ChrisW

I'd check under the commercial links at the top. There are a number of people who do good work on aging saya. I bet some of the other board members could give some personal recommendations for who they'd use?

Well that sucks. I am sorry you have to part with it so soon.

I was just going by what I had been told! If yours is the case, then all the better as it provides far more information than what I was told.

Not sure about the syntax. But Bishu is an older form of Bizen. So it may have purely to do with relative age.

No idea who this Chris Bowen guy is, but he sounds like a real nob. Also, congrats! That's a gorgeous blade you've got there.

Strictly speaking, wakizashi. Some argue that proportions make a difference; but since length is the primary factor, it is firmly within the length parameters for wakizashi.

Honestly, for us young guys Adam, being that we have so much learning to do, I think that it makes sense for us to stick to the low-middle end of the spectrum to increase our knowledge as best we can while being economical. Buying books is a very important part of that learning, and I am not saying buy blades that are considered poor buys, but sometimes you just have to have "hands on" learning. Holding and looking at something up close can teach things that learning from a book cannot.

Agreed, nothing that blows my mind.

More about 800 years. Probably this guy? https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SUK158 Or this guy: https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SUK159 Still, a fantastic sword!

You would be surprised with the incompetence of some delivery services. This is how a seller covers their rear in case of an unfortunate accident.

Huh... that's something I haven't seen before..

Am I seeing shintetsu or just seeing things?

Here is a blog entry by a fellow collector, speaking on flaws on old blades. I'd recommend giving it a read: https://blog.yuhindo.com/fatality/ Trust what Darcy says, man knows his stuff!

I'll do you one better: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/flaws.html Also, the older the blade, the more acceptable flaws are... even fatal in the case of extremely old or rare blades (such as sole exemplars). Ultimately, it is up to the buyer to decide what flaws are acceptable. Sometimes even extremely old blades make it through shinsa with flaws, but generally they are the exception, not the rule. Here is an example that Ray has for sale:

You probably need to provide some specifics: age, quality, length, etc.