Amy

Thanks everyone the great advice! The rules of thumb thread was quite useful, learned a bit of history from it. I think I'll do more research so I could make a better informed purchase. Glad to find such a friendly and knowledgeable community here

Amy, Where are you located?  Perhaps there is a group, member or someone known within the Nihonto community nearby you could speak with or even pay a visit to.

There is actually a Japanese sword club close to where I live. Maybe I'll visit them

Amy,

I understand your impatience in wanting to buy your first blade. But the advice you have recieved is right and your last mail confirms that you need to do some more background study before going ahead and buying something.

I don't know where you are based but strongly suggest you attempt to make contact with the nearest study group and if possible seek the help from an experienced collector who can help guide you to where you want to be. This can be a very positive experience and feels a lot more proactive than burying yourself in books trying to absorb information from the page (Still important though)

Good luck and Best regards

Paul

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm actually still not sure how far I want to go with collecting, instead of just buying one and treasuring it. I was hoping the experienced collectors on this forum could guide me on this purchase, but I see I should do more studying first. I'll think about it more. Thanks for all the advice

Hi, Amy, & welcome to NMB.

 

Almost all of us were anxious to buy our very-first blade, but the few who did some studying first (NOT including me!) have found that they get a lot more for their hard-earned dollars. Have you bought some basic references books to study, so that you know what you are looking to buy? There are numerous starter book recommendations that a quick NMB search will show you.

 

As far as the tanto, it's out of polish, probably Muromachi, & looks like it might have two ware on the omote. There's no way to tell if the mei is real, without sending it to Shinsa, & the mei should be the very-last thing you look at when considering a purchase. I wouldn't spend $1500 on this blade, but that's only my personal opinion. Why do you consider the seller as "trusted?"

I agree with Ken's assessment. In my opinion $1500 is way too much for this item unless it had some fantastic mountings to go with it.

I would encourage you to gain more knowledge before you part with your money. Don't be in a hurry there are many quality items out there, some can even be found on this message board.

Hi Ken and Tom, thanks for the advice! I haven't read the reference books yet, but have done some studying online from resources like aoijapan.net. I understand I would be more prepared if I read more, but I guess I'm impatient to get started :D, so I'm just looking for something genuine that won't cost a huge fortune.

I've been reading around NMB and the seller (pcay) seems to have a good reputation, so I guess I could trust that the blade isn't made in china. I agree that $1500 is overpriced for a tanto in shirosaya since there are katanas and NBTHK certified blades that sell for that price, but I'm not sure how low I could ask for without sounding unreasonable since I've seen some sell for $300.

Hi,

I'm a beginner at collecting and I'm planning to purchase my first nihonto. I found a tanto in shirosaya that I really like from a trusted seller, but since I don't have much experience, it would be useful to know what everyone thinks about it before I buy it. Specifically, do you see any fatal damages or anything unusual? Are there any signs that it could be gimei? Anything notable that might raise or lower its value? And what price range should I be paying for it? The seller listed $1500 but is open to negotiation, so what would you suggest as the lowest reasonable price?