actually been shipped. He should be able to provide you with a tracking number and a copy (faxed or scanned) of the shipping receipt, whichever service he supposedly used. That's the risk of buying off ebay from a relatively unknown entity. How much money did you send him? Did you ask him to refund your money? If it was a significant amount of money, I would try to contact the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). You can google it. It's worth a try. I would also contact ebay and give them as much information as possible. If it was just a couple of thousand Canadian dollars or less, then perhaps just write it off and chalk it up to experience. "Never do that again", I would say to myself. Peter

Yes Piers, I think you hit the nail on the head. Perhaps I thought that if someone recognised that it was made by "such-and-such" (without me giving away too many clues), then that would be reassuring. I also thought it would be reassuring to hear that some of the experts thought it was a quality piece. So far, all of your responses have been very reassuring. I also apologize because, secretly, I realize that I may be trying to show off a bit too. All sorts of crazy insecure thoughts can occur in the middle of the night. Like: What if it's not genuine? Did I get my moneys worth (is it a quality piece)? I have no reason not to trust the experience and the judgment of the vendor, but I have little experience judging swords and I do not know of anyone locally (with experience) to whom I can show it. The guy I bought it from will think I'm certifiable. Recently one of my friends discovered that an expensive painting which he bought from a reputable Canadian gallery was a fake. It wasn't discovered until he showed a picture of it to another experienced dealer. Fortunately, he got his money back. I have no reason to think that this sword is a fake. To my inexperienced eye, it looks like a beautifully made sword (albeit with a few small flaws) that is likely as old as the attribution suggests. The nakago is shortened and there is no signature. The papers appear to be genuine. When I said "flimsy", that was just a figure of speech. Thanks again for all your replies. The NBTHK papers say that it is a Yoshioka Ichimonji. Peter F

Bought this sword a while ago. Not going to say what it is supposed to be. Is it the real deal? What do you think it is? Not sure I trust the flimsy pieces of paper that came with it. Apologies to the guy I bought this sword from, if he recognizes this sword. Peter F

Hi guys, I was christened Peter, and I'm from western Canada. I'm a novice and I just bought my first sword within the last year. I always wanted a genuine katana, so I bought a good one (Juyo Token). I'm not sure if I want to buy any more, or perhaps just keep it at one. Rather than become too deeply invested. I've included a few pictures of my sword. I hope that it's not inappropriate to do that in this introduction. I've discovered that taking pictures of swords is not easy, so I hope the quality is not too bad. Can you guess what the sword is? Peter F