ChrisW

Unfortunately, it is in such poor condition in terms of polish that seeing any hada on the jigane is quite impossible. I wish it were in better shape to be able to do so.

By the way, that red rust stuff is just some kind of buildup; as far as I could tell, it wasn't eating into the blade.

Hey guys, I've got a wakizashi of a friend here. He is curious about whether or not it makes sense to have restored. I told him it largely depends on the signature. The signature looks confidently written, but that could mean nothing. The blade has a clipped/snapped tip, but it appears to not pass through the hardened edge (a few mm of tip loss). The blade is about 18" (from what I remember, I'll change this once he gets back to me) and appears to have a suguha type hamon. It has a shirasaya with integral wooden habaki in poor condition but appears to have once been of good quality. The blade is quite stout and appears healthy enough to receive a polish. It gave me the impression of a Sukesada-type work. My asks for my friend's blade are: Translation of mei Veracity of mei: shoshin or gimei? Worth restoration or no? General impression/opinion Again, any help/feedback is appreciated guys, Thanks! ~Chris

Sometimes, you're just handed a win. I think you got a winner here Geraint!

He made medium to high grade gendaito, so yes.. gendaito with his personal stamp. Appears to be a nice blade. Is it worth the polish? I would say yes, but that's just me. As for who? Try Bob Benson or Jimmy Hayashi.

To help with assessment, can we get some measurements? The following would help: Nagasa (cutting edge) length: Nakago (tang) length: As for the blade, it is signed and dated (so I assume) and appears to have a hot stamp. I would assume that at least makes it more likely to be gendaito, possibly a bit older, but it could also just be a showato. You'll have to wait for the experts to chime in.

Smart! Also, I would not risk testing the cedar trunk theory as many a nihonto bringback has come out of a cedar trunk in less than optimal condition, so who knows?

See those little pits all over the brass tsuba? Brass doesn't pitt like that naturally. That is pitting from a poorly-done sand-casting job. There is literally nothing about this sword that is legitimate, sorry to say. It looks like the other blade you posted is good though.

I agree with Geraint here, I think I can see a faint yokote on both sides in the same location.

Just from the nakago, almost certainly a fake. However, a picture of the boshi (tip of the blade) would help confirm this. It looks to be one of those recently made Chinese replicas/fakes that are all over the market right now. The tang looks completely wrong and bedraggled, and the hamon looks grinded on. Did it come with any fittings? What of the habaki: is there one? if there is, does it fit poorly?

I too can highly recommend Ed without hesitancy.

Get well soon Jean! And Nicholas, would it be possible for us to see the rest of the blade?

That's a gorgeous nakago! And yes, you should be able to if you embed it as a YouTube video! I think you merely have to put the link in and it should embed it automatically.

Much better. Very nice looking F/K set. I can't say much other than how much I admire the aesthetics.

Agreed. Out of my price range, but gorgeous. It would likely help with the sale too! If I might be so bold to suggest that.

Photo is upside-down, just to let you know! Also, for purposes of identification, can you get the following: Tip to tip picture of the bare blade (without the metal collar "habaki" ) Close-up picture of the very tip of the blade (kissaki) Close-up of any activity in the metal's surface near the cutting edge "hamon" Some measurements would also be useful: Length of entire blade, length of cutting edge, length of tang, curvature of blade (google how to measure "sori"). With that, you should get a much better idea of what you've got!

Komonjo sells real and fake stuff. He is a serious case of "caveat emptor." You can find some real nice stuff from him rarely, but you can also lose your shirt trying to do so. He has no scruples with selling whatever comes his way. However, he is fine with taking returns. I dealt with him once and he made that very clear that he'd do returns if I were unhappy. This is not me giving my approval for what he sells though. If you buy from him, be aware of what you're looking at.

He appears to be selling legitimate pieces, but they are quite overpriced in some cases.

Late model or not, it is star-stamped, which is indicative of it being a gendaito. But the koshirae is definitely interesting and appears to match the book.

I saw that, gut feeling is that it is indeed a broken bayonet someone has cut up to fool the uninitiated. Being that Komonjo is selling it, that is likely the case. Someone got taken for about $200, a real shame that.

I agree.

Sounds like someone knew what they were taking to have taken the papers and a care kit. Unless they were all just stored in the same box. Awful news, I hope your client gets it back unharmed. Will keep a watchful eye out here.

From what I can tell, they have some form of hamon. And I believe I read somewhere that yes, the early Chinese swords of this period also had hamon. I imagine the technique fell out of favor with them, as they usually went for quicker methods of mass production.

They're giving you two slightly different readings on the signature, it appears. Reading these old mei can be tricky for a lot of reasons. Ray is giving you his translation of what the signature implies; Jacques is giving you his and explaining to you that the signature is what we call Gimei: or a falsely made signature. It means that the signature is likely a forgery done by someone else: either with intent to deceive or in honor of that person, or for any other myriad of reasons. I am not sure who is reading it correctly. Give the board a little more time and someone will confirm it.

If you ever have the idea to let it go, let me know! I'd part with a number of things for something as gorgeous as this.