16k

Nice Juka Choji Hamon and excellent condition! Congrats!

I’d say Koto.

Nothing alerting to me. Keep it oiled and you should be safe.

I envy everybody here! You, Robert, for owning such a magnificent piece of art! You guys, for displaying such a wonderful extent of knowledge! I bow down before you!

Damn! A fake? Would have sworn that Campbell can was the real deal!

Judging by the patina, I’d say no older than late Edo. Probably a shinshinto, utsuchi boat. Top seems to be suriage. Pyrhana 1993 seems to be a later addition mei, so I’d say we have a gimei boat.

Joking (and price) aside, that outstanding. Can you imagine if we could remove the rust from rusty blades just to see if they’re worth a proper polish!

I don’t know, John. Looks older to me, probably shortened to conform to length regulations and tested during Showa as you can see that the tang around the inscription is shinier. Inscription looks more recent than the rest of the patina.

I’ll go with John’s conclusion. Old, but not very old. 19th century most likely. It’s been suriage.

Two mekugi Ana, one that’s been filled, looks like an older blade to me, but please post pictures of the entire naked blade for the sugata and try to get some picture of the Hada, the Hamon (if you can see them) and a picture of the nakago jiri.

The blade is real for sure. And don’t get dispirited, I did far worse with my first sword. It’s not a beauty but it has some age and it’s a good start as any. It’s NOT a junk sword, just an entry level sword. Prices can be crazy but being a waki with defect, I would personally put no more than $6/700 in it. Still, I wouldn’t sell it if I were you. It’s your first sword and it’s always special. Oil it and keep it well!

I’d place it too around Kanbun Shinto. Hard to say much as the Hamon and the Hada don’t really show on your pictures. Seems to be a tight Hada and. There are quite a few ware forging defects. As Paul said, probably not the original mountings and like Grant, I have serious doubts about the Habaki being made for that sword.

Kanbun Shinto most probably. Very nice Hada. I wonder how such a beautiful piece can be mumei. It deserved to be signed.

As for me, I never meant NCO swords weren’t authentic. What I mean is the iconic imagery associated with Japanese swords:samurai, seppuku, jidai geki... they make the Japanese sword look like an almost supernatural object. Therefore, a guy who knows nothing about sword will buy an authentic NCO sword thinking he’s just bought a handmade samurai sword when he’s actually just bought a machine made sword that was never held by an actual samurai. That’s what I mean by gullible. Thinking he’s buying an ancient sword, he’s ready to pay a hefty sum for what is only a militarisa collectible (note I have nothing against those swords as frequenting this board has opened my eyes to the wealth of interest these swords represent), and since this attitude is repeated all across eBay, it drives the prices up.

I think rarity is all relative. You can still see many of them around, and even though I’ll let you experts confirm it, they were probably made into greater number than even Seki gunto. I believe one of the reasons is the word “samurais sword = quality” even in the least knowledgeable people’s minds. So quality =money and you always find a gullible buyer thinking he’s bought a genuine, antique sword. From there, other sellers notice that it sells even at higher prices and the vicious circle starts, with one becoming even greedier than the other. It’s often the case when you tackle niche collections.

I know I wanted to have an NCO sword in my collection, but no way I’m gonna pay more than $1000 for a machine made sword! Those prices are just plain crazy!

That’s the one I have too, but there is a more recent updated version with added material. Probably the one you have in Russian.

Eager to see that!

Very interesting and thought provoking article, thank you.

Hamon: gunome midare Hada: hard to tell but I think I see some masame in the shinogi ji and near the kissaki. Could be wrong though. What is that mark I can see near the first mekugi hole? A scratch or the remnant of a mei? Holes here been drilled, not punched, which would suggest recent. But sugata, still a mystery to me...

Can’t help you but I like your website. Seem there are interesting stuff there. You should make an English version!

Yes, I see what you mean. I’m not qualified enough to tell you if that’s a possibility. Patina sometimes vary on a nakago so it’s not necessarily meaningful. The other thing that bothers me is the first mekugi ana which, generally speaking, is the lowest one. Here, the placement doesn’t make much sense since the sword doesn’t appear to be suriage. This particular part of the board is mainly for WW2 swords, so some of our most knowledgeable members may not have looked at this thread. I would suggest posting pictures of the blade in the Nihonto section. You may have more accurate replies that explains it.

This why I was mentioning Muromachi. Katate Uchi were popular during the Sengoku Jidai where they were easier to use in the press of melee and faster to draw. But after that, lengths went back to normal. Hence the weird impression I got: shape Muromachi but patina much more recent.

That’s what I call a cute tanto! Very original!

I personally would say the second blade is more likely Muromachi because Shinto kanbun tends to taper much more towards the tip and the nakago looks quite short too for Shinto. However, that nakago doesn’t look very old, so I’m probably completely off.