waljamada

Context: I focus on the lower price range of the market so my experiences/opinions will be from that perspective. I started collecting nihonto about 4/5 years ago and I don't think prices are up 30%. There's always more sellers asking more then somethings worth than otherwise but if you watch auctions then prices have been pretty stable with some fluctuation. For a specific example, 3 years ago on eBay I bought a Koa Isshin Mantetsu in Type 98 for $1700 and I just saw one that also went for $1700 a few days ago; both werent perfect but still solid pieces. Also seen them go for a good chunk more but the "bottom" prices at the auctions throughout the variety of nihonto categories still appear the same as when I started except for when (at minimum) two people want a thing and therefore bidding does what bidding does. I think it's a good time to buy, especially from Japan, but I've noticed the same "stock" just sitting around. Haven't been in this hobby that long but already saw quite a few little up and downs. I started at a down, saw an up, waited for a down...rinse and repeat. The fluctuations between an up and down though aren't anything crazy...in general 5% to 15% with a few "outstanding buys" scattered about.

John, That is the same blade which has magically had a surrender tag and either an entirely different saya or new leather saya cover appear to the package=|:^) Adam

My heart says yes...my wallet says no. She's a beauty!

Congrats, huge fan of that menpo! Haven't seen one before fully decorated with linework like that.

One of the reasons that my brain attributed to "logic" that made me hesitant to buy was my experience as a collector in other art fields. In my experience in the other art fields personal commission pieces and especially high level gifts are not kosher to duplicate and sell by the same artist. Reason being it diminishes the uniqueness, importance and value of that original piece. There's some examples of works being copied by the original artist but usually after some solid amount of time has passed. For example if you crafted a specially made blade for the purpose of gifting to the Emperor but then sell other versions of the same sword it seems you risk offenses. Especially when it's the Emperor.... The making of multiple versions to work on side by side in case of mistake and presenting the best version makes sense. Then over time the "2nd version" finding its way to market also makes sense. The thing with these two blades that also made me uneasy is that the carvings used different styles to depict certain aspects. The water waves/ripples etc...was done differently. The ships siding was done differently, the hair differently, the mountains....and the hozon one simply looks more expertly carved. The water effects and scale/perspective stand out most to me as the largest difference in artistry. Just gave me pause that it was done by the same hand but also could just be experimenting between versions to find the best effect... The sword, either way, is quite impressive in its own right but the process, kosher-ness of selling duplicates and high level gifting culture questions are what popped in my head beyond the fun I had of really studying, researching and comparing each one.

Saw this beautiful blade for sale and just found it interesting. Lead me down a research rabbit hole. It appears to me there are two blades incredibly similar yet slightly different. One has had hozon papers issued and one doesn't. According to the write ups the one with Hozon papers is listed as 1940 and the one without 1941. The earlier 1940 version was attributed as a gift to Hirohito and was in an awesome koshirae. At quick glance they appear the same blade, the horimonos are of the same poetry and imagery yet differ in the details and the hamons are different. Perhaps the team got back together for a second go or a special order of a near duplicate version? Either way found it interesting there are two versions of a gift sword. Almost made a hard go for this blade but decided I didn't know enough to stick my neck out. Congrats to whomever the buyer was!

I know that blade as I've been tempted by it as well. It also has this area in the photo attached below. With those areas you would just keep them stabilized rather than fully re-polish. I think that blade wouldn't allow much metal to be removed before becoming simply too thin of a blade as its already a skinny blade without much "niku" or meat/metal to work with. So simply keeping it stable and "killing" any of the active rust would be my suggested course.

It's a seki stamped wwii era (id guess early 1940s) showato (typically machine assisted, non-tamagahane and oil quenched..esentially non-traditionally forged) blade in some nice lookin kai gunto (navy) mounts. The saya looks to be in great shape from what is visible and that rough leather cover did its job. Sadly can't help with the translation of the mei though.

Preface: I'm still a nihonto newbie. Repair would be polishing which is expensive so upkeep is probably the path here. Just keep the blade clean and oiled (with choji oil which does stabalize rusting) and never touch the blade with your hand/fingers. It isn't necessary to clean and re-oil the blade everytime you take it out of shirasaya. Truth be told, I bet that little bit of corrossion was already there. If it just happened I assume you would have seen some active red rust (darker blackish rust is "dead" rust). I actually started taking detailed pictures of my blades right when I get them so that when I later see some small flaw I never noticed I am able to check the pics to see if I did it or it was simply there the whole time. I have yet to find a new little flaw that I actually did to a blade but without those pics I would have been convinced it was me. It's not hard to miss a small flaw. The last polisher possibly even left that there to refrain from having to remove too much metal for a non-fatal flaw. It's a small area and the blade from that pic still seems quite nice.

Maruce, thank you! I was too slow though...already on hold.

