Lewis B

Certainly the sugata has that feel. Much longer blade substantially shortened. Battle damaged and repair is a good reason for its present state.

I would say copper not brass. But overall very unconvincing from what I can see.

Only Hozon. I guess all that Horimono craftsmanship counts for very little. Can't see anything wrong with the blade either.

Does the blade have papers? How was it described by the dealer?

The application is quite artistic though. How was it described?

Due to the inconsistency of the shinogi-ji at the kissaki I would assume there has been a significant repair (shortening) leaving a compromised and deminished boshi on one side. I saw this on a blade that was brought to the Japan Art Expo with clear evidence of previous tip repair.

Nice blade. I almost bought a Sekishu Sadatsuna blade as my first nihonto. Darcy had some amazing images of the blade on Yukindo.com, which made it really appealing. Plus it has a Tameshigiri mark, rare on a Koto blade. Your sword shows similar workmanship. https://katananokura.jp/SHOP/1907-K01.html

That would suggest to me the blade hasn't been overly polished being quite consistent from the Nakago. Certainly a candidate for further consideration re a fresh polish.

Correct. At the munemachi to be precise. And a measurement just in front of the habaki as this is often where the sharpener will start sharpening. Going further towards the nakago and he risks loosening the fitment of the habaki. Yes, I have one as part of my Shikkake's Tensho koshirae, with a wave motif to match the tsuba. It also has that heart shaped design element which I was told is not actually a heart but boars eye (inome) iconography. The inome represents bravery and determination shown an attacker by a provoked boar. They are pretty rare, having only seen a couple.

The Bashin is rather cool. Overall a very handsome setup. What is the motokasane measurement?

Well after some deliberation I bought it. It could be a basket case and the current condition is certainly questionable. But at the very least it'll make for an interesting study piece.

For me personally, I find the Shrine dedications the least interesting inscriptions, especially if made specifically for the offering. As for the Samonji. All that graffitti has ruined the sword but I'm happy to provide a disposal service.

Yes, especially the ones that refer to a specific battle in which the blade excelled. I find these inscriptions with attributions, fascinating. Ray Singer had a great example a few months ago. It was a Tametsugu and I'll add the precise quote later. Lets just say someone lost their head Exact inscription "At the summer battle at Osaka Castle in Sesshu province Mizawa Magozaemon no jo "Took a head in a fierce battle"." That doubles the price for me

It gets worse. Not a glove or cloth in sight.

Never tried to use a sniping tool? I usually place bids this way on Ebay. Set max bid amount and the bid will be placed approx 5 s before the end of the auction. This removes the inconvenience of having to manually bid no matter what time the auction ends.

Try listing it in the FS section below, preferably with clear high resolution images showing the shape (sugata), nakago (handle), boshi (tip) and hamon (tempure line), taken against a plain dark background. List any papers that it has. And of course the price.

Nothing to add academically but hope you get well soon Brian. As you say there are few positives with increasing years. Just try and enjoy the ride.

Hi Grey. Sent you an email. Cheers Lewis

I searched the forum and came up blank. Anyone have a list of realised auction results?

I was looking at this blade earlier this evening and noticed the flaw. My best guess is this damage was sustained after Shinsa. It's not a forging or quenching flaw. Most likely user error caused when the blade was forced into something hard resulting in the gouge in the kissaki.

Yes rare. This is a katana I almost bought through Darcy back in 2021, but timing was bad after losing my job. Nanbokucho Sadatsuna with a cutting test and #62 Torokusho registration paper so early and Daimyo owned. Apart from a Kaneuji blade (#17) this is the earliest registration I've encountered. https://katananokura.jp/SHOP/1907-K01.html

I think I spotted Udo

Was that the one in Henk's/Daisuke Hataya's booth?

So true. I've held 2 recently that were blah. Maybe it was the polish but the overall workmanship was lacking. The most beautiful blade I've held in hand was a Fukuoka Ichimonji and one I would love to own. From images in books and online I find Go irresistable.

I see a lot of Kizu and Ware (along Mune and behind the Yokote). Maybe explains why it only has Hozon papers. The solid gold habaki is nice though and probably worth around $3K+ in scrap value alone. Good luck to the seller and lets see where the market goes.