James

Sounds like that would be a bit of a contradiction. I am also a big fan of Elvis, Ali and Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Tom Nope, not a contradiction at all. I love the look of the blade but it doesn't mean that it is superior to a Yasukunito in terms of construction/build quality.

Just remember flamboyancy doesn't equal quality. The Yasukunito and the Masamichi would have to be held in hand and compared side by side to be able to make a call like that.

I'm sad to say that I took a risk on this exact guy for this exact sword about a year and a half ago and got burnt big time. About 1300 GBP he stole from me if I remember correctly. He literally took my money and never contacted me again. Reported it to the Craigslist authorities who did absolutely nothing of course and allows him to run his fraud as he pleases to this very day. Lesson learnt the hardest way possible

What do you guys think, showato or gendaito. For me, it's a pretty obvious showato (no hada, no hataraki, and showa stamp - just a well made showato) but I'd like to hear the opinions of others. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... AQ:US:1123

Hi Veli, yes I can remove the habaki. The ha machi is almost non-existant. The blade is o-suriage and machi okuri in my opinion. I believe it is most likely Shinto. Definately not gendaito.

Hey Guys, Just recently I picked up this sword and I inspected the nakago to find this colouration on both sides, just below the ha-machi area. I complained to the seller who insists that it is not at all a negative feature of the blade, and who in fact says it adds character to the blade. I've my own thoughts about what this is, but to make this discussion unbiased, I'd like to hear the thoughts of others before sharing my own. Please also include your thoughts as to whether this would affect the value of the sword. Here are the photos:

???

That's an awesome gendaito! Love it!! Thanks for sharing the additional photos!

We'll need more than just the mei to determine if genuine (Post pics of the rest of the blade)

I didn't get much sleep last night.. lol

Might be the kanji for Sada 祐

I emailed the seller, his reserve price is $30,000

Hi Stephen, I will be selling this shortly. FYI due to the machi okuri, the nagasa is 23.5" If you are still interested, please email me.

Of course, you are right

Hi Guys, I've just recently acquired this sword by Tsunahiro. I haven't been able to find much reference to him at all, if there is anyone who could assist with information, I'd very much appreciate it! The omote reads Omi kami Fujiwara Tsunahiro And the ura reads: Echizen Ju Thanks in advance for any help with information on this smith!

Just hoping someone could enlighten me as to who may be this smith, and why it sold for over $3K after a few minutes of being listed? http://cgi.ebay.com/1944-pattern-Japane ... 911.c0.m14

Hi Steve and others, here's the link! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :MESELX:IT

Thanks Jacques, I appreciate it

Thanks, this sword is on eBay now.

Hi Steve, the smith is Ichihara Kanenao. It's a very interesting blade! Though it bears a showa stamp there is nie in the hamon, and I believe it is a gendaito not showato. So what exactly does the winged wheel symbol mean?

Hi Guys, Looking closely at one of my swords I noticed the following stamp/mark. I know I've seen it somewhere before but I just can't put my finger on it. Can anyone please tell me what it means? Thanks

Hi, it says "Bizen kuni Ju Osafune Sukesada"

I got a email from Pawel a few weeks ago so he is still around...

Thanks Koichi! but I wonder what the first two kanji are. Hmm...

Hi guys, I have this wakizashi that might be a collaboration work of Sukesada and another smith but I'm not sure what the ura says. Could it be Shigeuji? There is no Shigeuji recorded in the database.. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance