Don

Actually Im going to send it to Brian Tschernega to have a look at. Ive been friends with Brian since he was 17 and he always gets upset when I buy stuff without checking with him first (lol).

Okey Dokey I received teh blade today and as some thought from th epics it has been 'buffed'. You can tell that this blade had a lot of rust on it and somebody tried to buff it off. They also attempted to clean the nakago. I can barely make out a hamon but it does appear to be there. This is mumei, no stamps. I think I may see if Jim Hutchinson can do a hybrid polish as there is no way Im forking out big money for this until I see whats under the buff. Blade nagasa is right at 24" and unshortened. Might make for a nice training balde ...we shall see.

..and both sellers are from Spokane, WA. Hmmmmm.....

Well, the seller has so far ignored my requests for an insurance amount. I may just blow this auction off. Granted I won it but if he is not going to respond to my emails to finish the deal then Im not going to waste my time with him as he seems sketchy already.

I might add that he has responded to neither of my emails regarding getting the parcel insured. Hmmm.... Don G

Wow. Sure looks like he did. Do you think the quality of the fittings or the length of the blade bode well for the type of blade Ill be getting? Id heard that pierced Tsuba were generally found on better quality blades or is that a fallacy...? Like I said...it states 7 day return option. He didnt offer insurance on the auction but Ive written him twice saying I have no problem paying for insurance and wont spend $400 on a package (especially during the holiday madness) that isnt insured. Don G

Thanks Brian Well, he said Shinshinto or later and handforged so Im keeping my fingers crossed. Don G.

Long time lurker first time poster and need an opinion. What do you think about this auction/blade? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=003 I wasnt sure and should have asked here first but it has a 7 day return policy on it. Mumei and he says Shinshinto or newer but the pics werent that great. Hoping for some insight although I havent received the blade yet. Thanks in advance Don PS...Yes that was us that bought that bizarre china made wakizashi mentioned in another thread..I told my gf it wasnt Japanese but she thought it looked cool and wanted it for herself. *sigh*...whaddya gonna do..? Don G.