Lewis B

Don't think I've seen a mark like this stamped on the nakago of a Kamakura era katana. Was this something that was done when the sword was shortened? What does it say?

Practicing some photos of the blade using a tripod and studio light. Really need to get a macro lens for this kind of photography. Please excuse the bright dust particles.

Well flooding in the UK is a bigger issue these days. True, the risks increase with wide temp fluctuations combined with high humidity, eg in winter, which I can see as being potentially detrimental, so 'tight asses' should definitely oil their blades.

Correct on 2 counts Panet.

Advice is (usually) free. And he has one of the best Western Togishi on his doorstep. If Andrew says it's a hopeless cause then I'm in agreement. Then its time to turn it into a Maguro Kaitai Shou

Reach out to Andrew Ickeringill. He is unlikely to take it on himself as already mentioned but probably knows a competent polisher in Australia who could help. John, the owner of Nihonto.com.au might have connections too in Aus. A sympathetic restoration is what you need.

I agree. Needs some better pics to really understand how much steel has been abraded and what is left at the kissaki. It might be possible to reshape the kissaki but that is above my pay grade and still have a boshi. I personally wouldn't give up hope, but I also wouldn't use it as a practice piece either.

When I was writing I was looking at the last picture, but after looking again at the first image the relief in that image looks a lot better. Apologies for casting aspersions.

Cautious to pass comments but my personal feeling is that something (many) things look off. The green oxidation looks applied or forced, the quality of the carving is equally unconvincing. To me it looks like a reproduction. How was it described and where?

I thought choji oil was just scented mineral oil and therefore a petroleum byproduct. Tsubaki oil (camellia) I think is a better option. Personally I'm not sure oiling a blade really does that much if the owner is careful to wipe the blade every time it's placed in the saya. I know a collector in Germany who owns multiple Juyo papered Koto swords and has never used oil as part of the routine maintenance and care. I think oiling a blade only makes sense in very humid climates, when living close to the ocean (salt) and when shipping blades especially if air travel is involved.

In case anyone is nearby or can make the trip to attend. Should be a good exhibition.

All that sword does is make you appreciate the quality of the real thing.

I would recommend buying a larger bottle and immediately aliquot into smaller sample bottles (cheap and readily available from drugstores and Amazon). Keep the air volume above the liquid to a minimum and if you have it flush the container with an inert gas. Those compressed gases canisters for preserving bottles of spirits are very good. If you have access, wrap parafilm or other sealing tape around the lid. The contents will not degrade. Discard the in-service container say every 3-6 months. depending how often you open it.

I think you're doing the blade an injustice with a Sue Koto Mino attribution. The blades I have seen from that period have jihada that are far less refined with inferior activity. Of course I could be wrong but I would not rule out an earlier production.

With the sword being massively shortened and still retaining a motokisane of 5.9mm suggests at tachi length this would have been a beast of a blade in its original form. I would consider this a wide Shinogi typical of Yamato. I measured my motokisane last night at 7.1mm tapering down to 4.2mm at the sakikasane (nagaso 70.6cm). Yamato would be top of my list. Tegai or Shikkake. Not enough Masame for Hosho and Taima/Senjuin are very easy to distinguish from the other 3 Yamato schools. Obviously the interpretations of a true novice.

Don't worry, you're not first to raise the possibility of tsukare utsuri. I showed the video to a well known Togishi and he suggested that TU could be an explanation for the effect. He also said it could be an artifact from the polishing. He really needs to see the sword in hand to give a proper assessment though. The fact there is very little reference material on this feature is fascinating in of itself. Scouring online photos I only see it on blades from the late Kamakura/Nambokucho era's. One explanation was that it was intended by the swordsmiths to provide additional strength along the JI.

I don't believe this is tsukare utsuri. Firstly the Hada looks unchanged from Hamon to shinogi-ji and the foggy effect is consistent both sides along the entire length of the blade. In hand it looks like a fine layer of smaller nie particles. Secondly, Tanobe wrote the sayagaki last year, meeting the dealer and his English colleague in person. He would not have signed it had he thought the blade possessed such a major defect. On the contrary, he was very complimentary, suggesting in his opinion, it had juyo potential. Blade has not been polished since he examined it according to the dealer. I am getting a macro lens and proper lighting to take detailed pics of the blade following a post by @ Brano, who IMHO takes some of the best photos I've seen on NMB.

You might want to doublecheck your FX rate and pricing. eg 420 Euro is around $450. Or perhaps you meant $420 (395 Euro) and then it makes sense.

So much kirikomi

The seller is legit. Whats troublesome is the lack of NBTHK papers. Could be a consignment sale I suppose. Nice blade, at least in the photos, nonetheless.

As a novice collector, I have to applaud sellers who put more effort than just slap a price tag (if lucky) on the blades they're selling at a show. It's one of the reasons I sorely miss Darcy Brockbank and his Yuhindo and Nihonto.ca sites.

The chase is half the fun, isn't it? Having seen a couple of Ko Uda (a Juyo and Hozon) in hand last week and listened to a nice lecture on the School I would say your blade isn't Ko Uda, maybe a later generation? Tegai is definitely a contender too. Here is a video of the Hozon Ko Uda https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Stjtws8aD/

Happy.

Your blade is more like Yamato Shikkake than mine, which is papered for that den. The masame above the Hamon, which is absent for my blade, is a regularly cited feature. Would be interested to hear what others think.

The Hamon on this example is less exuberant (gunome) and more notare as exhibited on my blade https://nihonto.com/shizu-saburo-kaneuji-志津三郎兼氏/