Mark S.

I highly recommend reaching out to the members at the Indiana Token Kai. Great group of people who (relatively) recently started their own group.

A psychiatrist who doesn’t listen to people… Never thought they were very useful anyway.

It also helps to learn how to ‘count’ the stokes of kanji. It is then easier to look them up (at least names) in references such as Markus Sesko’s Nihonto Compendium (downloadable free on this site - mentioned above). With practice you can usually narrow the kanji down to within a couple strokes and then just match to the printed version. Works well when the mei is written in the more ‘formal’ style. When written in ‘semi-formal’ or ‘informal’ styles (think cursive vs. block print) it can be a bit more difficult. It does take A LOT of practice. As previously stated, over time you will begin to recognize certain kanji or patterns of kanji. Practice, practice, practice.

Woody does beautiful work.

I think the new politicslly correct version is “calorically enhanced lady sings”.

The Tadahiro I bought without papers. The mei was sketchy, but it did come with a Kanzan Sato sayagaki. I was given some advice by some well known people in the field who felt it was gimei and when I submitted for papers it was also deemed gimei so it did not come as a surprise. A couple of the people who advised me did say something along the lines of “you can see why whoever added the gimei signature chose this blade… it was a clear Hizen blade and it would be easier to pass as a Tadahiro”. Now, the sayagaki? Three choices… 1) sayagaki is gimei, 2) someone matched this blade to a different signed saya, or 3) Kanzan Sato got this one wrong. The Tadatsuna blade I bought with the pink paper. Seller did not try to hide the fact blade was gimei. I still liked the blade and it was an example of a Awataguchi blade I could study in hand. It wasn’t perfect or the best example, but it was nice and I liked it.

Back to the main topic… I have 2 gimei blades. First is a Hizen Tadahiro signed katana but deemed gimei by NTHK-NPO, but still judged as a Hizen blade of same approximate time period as Tadahiro with exact same workmanship. Second blade is an Awataguchi Tadatsuna wakizashi deemed gimei by NTHK, but still judged as a lower level student of Tadatsuna and blade exhibits typical Awataguchi traits. So if you want to study schools and activity, and aren’t worried about who you show it to or the naysayers, I have no problem with gimei… especially at a fraction of the price.

Darn…

If you decide you are not yet comfortable separating and re-glueing the shirasaya yet, you can use the paper bands as Grey described. If you go this route, I do recommend you search out some acid free ‘archive’ paper. While maybe a little over cautious, it will help with keeping any additional marks on the shirasaya to a minimum. The paper bands should suffice for quite some time.

Shiga-seki? Possibly Kanenobu? Just something to look into.

Blade has been extremely overground in the center. Notice how blade flares out near the kissaki and machi and main part of blade is much thinner. Geometry of blade is way off.

Signed tachi mei. Remove the gold collar (habaki) and take pictures of the area between the signature / date and where the tang and polished part of the blade meet. We are looking for a stamp that is often located in that area. As previously stated, the habaki is on backward and needs to be turned around. The ‘notch’ on the top of the habaki should face toward the tip of the blade.

As this listing is in the For Sale section (and there are some guidelines about discussing items that are for sale), I will not discuss $$$. Usually I wouldn’t even discuss the quality of the blade or why it is worth more or less but you did ask. BTW, Hojoji is one of my favorite schools. POSITIVES - Blade appears in very nice condition. - Full koshirae. - Well regarded school. - A good addition for someone who wants to add this particular smith to their Hojoji collection if they already have several other smiths, and would probably be an interesting addition. NEGATIVES (ALL in my VERY humble opinion): - Not papered so buyer better feel the Mei is Shoshin and accepts all the risk if blade is gimei. - wakizashi market is VERY soft in an already soft market. Katana and tanto have held up better as most people tend to want those if they have to choose. All things considered, wakizashi are simply not valued as highly. - Japanese yen is lower than in the past making purchasing blades directly from Japan much more reasonable and cost effective. You’re competing against many more blades. - This blade does not exhibit the typical characteristics of the Hojoji school (that I find so interesting). Usually Hojoji hamon first appears suguha and then upon closer inspection, deep ashi gives the hamon an almost gunome appearance. Now, I am not saying that the hamon on this blade is not representative of this particular Hojoji smith, or is ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’. It just isn’t typically what we see. This could be a positive or a negative depending on the buyer. - Not everyone has a spare $3,000 to part with. I’m not saying you can’t or won’t find a buyer. The right one just hasn’t come along.

Looking forward to the Chicago show!

No dead horses were harmed in the making of this thread.

Unless there are some major flaws you are not showing us, I would say you did all right. Think of it like this… papers cost about $300 to obtain, so you got the blade for $300 to $400.

Hope everyone has a great time in Vegas!

How will you address the issue of learning kantei so you can then properly know what the blade was supposed to look like when created by the school or smith; selecting the right stones (there is a reason they have MANY stones, and not just different grit) to bring out the details of the blade so it (as closely as possible) highlights the characteristics of individual time periods, schools, smiths, etc.; selecting the right final polishing stage(s) that allow for the best viewing of the characteristics of specific time periods, schools, smiths, etc.; learn to correct many common flaws; learn to polish to avoid making certain flaws MUCH worse; etc., etc., etc.? I guess I will ask the obvious question… why do you believe there is a 10 year apprenticeship, and why do you believe those that promote that apprenticeship as necessary do so?

First kanji is: ??? Middle kanji is: Kane Last kanji is: Masa? VERY wild guess based on entry in Sesko Nihonto Compendium.

Don’t worry… it took us all a long time to realize (unfortunately) that what you hope for is not the goal in these threads.

It is overwhelming in the best way possible!

Blade at Usagiya site. I did not realize saiha (retempered) blades could paper (unless very famous smith or significant blade)? NOT a judgment of NBTHK, blade, or the seller. Just found this info interesting.

I very much like the original example. Tea ceremony theme items are one of my areas of interest.