Blazeaglory

Nice job! Looks really good but I cant really tell if it still has its original turn back? Just wondering

Nice story! Here is the Mei

I see what you mean. Yah I didn't understand that part either

If you plan on taking this hobby seriously and want to continue, I suggest picking up a copy of the book by Kokan Nagayama, "The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords" The info is priceless! There are way too many terms to go over in one thread and the book has a glossary that is amazing. I highly recommend it. But in meantime, here's a few links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Japanese_swords https://www.nihonto.com/about-swords/glossary/ https://markussesko.com/kantei/

Wow. What wasted talent! But why alter an original flag? Seems counter intuitive. Like, he could have just added a premium on the original item but instead he adds modern drawing? Looks cool I have to admit but very strange. So, its supposed to be a form of "trench art" or something?

I 2nd that!

Its a nice blade, if you want it, offer the seller $800 and see what his/her reaction is. Then go from there. Respectfully mention Its out of polish, missing koshirae, has some chips and scratches, you'll need to invest allot of money after purchase etc... See if there is room for negotiations. Im not telling you to try and lowball or scam/rip off, but start low and settle for what you feel is reasonable. Hey, you can only try but I wouldn't spend more than 1k to1.5k as it stands. Its a tad bit out of polish and it looks promising, so I would expect a polish to follow shortly after purchase. Say you get it for 1k$. A polish will cost another >$1k (or more if removing Gimei), as well as new shirasaya cost (if needed) so by the end of it, even if you do get this blade for a decent price, at the end, you'll be in over 2k$ to 3k$ or more. Then there's the cost of a new koshirae if wanted. The money never stops in this hobby Of if you want it as is, make a low offer and be done with it(its really not too far out of polish at least). Or walk away. I say this with the utmost respect, so you don't over pay for a piece thats possibly Gimei

When a sword is just too good and wont fit in the traditional rankings.... :laughing:

Cool. So this Nihonto was probably given to the reservists as a whole and would sit in an area of that local headquarters for others to view maybe? Until, well, 1945 of course. Pretty amazing

Yes I've been following that seller for a while now and Brian is right, his descriptions are becoming more and more over the top. Given, that seller does have decent Nihonto here and there but many times, I think, he's getting rid of things that maybe a relative or someone in Japan couldn't paper. So you just have to make sure you ask questions and examine pics closely (but his pics are usually dark and not to close)

So the auction is basically a no go? Who can bid? Says same thing for me but bidding is up to almost $9k

If legit, it's pre 1600 but honestly Mei looks a little off from the brief searches I've done. But, as they say, you can't really get an answer by comparing a few known legit Mei for discrepancy. Also, was Tadamitsu known for that style of hada, hamon and sori? I can't say but I'm sure the pro's will chime in soon Good luck! Either way, legit Mei or not, it appears to be a genuine Nihonto.

My 2 cents before I bow out... At worst, it's new (late 20th/21st century) and made to look old... At best, well, it's a legit Mei and is a traditional Nihonto and blade just needs polishing/restoration. Choose a person to send it to, open a window, listen to the opinions and suggestions that follow. At that point you should know if it's worthy of further pursuit.

Up close, the hada on that one is amazing

I can vouch for this method working really well. Its a nice little fix in the meantime I've been told that you can moisten the seems of the saya to reactivate the glue (or whatever the proper term is) just using a bit of water. I used water and Greys method above and it has sealed up fine now

Ahhh that makes sense and was what I was thinking. So in reality, oil quenching has nothing to do with it. It's the fact that the steel isn't traditionally folded. That's where I was confused. Thanks ☺

In reference to a separate quote, "I see no hada, so oil quenched"

I love this blade! Looking closely tho, could it be that this one has an OO-kissaki and it looks that the yokote has been smoothed down? I love shobu zukuri style blades but I love naginata OO Kissaki even better???? So, just a suggestion. Or did everyone know this already? I would love to see this in full polish!

Just imagine a giant samurai with a giant sword... swinging away and bellowing like a gigantic water buffalo... swinging his giant sword side ti side like cutting grass... And whatever he doesn't kill with his blade, he knocks out cold with his tsuba

Yah I was wondering about that. Oil quenching a sword removes hada? I would think hada is always visible if there.

Very interesting! Even "back then" they took copies, so to speak, for future study. But Japanese seemed to be ahead of their time anyways. I mean, man has always tried to keep record but this is of actual jewelry/fittings type work. I would love too learn the history of such things!

Very cool. I love how we continue to find these treasures!

Haha no worries. Allot of it has to do with the angle of my camera and the slight movement of my hand. So one pic might be a little more "angled" than the other. Pic #2 is really angled, almost touching the sword but it was the best of the bunch. It's same sword but each side has different hamon. If you notice I tried posting both sides as close as possible. Pics 1 to 4 are of both sides with 2 photos for each side... Kissaki to midway, then midway to roughly hamachi. Basically 2 pics for each side (cut in half). I couldn't upload 1 pic of entire sword as no matter what, the file was too large. Pics 7 and 8 are of the same areas on each/different side to show the different hamon. No flash in regular lighting around sunset. I was searching Kanbun Shinto and the sori doesn't seem to line up with "Kanbun sugata", as Kanbun appears straighter. I'll look into the info you posted as well but briefly even Keicho Shinto seems less "curved" Any thoughts as to Momoyama era? I noticed on Mark's site referencing sugata, a couple Wakizashi from the Momoyama era jump out(as far as sori goes). Just a thought. I tried sending a PM to you in regards to Boshi but it's turned off, or in blocked from prior engagement lol anyways, here's what it says, "Hello. Thanks for the help! The Boshi of the blade is really hard to photograph as its somewhat faint and out of polish but it's somewhat standard Ko Maru or slight Jizo but the beginning kinda dips or forms a semi circle before continuing into the rest and then turn back. Turn back is short and drops sharp without going onto mune. One side barely touches up onto mune"

That's deep! Totally Freudian! ????????

Yes, thank you DOH!