Mark S.

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.

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.

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.

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?

I would just alternate oiling it and wiping it down a few times to see if that calms the rust down. Not sure what you mean by it having a “pretty good shine”, but shiny isn’t always good. If it was done with metal polish or a similar non-traditional method, that is not a good thing. If you have access to good quality uchiko, and know how to use it, some light treatments might also help, but could also do more damage.

I have two such blades with smiths that aren’t recorded. The first is a WW2 Showato katana signed Unjosai Katsunaga. There are other examples of work by this smith but no official records reference him. The second blade is a wakizashi signed Kuwana ju Morishige and was papered by the NTHK-NPO in 2023. Just an FYI, smiths/blades that are not recorded, but the organizations feel is ‘authentic’, are referred to as “Meikan-more” (roughly means “not in the Meikan”) and that phrase may be included on the paper. There is an old post somewhere (and it MAY have been stated by Darcy - a longtime respected member who is no longer with us) that states something like “one of the important aspects of sending a blade by an unknown, unrecorded smith to Shinsa is to get him on the record”. Of course this may be considered a ‘selfless act’ as it would cost you money and may not add anything to the value of your blade, but it may add to the knowledge and history of nihonto.

Brian from behind the camera…

Members are listed left to right. Parenthesis indicate NMB moniker. Mark (Mark S.) Michelle - Mark S.’s wife Matt (mdiddy) Dan (DTM72) Ce Ce -Dan’s wife Mark Jones - WAY in back (Mark) Grey (Grey Doffin) Yurie (yurie) Eric - black hat way in back (owazamono) Yurie’s husband - I am VERY embarrassed I could not remember Yurie’s husband’s name. My sincerely heartfelt apologies. I hope someone will correct my poor memory. Steve (SteveM) Mike (TnMike)

Grew up playing numerous Avalon Hill board games (and others) and reading The General magazine (although at the tail end of their popularity) with my older brother and a couple friends until D&D took over. Still have a couple games and have come across/collected a couple obscure(?) AH titles that I didn’t even know they printed. LeMans, Roadkill, and a couple others. As most, I started with Tactics II and moved up. A few other rudimentary Milton Bradley military games that I grew up with but no longer own were: Dogfight (WW I), Carrier Strike (WW II aircraft carriers), Chopper Strike and several others that included miniatures as a part of the board game. I still have a copy of Battle Masters which is a fantasy-based game played with large figures on a huge mat. And who remembers the large Marx Battleground military play sets of plastic soldiers/vehicles as well as the Airfix 1/72 plastic miniatures. Had boxes and boxes of those and can’t tell you how many Mom sucked up with the vacuum cleaner or Dad stepped on and yelled at us kids for not picking up our toys! Sorry for the trip down memory lane… just reminiscing about youth and hours and hours of fun and quite a bit of historical education wrapped up in all that! I could spend hours going down the rabbit hole of researching all the various military games I used to play.

All packed and ready to fly from Chicago to Vegas tomorrow!!! Can’t wait!

Here is a tutorial on making a paper Saya from a very trusted member of the community. Should at least protect blade from damage, if you are careful, until you can figure out next steps.

A few of mine. Bright Sun is great for seeing detail, but washes the color out a bit and makes them look dry. Sorry

If I might make a suggestion… and this may be due to my retired Senior NCO military need for specificity and to know where my junior airmen might be at any given time when you say ‘lobby’ of the Westgate… well that could be a very large area with lots of chances for ambiguity. How about we meet at the Elvis statue in the lobby so there is only ONE spot? Just my recommendation but I’ll defer to the group

Yep… wife and I are in. Just confirming to make sure I have right place: Yama Sushi The Strip 3049 S Las Vegas Blvd #20, Las Vegas, NV 89109 Correct? Wife is investigating menu to find something to eat.

Not trying to hijack, but my own personal opinion is that all mumei blades should be “Den” and then attribution. But that’s me…

No slings or arrows. At the end of the day, it is your money and you can do with it as you see fit. Members here can only comment and provide ‘conventional (hard earned experience) wisdom’ that can lead to less regret later on. I have had a blade or two that the purchase of, or polish of, would be seen as ‘not having a return on investment’. As long as you understand that and the item makes you happy no matter what others think, then you are free to do as you choose.

As stated, always be cautious with old papers, but let item stand for itself. I have a Bizen Osafune ju Yokoyama Sukekane wakizashi dated “a day in February 1862” that has a 1961 NBTHK Kicho Hozon (white paper) and just received NTHK-NPO paper in 2023. I would consider old papers a ‘starting point’ for research to confirm the blade and/or mei matches the claim.

Well, other than $$$ I find it helpful to bring my own microfiber cloth to rest a blade on while viewing (always ask first to make sure person behind table is ok with you using your own cloth), a mekugi punch (although you can usually borrow one) and if you need any ‘help’ seeing up close (cheater glasses, magnifying glass, etc). I always make sure to have a couple extra pairs of cheater glasses just in case. The last thing I want is to be at the show and not be able to see!

Kikusui hamon?

I don’t have a specific reference to that mei, but you might want to invest in Markus Sesko’s book on the 11th generation Kanesada. Both book and .pdf download. https://markussesko....generation-kanesada/

That would have taken me for ever… IF ever… well done.

The last 5 kanji are Izumi no Kami Kanesada. Working on beginning.

So just to head this off at the pass now that you are convinced ‘papers’ are the end all be all… There are all kinds of papers. Dealers on EBAY will claim that the registration is “papers”. Some dealers issue their own official looking papers for their own blades… convenient. There are NBTHK, NTHK, and NTHK-NPO papers. There are different level papers. There are very high rated smiths that have the same level papers as lower tier smiths for a variety of reasons. Papers do not set the price of any given blade, the market does. Papers can give you a sense of security hat a mei is legit or point you in a certain direction in the case of an unsigned blade. There is no way around it… research, knowledge and education are your friend.

You’ve taken a VERY EXPENSIVE and DIFFICULT area of study and made it WAY MORE EXPENSIVE AND DIFFICULT than it needs to be, but that is up to you. And hey… we all learn in different ways. As my now 90 year-old Mother used to say when we were kids just before we were making a decision she could see was pretty much 90% gonna blow up in our faces… “Suit Yourself”. Of course she was always there afterward to make sure our Father didn’t kill one, or all of us, 3 boys. Love you Mom… But I will ask you some of the same questions I asked about the other blade you had questions about: Why did you like the blade? How does it fit in your collection? Is the condition acceptable to you at this price? Do you know anything about Gassan Sadakazu? Have you compared this Sadakazu’s blades against similar Sadakazu blades at other sites to see if this is Shoshin and at a fair price? And finally, do you like the blade at this price no matter what we think? At the end of the day, that is really what matters. I already know the answer to a few of the questions, but it really does pain me to see you go through this. I still hope you will stay and learn. I just hope you will take the time to learn less expensively and learn less painfully.