Kmad

I think it is a good idea to limit non Gold Members to one sale a Month. Personally I will probably never contribute much knowledge to this forum as I know damn all. However, I am a Gold Member and will contribute to the forum as a way of thanks to you members who have been so generous with their time and knowledge. I want you to all be still here on this fantastic resource for a long time. That is me being selfish as I know for a very small contribution I have 100's of experts who will advise me on my purchases or acquisitions in a field that I just have not the time to study. I have acquired some great pieces (well to me they are great) due to the kindness of forum members in advising me both on PM and on the forum I will probably not sell on the forum for a long time but if I ever do I would think 5-10% would be a fair hosting fee as it is a great captive audience where sales are exposed to 100's of genuine buyers. Kind regards to all and thanks again , Ken

Hi I think it depends on the price you buy the item for, before a judgement can be made on investment item or not. I have had 7 Japanese swords and sold 3 at a good profit and sold one on at a slight loss, all sales within 6 months of purchasing the swords. For the 3 I have kept I have been offered many multiples of what I paid but I have decided to hold on to them at the moment. Look back on my posts and you will see some of my aquisitions it shows you what can be found. Maybe I am just lucky but my strike rate is similar on other collectibles I purchase and sell on. I buy from car boot sales and sites similar to Craig list but I think if you have enough knowledge and are prepared to wait deals will and do come along. I find the trill of the hunt far out weighs the waiting. best of look on the searching, regards ken

PM sent

But if you see nothing after removing the nail some of the context is lost, bit of a dilemma?? The owner is not a member but is following the thread and I can put up pictures for him if required Regards Ken

more pictures, sorry took on my phone last night so not great at all Keep well ken

Hi Now here is a interesting item A Japanese wakizashi blade length of 62 mm with what looks like a satsuma rebellion wrap which has then been wrapped in sacking and cowrie shells. From family history it mat have come from W Africa where some relatives served after WWII but some some of family who served in WWII. Menuki is replaced by a nail but a good bit of the wrap is gone Blade is terrible condition and not sure if removing the nail will reveal anything and also will it ruin the curiosity of the piece (or even if it tells anything is it worth doing) So what would the next steps, I think doing nothing except maybe soaking in oil to remove red rust but I like v ethnic items. Anyone ever seen the like and what do you think owner should do, not mine but posting for a friend. Regards All Ken

I’ll go $275 cheers, ken

Thank you both And sorry for straying off topic into another country Regards Ken

HI All, I have potential option on these 2 eating sets. Only pics I have at the moment, can anyone give me any idea if there is anything here worth offering money on , I like them for some reason and I think they would look good with some of my display. Can these blades be cleaned with fine sand paper or are they to be treated in the same way as swords, as in never clean yourself. How much I pay is my issue I suppose but 100 euro for both was what I was happy to throw into the gamble am I being cheap or to generous. Regards to all, Ken

link to other discussion Thanks, Ken

Hi I am not sure on etiquette here so apologies for opening a new thread on an item under discussion in the General Nihonto discussions. if I should not do this please delete the post. I just wanted to expose the tsuba to as many learned forum members who may not visit the general discussion forum. on the sword under discussion I have the belowTsuba It is very dirty but I am leaving as is for the moment as the rest of the fittings on the sword were quiet good can anyone tell me anything about this tsuba othe than it is a Wan Gaga type any idea of style or school and approximate period would be greatly appreciated it is slightly oval 70 mm x 75 mm and a depth of 10 mm or anything else you can tell me would be great. looks to be a salamander on one side but the metal of the inlay i am not sure of. On the other side there seems to be a gold colored thread running through the metal. regards and thanks ken

A better pic does this help, I am off grid for next few hours at work thanks ken

More

Here are some better shots showing Tsuka detailing 2 of the brass studs are missing on one side, sorry about all the pictures

Found a signature on Fuchs and few more pics also

Final

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More pics

Hi guys, 300 km drive and 4 hours travel last night Well it came home with me, chip at boshi which I am taking as being realy realy bad unfortunately, but I took it anyway and paid the 175. This was not a loved item so I could not let it deteoriate further, maybe the chip makes it a junk item but I am happy what I have. all fitting v tight together very snugly Happy to find the tang signed but meaningless to me can you help. Reverse thread on the menuki All the fittings match right down to all parts of the saya Hamon is very visible right along the blade on both sides, I will oil later in the day once I finish work but no terrible discoloration I think habaki looks silver and fits perfect blade is 65 cm long, 25.5 inches and another 17 cm for tang tsuka decorations are growing on me and it is not as garish as I first taught tsuba is lovely with dragon decoration, dirty though. So what do you think, and hats off to all proper photographers by the way more pics underneath, regards. Ken

looks like i might close the deal at 175 euro so I will probabaly go for it. The Habaki looks nice as does the activity on the blade, but there is some rust also Tsuka and Tsuba look very unusual to me what sort of varaition do you think this might be ? Any more opinions welcome Cheers Ken

Thanks guys it is 200 for the Japanese one only but i think this is OK? What sort of handle is on it? and is the tsuba a known type? Regards and thanks for reaching out Ken PS as per usual I will be making a contribution to forum in thanks for you helping me, I am not a contributor of knowledge but I find it fantastic having a group to ask questions too.

Hi All This is all I have to go on, 200 euro gamble, handle and tsuba look unusual to me but I know v little and have been lucky in the past What do you guys reckon? Ken

Thanks Manuel It looks as if the handle has snapped off the bottom, I can see a rough place where something broke off. are these items worth anything? I just got it for a few euro as I admired the workmanship and happy to know now what it is Regards Ken

Wow that was quick, any idea of age of the item and how would you use as a mirror?