Hello members of the Nihonto Message Board.
I've been looking at the following sword, for sale on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291374956517?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
As I see it, the pros are that it is a signed (suriage) koto blade from a known maker of the ko-Uda school, assuming that the seller has attributed it to the correct Uda Kunitomo. The cons are that the rust is obscuring most of the blade's features, including any flaws that polishing might reveal. While I think it would be rewarding to get the blade polished, mounted in shirasaya, and sent off to shinsa I want to make sure that I'm not romanticizing the results of buying a cheap blade in crap condition off of ebay.
I would appreciate if you guys could not only give me advice, but also talk me through the reasons for the advice so I can understand what you're considering or seeing that I haven't had the experience for yet.
Also, I understand that daito polish, shirasaya, and new habaki are quite expensive. If I bought this, the goal would be to have it ready for NTHK shinsa this summer- is that a reasonable timeline for the polish/remounting process?
Thank you for the advice.