Some of my...."not lovin it"s.... Horimono wise: In general I second the -not that into dragons- thing but the semi-standard dragon horimonos like you see on guntos. Horimono with faces that look kinda silly. Blade wise: too skinny of blades, not a big fan of straighter blades. Post WWII made blades. Koshirae: Bad tsuka ito wrapping job. Most swan/crane tsubas..most dragon tsubas.

Appreciate the kind words gentlemen. Is a bit of salve to the burn. I'll see if it works on any of my blades and maybe upgrade their saya...otherwise it's going above a built in cabinet next to a mark twain bust.

Well boys....it was a failure. Tried to match the blade below to it....it was so darn close....the length was right....the sori in theory was right...but I discovered this blade has a sharper sori turn on the top 1/3rd which makes it catch at a certain point in the saya. I lost the heart and didn't even try the tsuka...I'll give that a go tomorrow. Bummer. $590 bucks semi-wasted =|:^( *photos are not exactly to scale

Sansei, Its a house, about 2,400 sq ft. The house was built in the early 1900s so the basement is kind unusable except for storage of non-essential items (christmas decour, tools, over flow etc..). So the only man cave I get is my office room. I tried to argue the lack of need for a traditional dining room but lost to my wife and mom/mother-in-law. I didn't stand a chance against that combo.

Thanks Dan, was able to put the armor in the guest bedroom because the alternative was our bedroom. For the other spots the key to get the wife's support/permission was to put them somewhere where they don't necessarily stand out but appear at a glance as simply decour. I think I may have one more spot above a built in cabinet in our "library"...after that I'm tapped out of good spots. My office room however is my domain and may do as I please. I'm out of shelf space for an additional katanakake so I essentially have hit my limit kicking in the "if I buy one, I have to sell one" rule. Plus cleaning this many is essentially where I want to cap out. Anymore and I feel like I personally couldn't love them properly.

Excellent question. Current seller didn't know, so for now the answer is lost to history. I will keep my eye out for it though and if possible will try to reunite them. I'll add it to my stack of ongoing quests.

Geraint, very true. Only problem is wife will only let me display nihonto in so many places. I'm running out of viable places but have found ways to sneak them in about the house. Plus she did let me keep my suit of Japanese armor in the guest room.

Just learned why my search for a maker by the name Ishiji inrou kizami didn't work someone on Facebook shared this info, thought it was useful info for someone like me who is new to buying koshirae: "The characters 石地印籠刻鞘大小拵 do not refer to a maker, but are just a description of the koshriae. Ishime (石地) is a stone like texture, inrōkizamizaya (印籠刻鞘) means the saya is carved in the style of an inrō (pill box), and the last part is daisho koshirae (大小拵). Kanteisho for koshirae rarely give an attribution and will only give a signature on the fittings. The fittings on this koshriae are late, seemingly mass-produced pieces which I have seen attributed as ‘Sendai’ work."

Ended up buying it because according to the measurements it may match/fit a blade I have with a red lacquered bohi and sohi....so fingers crossed it all works out....they would make a beautiful pair.

Kato, thank you! So far my Google searches haven't found anything on the maker but I'll keep digging.

From my limited knowledge via scrimshaw from a research dive I did after buying a piece I wanted to authenticate, there did not appear to be a resin material that the "heat" test wouldn't reveal. So it most likely is bone/ivory. That monkey piece is a real neat one.

Wondering what and/or who it is attributed to or says about the koshirae.

The lacquered mei didn't seem to exist at the time of papering to add a bit more spice to the pot. *actually i think i see it was still there in the hozon photo.

Anyone with a Miyamoto Kanenori eye able to see anything of him in this blade? It's mumei, has the remnants of a lacquered mei to a different smith (Enju Kuniyoshi) but has Hozon papers attributing to Miyamoto Kanenori. So there are honest reasons for skepticism. Just thought I'd see if anyone has any observations either way on this blade. Did get the feedback from one member whose learned opinions I respect that they were unconvinced of the Miyamoto Kanenori attribution. I requested pics of the hozon papers. *other side notes: appears shortened and re-mounted a few times. Also maybe odd the lacquer mei wasn't completely removed when Hozon papered in 2009.

Best way I could think to try and answer this is in rhyme and prose..... What is the most beautiful tree? What is the most delicious kind of pie? It is what you feel you love and need The best collection depends on one's eye It is the tree that speaks to you It is the pie that makes you swoon It is what sparks, inspires and glues It is what satisfies and sounds in tune There's the most expensive and most rare Theres the oddest, humble and more There's the expert high end affair To the simple soldiers need in war All to appreciate and hold in esteem All things that deserve admiration Art, beauty, history all can be supreme Knowing yourself, behold a revelation So what's on your shelf Collect from thyself. Still learn true and buy wise Know what and why it's your prize Then it will always be the best For it's yours and different from the rest. Dr. Adam Suess.