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Mark S.

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Everything posted by Mark S.

  1. Yasurime are applied by the smith and not by the polisher. It wouldn’t be done during the polishing process.
  2. Just a bit of wear to the hadori portion of the polish?
  3. Sometimes after this process, the tsuba can appear ‘dry’ or a bit ‘washed’. What do you recommend once this process is done to continue to get the color deeper and with the correct ‘sheen’, although that isn’t really the correct word.
  4. We don’t want to discourage you, but we have to be honest with you so you can know what to look for the next time you make a purchase. Read a lot here… read books… study blades presented on line, if you can, join a club or go to some sword shows. Ask questions. . We are happy to help anyone learn, but unfortunately it is a long learning curve and sometimes lessons can be expensive and a bit disappointing. Most of us have made mistakes and taken chances on items that didn’t pan out.
  5. Looks like someone might have treated it to a buffing wheel or sandpaper or ??? No yokote and edges rounded off along with extensive scratching. Unfortunately, this one has not been treated well. ‘Might’ be save-able but not sure it really would be financially advisable.
  6. Unfortunately, that is a bit above my pay grade. Regarding a good pic of the nakago, take a pic of the entire nakago that includes about 2” above the machi and all the way to the end of the nakago. It will help to see how nakago is finished, if suriage or machi okuri, overall condition, etc. As previously stated, it appears part of the mei (one or more characters) has been damaged or removed. Another helpful pic would be an overall pic of the whole blade showing size and shape.
  7. Assuming Kuniyuki is the smith, according to Sesko’s A-Z Swordsmiths of Japan, only 3 Kuniyuki’s signed with that form of “yuki”. The last smith listed is modern and the nakago indicates some age. KUNIYUKI (国之), Kenmu (建武, 1334-1338), Bizen – “Bishū Osafune-jū Kuniyuki” (備州長船住国之), it is said that he worked before in Sagami province, probably in Kamakura or in Yamanouchi, it is said that he bore the priest name Shinki (神気) KUNIYUKI (国之), Eishō (永正, 1504-1521), Higo – “Kiki chi-jū Bitchū no Kami Kuniyuki” (菊池住備中守国之), Sue-Enju school KUNIYUKI (国之), Heisei (平成, 1989- ), Fukuoka – “Kuniyuki” (国之), real name Udo Toshiyuki (宇戸敏之)
  8. From Usagiya. Some good info. http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/utsuri.html
  9. As the holes were filled and unusable, it was probably fitted with fulled rounded/oval seppa. Rubbing possibly by the seppa that didn’t have the crescent cut out?
  10. Hijack alert! But the above statement very much matches a quote I keep on my wall at work (originally came from my high school architectural drafting teacher): ARCHITECTS are said to be people who know very little about a great deal and keep knowing less and less about more and more until they know practically nothing about everything. ENGINEERS are said to be people who know a great deal about very little and keep knowing more and more about less and less until they know practically everything about nothing. CONTRACTORS are said to be people who know practically everything about everything but end up knowing nothing about anything due to their association with Architects and Engineers. HOMEOWNERS are said to be people who start out knowing nothing and never learn anything due to their association with Architects, Engineers and Contractors. Maybe we could insert Sword Expert, Sword Dealer, Sword Collector, and Sword Newbie into these categories? Hijack over… sorry.
  11. So, I hope the OP will not mind, nor consider this a hijack. If so, I will delete. Several members who live in dry climates or have climate controlled storage say they leave their blades un-oiled. My question is, even if they do not get rust, do they risk oxidation ‘dulling or grey-ing’ by leaving the metal bare (assuming blade is in shirasaya) or is this practice safe if they are not experiencing rusting? Just curious.
  12. If you do again, take pics of your process!!! Well done.
  13. Terukado was known for working with foreign steel. Not sure if this could cause the effect in the photos?
  14. New member with limited experience (no offense). No price stated. Private PM offers. Phone numbers listed publicly. What could go wrong?
