Mark S.

Mark S. & Michelle S. (wifey) are in. Will have to figure out something for Michelle S. to eat as sushi is a no go… but she is a good sport and will find something.

SWORD FIGHT!!!

Why do you like the blade? How does it fit in your collection? Is the condition acceptable to you at this price? Do you know what the papers say? There were a ton of Kanesada’s… do you know which Kanesada this is? Have you compared this Kanesada’s blades against similar Kanesada blades (or blades from similar smiths of the same size, school, type, mei, period, condition, mountings, etc.) at other sites to see if this is 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 was just going to say that rushing to buy blades is never a good idea. Not a criticism, just saying that if you are going to buy on line (especially EBAY), much study is needed to know what you want and what you are looking at. Another HUGE learning curve is having a feel for the going rate of blades compared to similar blades from different dealers. To simply post a blade and ask everyone “what they think” will get you 100 opinions. Sooner or later you have to decide if a blade is worth it to you despite what everyone thinks as you are the one who has to own it. Not everyone likes the same things. Learn enough to know what you want, what you like, and how much you’re willing to spend. Hope you keep learning here.

Thank you. It looked kinda rough.

Just confirming that this is modern? https://www.ebay.com...r=artemis&media=COPY

$20/day or $35 for 2 day pass. Your pass gets you into BOTH the firearms and sword show. It’s all one GIANT show and a heck of a good time. Bring yer walking shoes!!! https://www.antiquearmsshow.com

Sad news indeed. May his family and friends find Peace in the days ahead.

I know it has been discussed many times, but I think it bears repeating, Darcy used to remind us that Hozon and THozon are ‘confirmation’ while Juyo and above are ‘competition’. I apologize if I did not use his exact words. Hozon & THozon are a judgment of specific smiths and schools. They confirm originality, condition, and quality… but relatively narrowly . So (FOR EXAMPLE) you can have Hozon Sukesada blades, and then (the theory is) the best examples of that Sukesada’s blades can go THozon. You could also have Hozon Ichimonji blades with the best going THozon. Where the confusion seems to fall is believing the two THozon blades (or ALL THozon) are the same… they are not. No one would equate a THozon Sukesada with a THozon Ichimonji. Hozon and THozon level papers do not really place blades/smiths within the ‘grand scheme’ of Nihonto. They are very specific to that smith/school. And I am sure most of us understand that just because a blade is Hozon and not THozon (or even above) does not mean it ISN’T a higher level blade. The owner(s) may just not have submitted it for higher papers. The blade is still the blade. NOW… Juyo and above DO start to consider where a blade/smith/school fall within the ‘grand scheme, world, and history’ of Nihonto and is now a competition between ALL other blades/smiths/schools both at the time of submission (what is sitting in front of the judges at that moment in time) and also much more ‘globally’ of what the NBTHK considers ‘best’ in the history of Nihonto. DISCLAIMER: This is MY understanding of what I believe Darcy was trying to convey. ANY mistakes and misunderstandings are my own. I am very willing to hear if I am misrepresenting something he wrote. I respect his teaching too much to steer someone else wrong.

Another one… Tsuruta-san mentions it, but does not go into any details, so I’m guessing it was a bit of one dealer not wanting to discuss another dealer. https://sword-auction.com/en/product/17523/as23195-刀肥州八代住源盛吉延寿宣次合作之無鑑査刀匠/

What was it about this blade that made you want to ‘jump on it’?

I would categorize that as “a few”…

Here is the listing in case anyone wants to double check the info. https://www.ebay.com...r=artemis&media=COPY

UPDATE! Just found some info on an EBAY seller’s posting that states that Sato Hitoshi, the director of JASMK (Japanese Art Sword Museum of Kurashiki - Sword Dealer), is using the “Bizan” pseudonym or art name. I did not know he was doing sayagaki, but the kao and print style of “Bizan” on mine are very similar to the one in the listing. It would also explain the current 2023 date. Will treat this one as an inventory sayagaki and not a judgment of shoshin mei or quality. Just want everyone to know there is a new source of sayagaki you might come across. I guess mystery solved…

You wouldn’t want that… but wouldn’t you want them to paper a real gold bar that someone stamped “Tungsten” or “Platinum”? A gold bar is still a gold bar even if stamped with something else.

Just an FYI, and I hope I am not stepping on any toes, nor bringing up something already well known, but according to their website, the NTHK is hosting a Shinsa at the 2024 Orlando Show. I just hadn’t seen it mentioned or advertised here yet.

1) Shoshin blade 2) Mumei blade 3) blade that has had it Shoshin mei removed due to suriage and is now mumei 4) blade with gimei removed 5) blade with gimei intact All 5 have 1 thing in common… the blade is the same. That is all I am saying.

Does NBTHK paper blades that have horimono or bohi added later in a blade’s life? Shouldn’t those also be disqualified due to “not original to the blade”? or “not representing the interest of the swordsmith”?

Thank you to everyone so far!

Not sure what to make of this sayagaki. Didn’t think the dates made sense based on a quick on-line search.

Tried my best on this Kanekage yari sayagaki. Have a few questions: 1) Please just a quick check that everything in black looks correct. 2) Not sure what last 2 kanji are at end of date? 3) Could not read who signed this sayagaki, nor do I recognize the kao. Not really up to date on who is writing sayagaki (and has some weight to their judgment) presently (other than Tanobe-San)? Treating this one as an ‘inventory sayagaki’ and not a judgment of quality or valid mei. Thank you in advance for your help and time.

Not going to play nitpick word games with you and entertain foolishness. If NBTHK won’t pass a sword because they determine it’s gimei, they are clearly stating it’s gimei. Of course they don’t issue gimei papers, but it doesn’t change a damn thing I said. Have fun arguing with yourself…

Do they have to defend when they label something gimei? They already determine gimei. No change to what they do now. Do they have to defend when they give an attribution to a mumei blade? They already give attribution to unsigned blades. No change to what they do now. Combine the two and CLEARLY STATE IT ON THE PAPERS… no change and no more liability than what they do now.

No… they certify that is IS gimei, which they already do by declaring it gimei and then make an attribution based solely on the blade which they already do in the case of mumei blades. Both could be annotated on the papers. Other than ‘that’s the way it is’, I don’t understand it.

It will be probably be a matter of finances vs preservation. IF the regular source of Shoshin and mumei blades ever slows, then gendaito will be papered more frequently and possibly a lot more WW2 blades that aren’t considered now and then they may need to paper gimei blades to keep the money flowing? Maybe a new category? Not quite Hozon, but maybe something else? Someday…