Katsujinken

Hi Gareth, Please post more photos, including details of the nakago (tang), hamon, and kissaki (tip). If you need help removing the tsuka (handle) please let us know.

I would say their pricing is standard retail. They know what they have and their job is to make a decent margin.

Bump, with a price drop! :-) $500 each or $900 for the pair. Cheers.

Ah, my apologies for not seeing this. Thanks!

I am totally dumbfounded: https://jacksonsauction.com/catalogs/2021/SEP/detail/default_PR.aspx?ID=306 $21,000 for this?

But of course! With eBay I expect it to sit for a long time and price it accordingly. NMB should always get the best prices. :-)

I have two charming iron tsuba that are ready for their next home. Asking $600 each or $1000 for the pair. Free insured shipping in the USA and insured international shipping at cost. And of course a donation to NMB if they sell here! Please feel free to contact me with questions. The first is mumei and has NBTHK Hozon attributing it to the Umetada school. It's about 6.5cm in diameter. Includes the kanteisho and a nice modern kiri box. The second is a true katana tsuba signed Nobuie, but is most likely later Myochin work. Includes the fabric pouch.

For an appraisal I’d recommend working with someone like Mike Yamasaki. It needs to be a specialist. And likewise you’ll want specialized insurance (often for militaria). Mike can probably make recommendations there as well.

It’s really a shame the owner wasn’t able to take better care of this stuff. I also noticed the mei on 286. Sadly this removes any possibility that it is an older koto treasure hiding in plain sight (imho). And yes, the auctioneer seems a bit lackadaisical.

Yes, fair point, Stephen! But not the older stuff, I'm afraid.

A friend sent this to me for my point of view: https://jacksonsauction.com/catalogs/2021/SEP/ 286 has an interesting shape, but I don't see any diamonds in the rough here.

- In Japan - Not papered / green papers - On eBay Whenever 2 or more of these things are true, you should run away (unless you can kantei with the best of them).

More like molested.

The NY Token Kai is alive and well and remains the country’s oldest sword club. We could put on quite the exhibition! Do come visit. Our next meeting will be in September.

It’s already getting better. Almost as soon as I posted I said to myself, “duh, caching!” Thanks Brian!

My biggest concern will always be speed and site performance. For now it feels like things have gotten worse, especially on mobile/LTE. But we should give this a few days to “settle” and see what’s what.

I think I have 3 Microdear cloths now… each a different color! Relax and enjoy.

If you’re sending the blade for a polish you’d want to acquire an agent in Japan and have Aoi send the blade to that person. That person would also handle shinsa for you. It’s just an order of operations thing. Re: the polish, it’s always tough to tell from Aoi’s “photos”. Always ask for photos in natural light. I think what we have here is possibly an old sashikomi polish and/or simply an old polish on a low grade sword. I wouldn’t call it out of polish per se.

Kelly is the best. Don’t hesitate to use his services.

If you want to sell it here you will need more photos, with more detail, including of the nakago.

The picture doesn’t show much detail but if it was presented as a Japanese blade (from WW2 or otherwise) it’s a fake. The “mei” looks like gibberish to me.

That is not a traditionally made Japanese sword.

Jean, if you have a moment I think it’d be very helpful for Eve (and others) to hear about what clues gave this one away.

I agree with what others have said. This blade isn’t going up the NBTHK ladder any further (otherwise it surely would have being in Japan for a long time). So unless you’re head over heels in love with it you can do better. If you love it and you’ve got the scratch no one should judge. I have great respect for the proprietor of this shop, but his prices are fully retail on a good day.

True kirikomi absolutely do not devalue a blade. They are not a flaw like a ware, for example. They are part of a blade's history. Some collectors simply do not like them all that much for personal / aesthetic reasons. But my personal opinion is that a kirikomi should not be polished out. Doing so would require way too much change to the geometry of the sword. It would be a mistake. It would be better to pass the sword on to a collector that enjoys kirikomi and find a more pristine blade if that's your style.