  15. Below, please find excerpts from an article by Darcy Brockbank (RIP). Please note, I edited out most parts of the article discussing chasing papers as they were not pertinent to this discussion, but I point it out so no one thinks I am intentionally trying to edit Darcy’s original intent: Don’t Bother, It Has No Boshi - Darcy Brockbank When I started out in sword collecting, I visited the San Francisco sword show a few times. Like everyone else, eagerly looking over the tables for interesting items. At this point I was just beginning to be able to read some Japanese, and I saw a sword with a sayagaki to Rai Kunitoshi. This was ranked Tokubetsu Hozon. Like most beginners as soon as I figured out what Juyo was, I wanted to find them myself, submit and get a sword to win in the competition. Rai Kunitoshi is one of the masters of all the ages, so for a rookie, this seemed like an easy candidate. I looked over the sword and it was beautifully made with sparkling silky jihada. It was a little bit short but it had a Honami shumei, a red lacquer inscription attributing it to Rai Kunitoshi and this further elevated the value. [MARK S. NOTE: at this point another experienced collector Gary Condell (RIP) let Darcy know the blade had no boshi] The boshi is the hamon of the sword in the kissaki. For westerners it is one of the last areas of the hamon they tend to look at. This is a bit misguided, as the boshi is one of the key areas of the blade for functionality and kantei. I read in a book a phrase which sums up how you should feel about the boshi. The kissaki is the head of the sword. The boshi is its face. The boshi is as important to the sword as the face is to a person. - Someone Very Smart Whom I Am Paraphrasing Here lies some magical wisdom because an excellent boshi is one of the factors that drives a sword through Juyo and Tokubetsu Juyo rankings. Having no boshi whatsoever is a fatal flaw in most cases. It kills the sword, unless the sword is of sufficient age. In the case of this Rai Kunitoshi with no boshi, the NBTHK struck a balancing pose. As it was Kamakura period work by a great master, it was allowed to rise to Tokubetsu Hozon but no higher. If the work was lesser quality it would not even go here, or if the work were by a lesser smith it would not receive any papers at all due to the lack of boshi. This is, again, why people need to study and cannot accept easy, simple explanations for complicated issues. If a sword has a fatal flaw it's going to be abandoned. Rai Kunitoshi work should never be abandoned, so by striking this balance between the extremes the NBTHK causes the blade to be preserved. A polisher had dummied up a boshi on this sword and for beginners it can be hard to tell the difference. Why the polisher did this is up for speculation, but Occam's razor tells us that it was to fool someone and convince them to buy this piece as a clear no-boshi condition will scare away many treasure hunters. Therein lies something that is hard to get away from in this hobby (nor should it be gotten away from in total), which is the pursuit of elevation of papers. With this blade, few actually would enjoy it for what it was, but once the flaw was pointed out to them they would lose all enjoyment of the piece. When they saw it, they were not thinking, my what a beautiful work of Rai Kunitoshi but they were thinking Man, this is cheap and I can get a Juyo out of it. Posted on July 25, 2017 Author
  16. In general, most definitely bad… EXCEPT… if the blade is extremely old and/or by a documented famous smith AND the blade adds something to the study of nihonto. Maybe the blade is dated, has an interesting mei that confirms where or when smith was working, there are few blades made by this famous smith and this blade is important to study the activities that can still been seen, etc? Not all damage or ‘proper repairs’ (in some cases, polisher may have no other alternative) relegates a blade to the scrap yard… but there needs to be a VERY GOOD reason that these types of things can be lived with.
  17. Why mumei? Debated here quite often with numerous theories. A little searching should provided some interesting reading, but if you are looking for specifics about why this particular blade isn’t signed, you are likely not going to get a definitive answer.
  18. Hizen Koku ju TADAHIRO saku 肥 Hi 前 zen 国 Koku 住 ju 忠 Tada 廣 hiro 作 saku (made this) Plenty of examples on line to compare it to. Big name. Lots of gimei examples as well.
  19. Nope, nope, nope… this just won’t do. Between the chances of some N.O. Voodoo attached to the blade and being taken for drinks, I’ll have to insist you send it to me at a fraction of the price to keep you safe from further harm. I’m assuming you are home?… did you get your beignets on the Mississippi?
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