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drbvac

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Everything posted by drbvac

  1. Led lights and dehumidified and local craftsman built it and I put on locked glass doors for less than 500.
  2. Not exactly the same situation but I have talked in the past what happens to these treasures when we pass on !!!!! The estate or your family will certainly have no idea of the value and likely very little appreciation for the times themselves. I always look at the money lost on a sale as the rent you had to pay to keep the blades for the period that you do and now having several blades that cost over 20G I don't know if I will feel worse selling them now or waiting until I can't even maintain them any more. Some I have held for over 35 years and am not even sure I will get my money back in them and it is amazing considering the market for collectibles of all types that THEY ARE ALL more costly to buy than sell = that being said at some point SOMEONE must make something on the sale or the whole thing would fall apart ! Collectors are weird - think with their hearts more than their brains
  3. The methods to remove a spot of rust using a softer material really only apply to a rusted area that is higher than the surface of the blade. A rust spot that is in a pit or lower area of the blade will be very hard to pick out and all you will do is scratch the surrounding steel all to hell and make the whole area a mess requiring a toshigi for sure - leave it alone.
  4. The rise and fall of the prices occur for reasons that are not related to the intrinsic value of the blade as sometimes people need the money in a hurry. Many times dealers will buy a blade for half of what they sold it for and to keep anything long enough for it to come back to the retail price will take a long time. Unless you get a real bargain on a purchase there is little room over 3-5 years for it to go up in value unless you picked up something that was way underpriced but as you get into higher end blades you pay the going rate and hang on - IN THE MEANTIME - the cost and any loss you incur is the price you paid to have that bit of history in your pocession when you owned it because it will be around long after you are gone- if you want to see collections sold at a huge loss luck into someone selling their relatives collection and happy to get anything for them. I don't think of this collecting as a great way to make money even over 25 years and many hobbies are the same - you can buy and antique car for 15,000 spend 10,000 restoring it and then sell it for 12.000 and get nothing for labour !!!!!!!
  5. http://nihontoart.com/shop/kogarasu-maru-tachi-by-gassan-sadakazu/ This is not an ad as the sword is on hold but it is a beauty and although I have seen a couple of blades with this pattern nit very many. It would seem to be a pretty efficient cutting instrument with cutting edges on both sides apart from having pretty impressive hamon.
  6. I had this glass front case made to measure and it has a dehumidifier bar in the bottom so it stays dry and constant temperature
  7. http://nihontoart.com/shop/katana-signed-kanefusa-in-koshirae/ In Canada as well = great dealer =- good friend - all blades are papered - watch his site
  8. I have whittled mine down over the years from a room with 275 Military swords and 300 bayonets to one cabinet with Nihonto and a couple others on stands by themselves - turn on the lights and sit and look is what I do = after all cleaned and oiled of course
  9. Carlo - I am so happy that you are feeling better and back on the board = the knowledge and access to information is second to none and I thank you from us all
  10. It always seems that there is roughly a 50% difference between the purchase price and sale price at a dealer. IF you buy a blade without any reduction and bring it back a year later you would be lucky to get 1/2 what you paid. This is a very large percentage to make up over time as an investment. If one buys a sword from a non-dealer and gets it for a good price you may be able to mark it up 30-40% and sell it for that profit but there is damn little money to be made as an individual in nihonto = especially if you are going to get it restored and\or papered. The difference between what you pay and what you sell for if a profit is a bonus = if you sell for less than you paid - that is the rent you paid to have the blade for the time you did. I believe the chances of buying a treasure for little and selling it for a lot is like winning a lottery - one in several million. Collectors and dealers are different - I am a collector that once in a while sells something for what I can get and if not will hold on it for a long time.
  11. I picked up this Higo Donatuki Naginata many years ago on E-bay from a well known seller who may not even be there. It was not papered nor is it now but I am good with the mei and the cost was much less than it is worth now. Happy with it indeed
  12. All his posts can do so and always make one think = that said he is still correct - a really good toshigi and make a mediocre blade look very good a poor polish can make a great blade look less than it should = lipstick on a pretty girl can be an improvement but not on a pig no matter how well applied @
  13. I have a papered blade that was tested by the smith even though there is a "typo" in the inscription ! I guess there were some very special testers and in reality not many smiths who actually tested their own blades and in fact depending on the skill - a tester may have in fact done a better cut than the smith ! ??
  14. True: I still think that supply and demand will drive up the prices of all the middle class blades whatever the cut-off. Those that are bought between 10 and 20 G now will move between collectors and as more people get into Nihonto there are only so many blades in existence. It is not like "original prints" where there are 300 copies of the same picture or Hummel figurines that are collectable and increase a little over the years but now too damn much. Only after hundreds of years when they get broken or lost and the numbers go down does the price go up. In a hundred years I have no doubt that all the prices of individual blades will go up way more than a lot of other things.
  15. When I shipped blades I never leave the blade in the koshirae or saya. I apply a lot of oil, wrap the blade with saran wrap, use the mekugi ana to attach it to a board ( center it is all) and then wrap it with brown paper and zip tie it to the board or duct tape. Then wrap it in foam as well as the koshirae and put it in the box - nothing ever hurt = box beaten up but no damage = the blade can not move in the box so unless they run over it with the truck it will arrive as it left. Then they have to remove, clean off the excess oil and all is good.
  16. drbvac

    Interesting

    Radiographic analysis would be of no use in determining depth of a crack as it would only be visible on the x-ray if completely through the blade and the radiographic beam passed through parallel to the side of the fracture. Same as on teeth - except since teeth are not metal the opposite sides of a fracture can both be seen and the break appears as a small elipse or a lighter area - only way to get a clear black line is parallel beam = rarely happens on teeth -= impossible on a hagire unless it is wide open .
  17. I would let whomever you decide to do the polish advise as to the outcome as I am sure they would not put their best effort into any blade if they thought it would bring out faults and magnify them rather than improve it a great deal. Shinsa will settle the maker = the togishi will decide the outcome of the polish Great blade - congrats
  18. Agreed - fake or very poor horimono carving - probably both
  19. Carlo: Sorry to hear of your difficulties = hope you are on the mend and congratulations on a monumental work that is getting the recognition in Japan ! Hope working on your passion is therapeutic for you and again = best wishes - have missed your input. Brian
  20. Well = maybe some of the better middle level blades will see depressed prices and that is a good thing because as with all things in demand that there are not a lot of = at some point in time = they will go up and end up being high end There are some beautiful swords= papered and in great mounts for 5-10G right now and considering the cost of getting the papers = pretty good deal and not the risk of an unpapered low level sword
  21. Kind of sad isn't it and = in my limited experience happens more than one would like to believe
  22. Buy the one that you like = don't worry about the rating by either but that said a Tokubetsu Hozon origami, & Jo-saku rating make it probably a nice sword - but = you still have to like it yourself.
  23. Canada is a "little" different as handguns are not an option - my only hope would be to grab one of my blades before the intruder. Do have a general home security system with motion and break-in sensors. Targeted break ins are not a concern although there are probably other things in the house easier to sell and carry out than the blades. I really don't ever think about it but in terms of insurance if you do not have evaluations, descriptions etc on record with any insurance carrier the chances of them paying on a theft are minimal. They either need a separate rider on the policy with all listed and some sort of credible value by a recognized expert that they will accept along with photos - same as jewellery and fine art. Be sure to check this all out with your agent and that they are listed on your policy BEFORE you are trying to make a claim. MAY NEED A LETTER FROM YOUR TOGISHEE.
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