ChrisW

Hard to say much other than they appear to be proper antique Japanese swords. Can you give us some measurements? (Blade edge length, etc. ) Pictures of the nakago (tang) would also be very helpful in estimating age/might tell you who made it.

Doesn't surprise me with how sloppy that is. Just good enough to fool the uninitiated. Which is honestly how most scams work, they filter out those that aren't gullible enough and find the perfect mark: somehow who is that gullible.

Far as I know, it was always considered a dealers' fabrication.. much like the "landing forces sword".

Now 40% off! Both the tsuba and the price.

100% it is this. I have low-end pieces, but I don't even usually put them out at the show unless someone asks for them. I don't want to waste valuable table space on something that isn't worth haggling over. I'll use them as bargaining chips sometimes though.

I believe this is also an intentionally made ken, not a yari. Having owned a few ken, this looks correct to me.

Sorry, I'll clear a spot for you! Go ahead and send me your payment info and I'll work it out tonight!

I believe the term you are looking for is 'sunagashi'

No more than a week if that is permissible!

Hamfish, Do you mind holding these for me for a bit while I see if I can swing some money for this? Just paid for a project so I want to see if I can scrounge up enough. I have an idea for these knots! ~Chris

I think this seller is cutting himself off at the knees by trying this as a sales tactic.

Nothing overly important I think? Says its a mumei wakizashi. The real question is: do you like the blade for what you see? If so, consider the price and then make a judgement!

The Indiana Token Kai meets the third Saturday of every month. Reach out to me if you're interested in attending.

Agreed. The price on these is fairly reasonable. I say go for it.

And the other side:

So I have something interesting to contribute to this thread. This is a tsuba which I believe was on a sword that was dropped on the battlefield and later recovered. As you can see there is a sharp contrast to the rates of corrosion on both sides, which align with the idea that it was dropped and sank into soft ground which resulted in what you see now:

Ask for a picture of the same spot on the other side, that will be telling.

And the other side:

Not as beautiful as the above, but here is a habaki from a Yasumitsu sunnobu tanto I just picked up:

Usually found on older blades, it is where the tsuba (over the centuries) has subtly or in this case not-so-subtly bit into the softer steel of the nakago.

Thanks. I needed a good laugh today! I didn't realize April First came twice this year.

Old Kicho papers. Almost always you should disregard them. Edit: To explain, there was a major scandal in the 1970's where it was found out that there was Yakuza meddling in the papering process that resulted in probably thousands of blades getting papers that should have not. This scandal nearly broke the NBTHK and forced a completely new papering system and rule set to be devised so as to de-legitimize the old ones. When you see old Kicho papers, you should dismiss them as force of habit and judge the blade on its own merits. Not to say that all old papers aren't correct; but by now, most blades have been repapered in the new system and thus what is left is highly likely to be false.

This looks like a form of Hitatsura. Hitatsura is usually defined as such when there is hardening along the body of the blade and not just the ha or mune.

With Shinshinto, you do need to be a bit selective as there were a lot of not so artistic smiths just making blades to get by. However, you can run across beauties like this: Obviously, the smiths who had the time and wherewithal to imitate, study, and expand upon their Koto masters were the best: Kiyomitsu, Sadakazu, Kanesada to name a few. I'd argue that the relative recentness of these works makes it more relevant to study them while the items and the history is still easier to preserve. Given time, all things wither and disappear under the sands.

The nakago for such a young blade is also heavily compromised. He made both gendaito and showato so unless you get a window done, it may difficult to make the call of which it is. Condition is everything, so the value will suffer due to the poor state of preservation of the nakago and the blade itself Kanefusa is a 1st seat rikugen, and his blades are prized, so that is the upside. Value is hard to call due to the condition but good gendaito is decent old polish start around $2500. Showato in decent shape are about $1500. You won't see either of those values without restoration. You're unfortunately looking at not a lot past $500-600 as it sits. This blade might be worth putting in front of a trained Japanese sword polisher (togishi) for evaluation. But the nakago would probably put this in the "passion project" category. If its important to your family, see about restoration, keep it and treasure it. Regardless, do not do anything to the blade yourself except keeping the edge gently oiled with a light mineral oil or choji oil.